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Thursday, January 28, 2010
January
A few randon comments on our past few weeks;
A couple of weeks ago it was very chilly here. Not by the standards that we are used to back home, but damp and with temperatures that got down to 7 or 9 degrees C.(or the low 40s.) We spent a couple of days in meetings where everyone was bundled up in coats, hats and scarves and whatever else they had, as it was just as cold inside as out, with no heat, and we slept under blankets and sleeping bags. But then it got warm again and it has been beautiful for the past several weeks. Temperatures have been in the 70s and ideal for walking, hiking or running. The coldest temperatures were surprising even to the locals. Our recent weather seems more like what is common, with periodic cooler and damper weather, but not generally as cold as it was during the first week of the month.
The day before the earthquake in Haiti, we had a slight tremor here. We were sitting around a conference table on the second floor of our NGO when everything started to shake gently. This came in two waves and lasted for about ten seconds or so. Nothing broke or fell down, but the movement was definitely noticeable and everyone left the building calmly. A small quake of about 4.9 was reported near the Guatemala border, centered about 50 miles from us. We apparently are at the western end of the same plate that lies below Haiti and what we felt here may have been something preliminary to that horrible event at the other end of the formation.
Yesterday the new government took office, without controversy. In his first act, which he took during his inaugaration speach while standing on the platform at the stadium, President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo signed a document granting a right of safe passage and some degree of amnesty to former President Zelaya and his family. Zelaya then finally left the Brazilian embassy, where he had been since September, and flew to the Dominican Republic with the President of the DR, who was one of the few foreign officials from this area to attend the ceremony. This seems somewhat ironic to us, or part of the circle of life, however you may see it. We originally went to the DR due to the controversy over President Zelaya here, and now that we are peacefully here in Honduras, he has gone to the DR to seek sanctuary, as well. Almost everyone here is hopeful that the new government will soon be recognized by the international community and that foreign aid will be restored. The economic situation of the government is nearing a crisis situation, without that anticipated aid.
A couple of weeks ago we spent a few days at Lago Yajoa, the largest natural lake in Honduras, which is not far from here geographically, but is about a five hour bus ride. It is a very beautiful lake surrounded by high mountains and lush vegetation. We spent one morning in a little row boat on a guided birding tour that was fascinating, given the wide variety of water birds, migrating birds, tropical birds and raptors. Even as non-birders, we could appreciate this as a special opportunity, and we now have 46 new entries on our bird list. There is an interesting colony of ex-pats, American and British, living in that area, the first significant group we have seen here.
All is well. Keep in touch.
A couple of weeks ago it was very chilly here. Not by the standards that we are used to back home, but damp and with temperatures that got down to 7 or 9 degrees C.(or the low 40s.) We spent a couple of days in meetings where everyone was bundled up in coats, hats and scarves and whatever else they had, as it was just as cold inside as out, with no heat, and we slept under blankets and sleeping bags. But then it got warm again and it has been beautiful for the past several weeks. Temperatures have been in the 70s and ideal for walking, hiking or running. The coldest temperatures were surprising even to the locals. Our recent weather seems more like what is common, with periodic cooler and damper weather, but not generally as cold as it was during the first week of the month.
The day before the earthquake in Haiti, we had a slight tremor here. We were sitting around a conference table on the second floor of our NGO when everything started to shake gently. This came in two waves and lasted for about ten seconds or so. Nothing broke or fell down, but the movement was definitely noticeable and everyone left the building calmly. A small quake of about 4.9 was reported near the Guatemala border, centered about 50 miles from us. We apparently are at the western end of the same plate that lies below Haiti and what we felt here may have been something preliminary to that horrible event at the other end of the formation.
Yesterday the new government took office, without controversy. In his first act, which he took during his inaugaration speach while standing on the platform at the stadium, President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo signed a document granting a right of safe passage and some degree of amnesty to former President Zelaya and his family. Zelaya then finally left the Brazilian embassy, where he had been since September, and flew to the Dominican Republic with the President of the DR, who was one of the few foreign officials from this area to attend the ceremony. This seems somewhat ironic to us, or part of the circle of life, however you may see it. We originally went to the DR due to the controversy over President Zelaya here, and now that we are peacefully here in Honduras, he has gone to the DR to seek sanctuary, as well. Almost everyone here is hopeful that the new government will soon be recognized by the international community and that foreign aid will be restored. The economic situation of the government is nearing a crisis situation, without that anticipated aid.
