January 7, 2007

A new year, in a new place. I write this blog entry from the temporary director’s house in Honduras. I am spending a week and a half here in Honduras both for a ropes course training and to look into details before my arrival at the end of April. The past 2 days I have been here at camp, Manantial de Vida, and it has been good. I was glad to be reminded that the camp does have a lot of beauty even though it is not on a mountain. Many new flowers are in bloom that I never saw when I visited here before. A lot of my questions have been cleared up after talking with Wes Williamson and his wife Cindy. (He is the camp director here and is from Lititz, PA).
I have been reminded that I need to brace myself for much more primitive living when I arrive here to Honduras. There is a good chance that I may live on camp for the first 4 months in an “igloo”. I thought the name and shape of the building quite appropriate for me because I would love to live in a snow igloo. A cement igloo (that actually is made mostly of Styrofoam) has a little different feel, but I think that I could make it a home. It also reminds me a bit of a hobbit home for those who know Lord of the Rings. Currently the place is in need of a lot of repair but it holds potential. Because it has a closed in ceiling without gaps, I should not have to worry so much about rats which is a BIG blessing. I can deal with geckos, but rats . . . uugh! At some point though, I will probably not have a choice in dealing with them.
Anyway the plan seems to be that I may live on the camp for my first four months and then I would move to San Pedro Sula when the Williamsons go on furlough for six months. There will be a lot of adjustments but living alone at the camp or the village is not really an option because of safety concerns, not to mention the challenge with isolation from all English. It will be much easier to find other young people to interact with in San Pedro. Hopefully I will be able to do much of my work from the city and not have to commute the 1 ½ hours to camp every day.

January 17, 2007

So, I am back in Costa Rica in the midst of language classes. I think I have reached a new level because I am finding that I am doing a lot more thinking in Spanish. Last week at camp in Honduras I was immersed in Spanish. During the last half of the week I worked with a group of people from all over Latin America to train a new group of Ropes Course facilitators. Giving and listening to debriefs (wrap-up discussions) in Spanish is difficult and draining. By the end of the week my mind was exhausted and I actually felt like my Spanish was getting worse. The schedule itself was also very intense: 6:45AM – 11:00PM. Needless to say I am finding language school to be relaxing because it is only 3 ½ hours of straight Spanish instead of 15. I am thankful for the opportunity that I had to meet and learn from the camping professionals in Latin America though.