hn30.

so new pictures are up. check it out at the picasa site, by clicking to the right of this post.

alright, and now to the blog post. this entry will probably be updated and changed in a few days, but i thought i would write for now, and see where it takes me. the mood isn't exactly the best, as its raining and my cooperative is having issues, but you know, you do what you can and then sit back when there's nothing you can do.

anyway, the past week or so has been somewhat crazy. i spent 4 days mapping farms, and it took longer than expected, as always. right now, i am awaiting better weather conditions to continue working, but with the rains its hard to get reception, much less precision. and what good does it do me if every point has an error of 20 meters. however, the process is very interesting, and its giving me an opportunity to learn quite a bit about simple gis, which i think will come in handy in the future.

the horse is good, and riding him is becoming less and less of a chore every day. yesterday he made it all the way to the outskirts of town, with only a little arguing, and i think by the end of the week he will follow where he is told, and without question. the time is approaching to take him into corquin and get him fitted with a new gamaron, but that might have to wait til the end of january.

this weekend was quite difficult for me for a lot of reasons, and in some way discouraging, but one needs to be able to survive much in order to make it through two years of peace corps. one of my best friends from honduras, a fellow pam volunteer, left service this saturday, and his farewell get together was held in the capital. i went, and not only was the 10 hour bus ride tough, but seeing him go was even harder. its strange how attached people can get in just 3 months, but losing someone who provides support and advice at a time when its needed, is difficult. at least, he's left for better things, and hopefully he'll be happy in Colombia. as for us, the remaining 40 something h15ers, we're staying for now, although it will be interesting to see how many remain after christmas. its usually a tough time for all, especially those that go home and then have to return to their campo lives. and it's not that people can't handle the transition, its that the trip home allows for some reflection and comparison, and usually puts the final nail in the coffin of "early termination".

right now, everyone is anxiously awaiting new years, where many of us are going to Tela, on the north coast, to get away from our sites and get a little vacation. should be a blast. now i just gotta find someone to take care of the baby.