¨chachos¨

have YOU ever seen siamese twin bananas???

my COOL site mates...

Niko and Akiko hanging out at Mariano´s

mia´s visit to the big city....

mia and i had our first trip together to the capital city of Tegucigalpa...it was an adventure for sure, the two hour bus ride would not have been complete if mia didn´t throw up on the lap of the woman sitting next to me, who so graciuosly, shrugged it off as ¨something that happens in life¨and refused to take money for her bus fare. oh, whata gracious woman. i think i was more horrified by the situation :(


mia stayed the night in the vet clinic after her appointment...which some refer to as ¨the day i robbed her of her right as a female to bear children¨ ... and when i picked her up the next morning she was sporting her new look :) so, with her new belly shaved and a slightly more focused view of the world, we set out to explore the city.



lets just say mia required a lot more love and self-esteem building after her surgery. she got a few laughs, some people asked if her cone was for ¨sun protection¨ and others thought i put a lamp shade on her head. the kids in my neighborhood laughed when i told them it was just the latest fashion this season...

Pulhapanzak !?!

Pulhapanzak...its the name of the largest waterfall in Honduras.

Here we are (erin, steph and erika) in the back of a pick-up...the best way to get around!!! a

the estuary at pena blanca (white boulder) where we caught the "jalon" out to Pulhapanzak!
it was a beautiful day for sure...

Punta, Bachata, Merengue, Reggueton, y mas...

My girl Adrienne and I getting ready to go out dancing to the Discoteca in La Paz…

Habitat para la Humanidad

The finished Habitat for Humanity home of Cruz y Rosa Atractiva. I had promised this couple that I would return and bring them a photo of the volunteer group who helped build their house. When Gustavo (Director of Habitat La Ceiba), Alejandrina (my project manager) and I arrived in tovisit them they weren’t home, but we did see that they had moved into their home J

I am working with Habitat La Ceiba again this March… There is a major housing shortage on the north coast due to damage annually from storms and hurricanes. At current the need is for 4000 more homes. Habitat has committed to building 1300 of those in the “Vistas de Satuye” project. This is the largest project that Habitat La Ceiba has ever done, and I am consulting with them to create open spaces, integrate public amenities, and create a more livable environment for the community of families...

something i wrote awhile back...

(this is a piece i wrote for our country newsletter shared amongst volunteers. i thought some of you may enjoy the read. i certainly enjoyed reading it again a few months later...)

Vale la Pena? (Is it worth it?)

This past year came and went. Fast. Really fast. I tried not to have too many expectations when I came to Honduras. And I hoped that I would have the patience for what former volunteers had warned me would be some of the longest days of my life. Now as I have successfully passed the mid-point of service, I find myself looking back at what I’ve accomplished and hope this next year would just…slow down a bit. I’d like to think I have done some good for my community, had some memorable moments in the process, and learned a few things along the way. But at times we all find ourselves floundering, wondering where we are going, what we are doing, and whether we are really able to make a difference. I came to the conclusion awhile ago that I won’t be able to make any grand changes in Honduras, but it’s the small, more personal, interactions that will actually be most significant to my experience.

The following are two experiences from life and work with Hondurans that remind me of why I am here on the days when I have to ask myself again…was it worth it - leaving a stable job? Putting up with multiple hospital visits, foot fungus, dengue, etc? deatling with an incredible amount of loneliness at times? Is it worth it if I still can’t understand campesino Spanish? Is it worth it? And though I’ve had my doubts, when I’ve wondered if my work here is done, or if I’ve even yet begun, in the end, I continue to believe that, yes, it is worth it.

One of the neatest experiences of my service was this June when I assisted Dave Wrathall on a Habitat for Humanity project in La Ceiba (Johnice helped, too!!!). Habitat hosted one of their largest groups of volunteers yet, and I went to facilitate – logistics of housing, feeding, and transporting volunteers around the region, teaching basic construction methods, and translating on the construction sites. I worked specifically with a group of Texans on Cruz and Rosa’s home in the community of Bonitillo. This husband, wife, and 2 children were living in a one room, 3-sided wooden structure enclosed on the 4th side by only a plastic tarp. They had dreamed of this house for years, and were working hard to make their dream come true; Habitat not only provided an opportunity to help them realize their dream, but also to build relationships with the volunteers who worked on their house. I spent a lot of time talking with Cruz during the workdays, and shared with the other volunteers his emotions while watching his home being constructed. He told me how he had imagined what it would be like to sleep in his own house one day, but even as it was becoming a reality, he still couldn’t believe it. By the end of the week friendships had formed and Cruz asked for a group photo so that he would always have a memory hanging in his house of the people who came to help him and a constant reminder of how God has blessed his family. As we said goodbye, I told Cruz and Rosa that I would be back to visit them, see the finished house, and bring the photo to hang on their wall. Then Cruz shook my hand and quickly excused himself running into the house. As he turned to go, I saw the tears on his face, and I knew then just how important Habitat’s work is to the people it serves. It’s the same with our work. When our time comes to leave, there may be some unfinished pieces left for the community or the next volunteer to finish, but it is the personal connections that we make that leave a lasting impression and are an example of how volunteer work connects with people.


