About my new site

I hope you noticed the new website format. I figure it’s time for a change anyway. New town, new experience, new look.

I arrived here on Saturday June 18. Today is June 23 and I am only just now sitting down to think about my first impressions of this place. Initially, I like it very much. In fact, I have no complaints so far. I even went so far as to wish I had simply been put here in the first place a year ago.

But I told myself I wasn’t going to compare my old site to my new site. What good would that do? That would be like comparing a suburb of Dallas with Albany, New York.  So even though I am instinctively comparing everything in my head (wow we didn’t have THAT in El Real) I’m trying really hard to focus on this new place.  …I hate taking the high road sometimes…

The little orange dot is a rough estimation where Taulabe is.

Taulabe is a beehive, buzzing with activity. There are businesses of every kind, and vendors along the main street selling anything you could possibly need (if you were Honduran that is).  It’s a small town with only about 9,000 people in the casco urbano but it feels much larger than that.  The main avenues are two crowded streets that run parallel to each other. The Palacio Municipal at one end and the parque centralat the other, no more than 6 or 8 blocks apart. It’s an attractive town, mostly because it is located in the shallow valley of two big mountains and the views of the surrounding hillsides are striking. It is known for being a stop-off point on the way to the large city of Siguatapeque, and for honey production. In that order. There are also caves and hot springs here that everyone keeps inviting to take me but we’ll see who actually follows through on that.

The new neighborhood

My new house is a small two-bedroom that is about 5 blocks from the center of town. From what I can tell so far, the neighbors are extremely friendly. When I was moving in, several guys from the neighborhood just appeared out of nowhere to help unpack a truck full of my boxes. Also there is a little old lady in a wheelchair in the house next to me that is always  “que dios te bendiga” every time I walk by. I’m pretty sure it’s a fairly new house too – I can tell by the lack of nail holes in the walls and the manufacturer stickers are still on all the bathroom fixtures. There is a small fenced-in backyard that Bernice has already escaped from twice so that means I will be buying some fencing material next payday. But I’m most excited about the spare bedroom that I am turning into a walk-in closet. Its gonna be HUGE. Big enough to make Carrie Bradshaw jealous (living alone can have its perks). Once I get fully unpacked and settled in, I’ll post some pics.

Up here in the mountains the summer weather is pleasant – which is part of the reason why I asked to be placed in this region in the first place.  It’s hot and sunny during the day and it usually rains like hell for an hour or so in the afternoon and by evening it is cool and breezy. Last night I even caught myself digging through my boxes for a sweatshirt. That definitely never happened in June in Olancho.

While I am in the process of settling in, I’ve been doing some serious thinking about my approach here. Since this is my second time around, there are a few things that I am going to do differently. First of all, my Spanish is a lot better now than it was a year and some months ago. Because of that, I am more confident in meeting people and being social. I still remember back when I first left training the prospect of going to the elementary school and introducing myself to the director filled me with such anxiety I wanted to cry. It took me several days to work up the courage and I looked up all the correct phrases in the dictionary beforehand. Even simple exchanges with shop owners were difficult for me and I usually left imagining them turning to their spouse with a wide-eyed look like “did you understand anything she just said?”

But now, things are different. Though I have to stick to standard grammatical formats, I can say whatever I want. Sometimes in a roundabout way, but it gets you there.

Example –

What I think in my head: I would have taken the bus if I had known it left at noon.

What comes out: The bus left and I wasn’t on it because I didn’t know that it leaves at noon every day.

I also fully recognize that I only have a year here to be productive. The standard 24 months usually affords a volunteer some time to just acclimate and get to know people and figure out the pace of the town. That is actually what is expected of most volunteers in order to achieve optimum community integration*.  It’s what sets Peace Corps apart from other foreign aid institutions (have you ever seen one of the Japanese JICA volunteers going to their landlord’s daughter’s 5^th birthday party? I don’t think so).

My point is, I have to hit the ground running. My suitcases are barely unpacked and yet I have meetings set up with the CdS in Jardines and the Centro Basico social sciences teacher. Also – I take forever to actually unpack suitcases.

I also cancelled my Tigo internet plan so I will spend less time in front of my computer reading blogs and more time doing other things. Such as: I want to finally learn to make tortillas and perfect this chicken curry recipe I found online. I also have a pile of books that I didn’t give away during the move because I told myself I would finally read them and so that would be nice. AND I’m finally getting serious about training Bernice to only poop outside. Plus I’m broke now and internet service for $19 a month is a little out of my price range.

Thanks to everyone who has been supportive in whatever way possible over that past few weeks. It means a lot. I’m reminded that I am surrounded by some great people and I have lots more great people back home. Oh, and don’t forget to send me postcards! My new address is on the right column and on the follow me page.  I love getting mail and I have it on good authority that small envelopes from the states can get to Taulabe in as little as 10 days!

Paz y amor!

-Sarita

.

.

*We must have heard this term 1,000 times during training. I can’t even say it anymore  without rolling my eyes because we talked so much about what to do/not do when you first get to your site and how to fit in blah blah blah…