Bienvenido

I made it!!!

WOW! It's been quit the journey so far. When I arrived yesterday (which feels like a week ago) in Tegus I found out the public school teachers had gone on strike. When the teachers strike they like to block some of the roads so it took almost three times as long as it normally does to get into Juticalpa. Once we arrived we all had dinner together as a group at the special needs school. All of the other volunteers in my group are wonderful people! We are across the map too...we have volunteers from California, Wisconsin, Kansas City, Idaho, Connecticut, North Carolina, and the list goes on. I'm excited to get know all of them more over these next ten months...

I cannot believe I will be living here for the next ten months! The transition so far has been extremely hard on me. When I arrived yesterday I came home to a house with no electricity. After waiting in the dark for awhile an electrician finally came over and fixed it. We turned on our lights to a cockroach crawling across the floor :/. I knew there would be bugs, but this thing was huge! Then I found out that we don't actually have running water. The water runs from 4p.m.-5p.m. everyday so if I'm not home at that time then I can't take an actual shower. We have to take our water from a "pila" on our back porch and take bucket showers. We also hand wash our clothes in the pila and do our dishes in it. Currently mine has mosquitos laying eggs in it so I can't really do anything with the water until we clean it out in the next few days. Last night all I wanted to do was come home and take a shower but I couldn't because they forgot to leave towels for us. I also discovered that no one here really speaks English, which I wasn't expecting. None of the teachers at Santa Clara (my school) speak any English, so it is going to be VERY difficult to communicate. I also have to have monthly parent/teacher conferences with parents who don't speak ANY English.

AND oh my goodness is it hot here! I wore 100 today and already got a little bit burnt. I'm going to have to re-apply every hour or so. Our houses aren't air conditioned and there is no air flow so it's extremely hot at night. Last night I couldn't fall asleep until about 11 and right as I was about to dose off I heard multiple roosters start screaming their heads off. I thought it wouldn't last long, but they were still going at 4:30 this morning when I finally just stayed up. I also live on a very noisy street where people scream and play really loud music until late in the night.

Sorry for all of the negatives! I really didn't want to write a blog until I had a lot of great things to say, but this is my reality! I got to talk to my mom for about 7 minutes this morning and she told me to take it one day at a time. I know that's what I need to do and I just hope that each day will get a little better. My roommates names are Jackie and Michelle. We were just talking about how overwhelmed we are. I apologize for not returning e-mails right away or calling, but right now this is the best I can do. If I think about home too much I'm scared I'll break down.

The returning volunteers from last year said it takes a full two months to feel comfortable and four months to really have things down. So I'll basically be used to this way of living once I come home for Christmas. Hopefully that will make my next sixth months easier.

PLEASE don't be worried about me. I'm very safe and healthy, just a little sad at the moment. (I actually had to take a pause from writing this to kill a flying cockroach in my room...I guess I better get used to it!). Say LOTS of prayers for me, I definitely need them. It's a HUGE comfort to know so many people are praying for me and thinking about me. It truly means the world!

"May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."