The other experience I recently had was in the design process of our central park in La Paz. One of my biggest struggles is trying to find ways that my design and construction work can be sustainable. When I leave, the community will be left with physical structures that I have designed for them, but as far as transferring skills and teaching, I fear that I am not meeting the goals of the municipal development project. I recently presented my park design to a group of Pacenos living in Tegucigalpa. At the end of the presentation one man spoke up and told me how excited he was to see the design, and that he my presentation made him dream of what it would be like to see this project finished. The mayor spoke following my presentation - he spoke about the process I had gone through to arrive at the design, about the community advisory committee we formed to involve the community in the process. He said it was like no other project process he had seen. It was really neat to hear him say these things and confirmed to me that my work here would not be without a lasting impression in La Paz. I heard this and the positive responses from the community members who are looking forward to the day when there is a park that unites the community of La Paz and gives the community a place to feel proud of. There are times when I feel connected to my community and take pride in being a part of this place. Some people tell me I am “Pacena”, and I know it is with heartfelt truth, but I always recognize that that this place will never actually be my “home” no matter how comfortable and integrated I am here. When I leave, there will be a park that I have designed, and it will be up to the people to take care of and maintain. Knowing the response from the people and the feedback I receive, I can take pride in my work knowing that I am fulfilling the work that people have asked me to come here to do.

These experiences make these two years worth it. But there are still so many things I do miss back home while I carry on with life down here. On the 21st of September, my Aunt Barb died of cancer. I was about to board a plane in San Pedro to go visit her when she passed away. I was a few hours too late. She took her life into her own hands that day, just as she had successfully commanded every other aspect of her life while she was alive. She was always determined to make the best decisions, especially when it came to doing what was best for other people, so on that Friday afternoon as the whole family was on our way to her side, she decided she was ready to go – to spare any pain for the people she loved. She ate some chicken soup with her best friend and then she passed away very peacefully. She had purpose in everything she did down to the moment she died. At the funeral one of her neighbors who I’d never met before was talking with me, and when she found out I was here in Honduras with the Peace Corps, she said, ‘that’s what Barb would be doing now if she could’. And it was then, that I realized I am exactly where I am supposed to be. It’s easy to think of the things I am missing back home – my best friend’s little girl growing up, thai food, my parents start to retirement, Indian food, continuing on a career track, sushi, etc. We each live a unique life. There is no set plan or schedule. But the world leads us to believe that we are supposed to be a certain way or accomplish certain things by a certain age. I fall into this trap. I’m almost 30 and there are certainly days when I think I should just go home and get on with my life…find that job and stick with it, get married and start having kids, buy that house I’ve wanted for so long… Unfortunately, the world doesn’t teach us how to achieve these things. So we do the best we can with what we are given, make the best decision with the options presented to us, and live our lives the best we know how…and fortunately some of us end up in places like…Honduras.

If there is anything I have learned this first year, it’s that: I Have No Control. Couldn’t control dengue fever the week I was supposed to go on vacation in the states, can’t control the meetings when nobody shows up or never calls to actually cancel, or the sewage flooding the streets, or the children throwing trash out bus windows, and I couldn’t control that my aunt died just 7 minutes before my plane left Honduras to go home. But in the things I do here in Honduras, in the moments that I can control, I try to make every moment matter to the people I am with, and make sure that anything I give my time to is worth it.

La Feria Patronal de la Virgen de Dolores

Literally translated...the Fair honoring our Patron Saint, the Virgin of Pains...who appeared to a preist some years ago and gave La Paz its name...now we honor her with cotton candy, parades, and deep fried potatoes...amongst other festivities!!! Here are some of my favorites...

beauty pageants...

cowboys...
little kids and fresh oranges...and hanging out with friends in the back of a pick-up truck!

Have you heard about the QUINCENERA craze???

i went to my first quincenera (15th birthday/coming of age) this past fall...twin daughters of the mayor's sister. it was quite the affair in town that saturday night, though not as ridiculous as those mtv quincenera reality shows. we started in the church with a catholic mass. the girls, mariela and maricela, were followed in by a court of their 18 closest cousins. the mom's handmade all the dresses, just in the nick of time - they were finished the morning of the party.

...and then the evening was followed by a party...food, dancing, and a dance presentation by the girls .

little sara dancing with her cousin...
the mayor and his wife...

me and the mayor's son...

My 29th Birthday...was in November

For my 29th birthday friends Mariano and Edwuardo made me a special dinner...Mariano owns an eclectic little restaurant out of the first floor of his house. I spend evenings learning his knowledge of food,. and in return share food with him when i cook something new or different. my chocolate chip cookies are his favorite to date. Edwuardo helps him out making fresh juices - melon, sandia (watermelon), fresa, mango, tamarindo, maracuya (passionfruit), etc...

The Senior Class Trip I never Had...

I "chaperoned" my senior class english students on their end of year trip to the north coast - we spent half the day at Lancetilla, the national botanical gardens, and the other half of the day on the beach in Tela, Atlantida. The day started early at 4am on a yellow school bus - just when i thought i might get some sleep to be prepared for a day with 30 sixteen year olds, the bus driver started blasting bon jovi's greatest hits!!! guns n roses followed, and then metallica...
...one of the beautiful flowers at lancetilla. in march i will be spending 2 weeks living in a cabin in this park - i was invited to do a future plan for the grounds and will be working with their in house arborist who will guide me through their ideas about expansion and new plantings!

the bamboo walk - main entrance to lancetilla botanical gardens.









my students in the senior english class at colegio lorenzo cervantes









oscar. a little boy in tela. this community has a population of afro-creole people. oscar and his 3 little sisters followed me around until i finally gave in to one-braid in my hair and buying some pan de coco (coconut bread)