A couple of weeks ago we spent a few days at Lago Yajoa, the largest natural lake in Honduras, which is not far from here geographically, but is about a five hour bus ride. It is a very beautiful lake surrounded by high mountains and lush vegetation. We spent one morning in a little row boat on a guided birding tour that was fascinating, given the wide variety of water birds, migrating birds, tropical birds and raptors. Even as non-birders, we could appreciate this as a special opportunity, and we now have 46 new entries on our bird list. There is an interesting colony of ex-pats, American and British, living in that area, the first significant group we have seen here.
All is well. Keep in touch.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Feliz Navidad
We have had a pleasant Christmas week. We spent the first part of the week in Copan Ruinas, which is about a three or four hour bus trip from here. The Mayan site there is really quite special, with the best stella and glyphs that I have seen among the numerous sites in Mexico and Guatemala that I have visted previously. The main Acropolis area is set in a dense jungle with amazingly colorful parrots and strange, small four-legged creatures. There is about a ten-acre area that has been substantially reconstructed, with some large pyramids, but there are also many mounds, covered with enormous trees, that remain to be fully explored. The stella are fantastically detailed, with a high degree of relief, perhaps due to the relatively soft tuft stone that is available in the area. The general area is a pleasant, fertile valley, relatively narrow, and it is difficult to understand how or why this was such an important Mayan center of art and science 1500 years ago. We will try to post some pictures soon, which will not quite do the site justice, but will give you some idea.
The town of Copan Ruinas is primarily a tourist town, with scores of hotels and restaurants, but it is actually pretty nicely done. It has picturesque cobbled streets and everything is well kept and feels quite safe. There are also a couple of nice museums there, in addition to the very good sculpture museum at the ruins site. For the first time since we have been in Honduras, we actually saw some significant number of tourists, primarily European, but the numbers are still far below average. As a first stop for most of the people traveling overland into the country, this does not seem like a true introduction to Honduras, as it is unlike anywhere else that we have seen thus far, but it is a pleasant place.
For Christmas here in Santa Rosa, "peace on earth" and "silent night" are celebrated with an amazing amount of fireworks. Noche Buena seems to be as important as Christmas Day for family gatherings and for many people this celebration involves shooting off lots of very loud fireworks. Much of them are more for noise than visual effect and around midnight, the sounds were stunning. Christmas Day itself was a very nice day, and much more peaceful. Peace and Joy to you all.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Our New Home
We are now living in our own apartment here in Santa Rosa. Since the first week in July, we have been living with various host families in the DR and here in Honduras- five different ones. Although everyone has been exceedingly gracious and welcoming, it is quite a relief to finally have our own place. We no longer have those conflicts with the kids about sharing the bathroom, we can come and go when we want without having to disturb the whole family or make someone get up and unlock the door, and we have our own kitchen and living room. Hondurans seem remarkably willing to have visitors on little notice and also seem to genuinely enjoy sharing their homes with friends, relatives and us. But we still feel the need for more private space, a clear cultural difference, and really like having our own place now.
We now live in an apartment not far from where we have been and convenient to the central area. It is one of three units connected by a breezeway, with virtually no setback area from the adjacent building. This means that we get no direct light into the apartment and have trouble telling what the weather is without going outside, but we are secure. The building has thick cement walls with a metal roof. We have not had a hard rain since we have moved in so we still don´t know how loud it will be in a storm, but the good thing is the space. The kitchen is plenty large enough and opens into a sala, living room area. We also have two bedrooms, one of which is now being used for yoga and meditation. Except for the lack of natural light, it all seems very comfortable and is within our Peace Corps budget.
The apartment came completely unfurnished, as is typical, and so we have spent a good bit of time acquiring the things of daily life. We now have a bed, closet space that we have made by hanging rods from the exposed metal beams on the ceiling, a small stove which we bought and a refrigerator and dish set that we got at a discount from a missionary couple that was leaving the area for Mexico. We also now have a tv, a couch that we got from another volunteer and several of the ubiquitous molded plastic chairs. We are still looking for a table and some sort of chest of drawers and we seem to be adding small kitchen items on a regular basis. Peace Corps gives us a settling in allowance, which is not quite enough for city living, but covers most of these expenses. This process has been an enjoyable exercise, but it also seems highly inefficient, given that every volunteer basically starts from scratch, unless there happens to be someone else leaving just when you arrive. That did not happen for us. This is reminiscent of college days, but without the aid of Good Will or any other used furniture places. Those things don´t exist here.
One luxury that we do have now is an "electro ducha" for the bath. All the places that we have been until our most recent home have not had any hot water. The "electro ducha" is a a device about the size of a pineapple that attaches at the shower head and heats the water as it comes through. We had a problem with the heating element of the first one that we tried, but that is fixed now and the system works remarkably well. On the warmer setting it can get too hot. It is wonderful not to have to take a cold shower every morning. The lack of hot water heaters probably saves an enormous amount of energy nationwide, not keeping all of those tanks of water hot all of the time. We are still adjusting to the fact, however, that there is no hot water in the sinks. They use a soap paste that is designed for cold water use. It is not quite the same as hot water for heavy grease, but seems to be enough for sanitation.
There is also no heating in any of the houses or offices here. So far,it has been an unusually warm and dry season and we have had only one cold front. That has been nice for us thus far, but farmers are suffering and water resources are down. When it does get cool, it feels cold. Temperatures in the low 60´s or high 50´s don´t sound cold, but with no heat in the house, everything is that temperature all the time and we felt cold when it did cool off. Mostly, however, the weather has been very comfortable and we have been fine.
We now live in an apartment not far from where we have been and convenient to the central area. It is one of three units connected by a breezeway, with virtually no setback area from the adjacent building. This means that we get no direct light into the apartment and have trouble telling what the weather is without going outside, but we are secure. The building has thick cement walls with a metal roof. We have not had a hard rain since we have moved in so we still don´t know how loud it will be in a storm, but the good thing is the space. The kitchen is plenty large enough and opens into a sala, living room area. We also have two bedrooms, one of which is now being used for yoga and meditation. Except for the lack of natural light, it all seems very comfortable and is within our Peace Corps budget.
The apartment came completely unfurnished, as is typical, and so we have spent a good bit of time acquiring the things of daily life. We now have a bed, closet space that we have made by hanging rods from the exposed metal beams on the ceiling, a small stove which we bought and a refrigerator and dish set that we got at a discount from a missionary couple that was leaving the area for Mexico. We also now have a tv, a couch that we got from another volunteer and several of the ubiquitous molded plastic chairs. We are still looking for a table and some sort of chest of drawers and we seem to be adding small kitchen items on a regular basis. Peace Corps gives us a settling in allowance, which is not quite enough for city living, but covers most of these expenses. This process has been an enjoyable exercise, but it also seems highly inefficient, given that every volunteer basically starts from scratch, unless there happens to be someone else leaving just when you arrive. That did not happen for us. This is reminiscent of college days, but without the aid of Good Will or any other used furniture places. Those things don´t exist here.
One luxury that we do have now is an "electro ducha" for the bath. All the places that we have been until our most recent home have not had any hot water. The "electro ducha" is a a device about the size of a pineapple that attaches at the shower head and heats the water as it comes through. We had a problem with the heating element of the first one that we tried, but that is fixed now and the system works remarkably well. On the warmer setting it can get too hot. It is wonderful not to have to take a cold shower every morning. The lack of hot water heaters probably saves an enormous amount of energy nationwide, not keeping all of those tanks of water hot all of the time. We are still adjusting to the fact, however, that there is no hot water in the sinks. They use a soap paste that is designed for cold water use. It is not quite the same as hot water for heavy grease, but seems to be enough for sanitation.
There is also no heating in any of the houses or offices here. So far,it has been an unusually warm and dry season and we have had only one cold front. That has been nice for us thus far, but farmers are suffering and water resources are down. When it does get cool, it feels cold. Temperatures in the low 60´s or high 50´s don´t sound cold, but with no heat in the house, everything is that temperature all the time and we felt cold when it did cool off. Mostly, however, the weather has been very comfortable and we have been fine.
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