12.10.2010

hn56.

so, it's friday, and I just finished my first GIS/GPS workshop. and by finished, i mean finished teaching, not sitting in as a student. i didn't do it alone, in fact, i wouldn't even call myself principal facilitator or anything, but I would say I did a chunk of work. and i organized it more or less. so i'm fucking proud of myself. it went incredibly well, with 8 tecnicos and ingenieros leaving with a basic knowledge of ArcGIS and some pretty substantial understanding of mapping with a GPS. and we have the second, advanced, portion planned for january, and another 5 day workshop (for a much larger group) for february. that's what peace corps calls training of local capacities. BAM!!

12.06.2010

hn55.

it is so cold here you can see your own breath. now, usually, when you think of tropical south america you think rainforests, steamy jungle, people running around in sombreros and short sleeved collared shirts. at least, that's what it used to look like. but for the seventh day now, we have had a cold front move down from mexico (damn you mexico), and the temperatures have hovered around 12 degrees Celsius. what does that mean for all of you american friends of mine, it is around 50. but wait you say, 50 isn't so bad. and yes, that's true in the states where you have heaters and insulated houses. not so true in honduras, where there is no heat and everything is built with cinder block so once it gets cold, it fucking stays that way. for days. and what's worse is that the temperatures drop to 10 at night, or 40's, which then stays in the tiles and the walls and when you wake up to take the morning bathroom run, it becomes an excruciating experience. you can't escape it. and i thought, with me being russian and everything, that my blood would still boil at this temperature, and the constant percentage of vodka in my veins would keep me warm. well, i was mistaken. it seems that during the first few days all the vodka was used up, and now im running on just my body fat (which is around .5% according to my mirror). so basically without 3 or 4 layers, i am cold all the time.

now, with the knowledge you have just aquired, i would like you to imagine something else. imagine the same conditions but in delapitaded wooden shacks. imagine leaky roofs, uncomfortable mattresses, dirt floors, and a 5 minute walk to the nearest bathroom. imagine being 5 hours away from home, on someone else's property, for months, having to share one room with 20 other people, stuffed together like sardines in rickety wooden bunk beds that seem older than i am. and now that you have all of that in mind, imagine waking up in the morning at 5 am, picking coffee until 5 pm, and making 8-10 dollars for the effort (that's if you're a pro, a typical begginer makes 2-4 dollars). that's twelve hours of work with maybe 2 half hour breaks, and you make what a US mcdonalds employee makes in an hour. oh but, you have to pay for food, your 5 children, clothes, rubber boots, baskets for the coffee, travel (since you're far as fuck from home). and you're stuck here, because you didn't come in your own car, because you don't even own one, so you had to spend 5 hours in the back of a small truck with 20 other people, standing, while you rolled across the mountains at a snail's pace. oh and it was cold. did i mention that. and if it gets too cold you can't even pick coffee because your hands are so cold you can't feel the cherries right and you don't end up picking only ripe coffee. so you sit in your shack and pray that the cold goes away so you can afford a pound of beans and some corn...maybe an egg or two so you and your kids can make it until dinner without lunch.
now, after all of that, it's important to know that the typical coffee picker in this country does this from November to April, every day of the week. and there are almost no protections on this labor, no rights, just what the people are willing to put up with. most of which, i font think i could handle for one day. all because the costs have to be kept low, so the farmer who hired them can make enough to feed his family (because he only makes 1.00-1.50 $ a pound (of dried green coffee) after taxes and costs, if he's lucky) and all of that, because the exporter wants to make a dollar, the importer wants to make a dollar, the roaster wants to make a dollar, and finally because of us, the consumers, who aren't willing to pay for quality and just treatment. and you can say, well i pay 15 dollars for organic coffee at whole foods, and that's fine, but very little of those 15 dollars goes to the producer (and frequently its not even organic), and all the profit ends up in the hands of the middle men. and don't even get me started on starbucks or wherever it is that you go to get a cup of coffee, where you're told that its fair trade and sustainable. if you want to buy into that, go ahead, but i sure as hell ain't fooled.

12.03.2010

hn54.

well it seems that I have gone from writing almost every day, to writing once a week, and finally, now, to once a month. and I know its my fault because well, who else is there to blame? but for the time being there isn't much to say that hasnt been said before. work is coming along, with nothing exciting going on. i am supposedly giving a GIS workshop next week to a bunch of tecnicos, so if that happens, that should be a pretty good step up. otherwise, my dad just came, and that was pretty incredible. we climbed the tallest mountain in honduras in 9 hours, with enough water just to get to the top. it was grueling, painful, and all around awesome. most people told me it was not possible in 1 day, but bam, we were down off the mountain by 3 30. as for the rest of our adventures, we cliff dove, swam by a waterfall, hiked coffee farms, ate delicious seafood soup, swam in the ocean, and did a little bit of everything (and somehow i managed to work almost every day as well). so i think overall the trip was a success. next is the brother in january, so i'll see how that goes. the weather for now is crummy, with rain and cold temperatures all day. doesnt really help keep the mood in check, since this is about the time when everyone hits their second strong depressionary slump. i seem to be doing ok for now, but its hard to maintain oneself animated when everything is either on hold or going wrong. but hey, that's life, and if you can't deal here, how the hell will you deal when your career is on the line. right? well, that's basically it, if i think of anything else, ill be back, but i dont know when.

11.15.2010

hn53.

So, today I had a breakthrough, clear evidence that I am doing something right in terms of Peace Corps goals. I successfully transfered organization techniques to a group of people. To the max. And here's the short of it:
I have, in the last few months, organized a local group to participate in vocational courses (a little over 100 people). Now, most of the classes are planned for after the coffee season, but one was done this past week (Preventative Veterinary Basics). We had been planning it for almost a month, and although we had a few setbacks (one week the technico never showed up, the next the owner of the ranchito where we were going to do the class canceled), the course went down without a hitch. I had organized the whole thing, with help from a local coordinator, but the goal was for him to do the organizing. However, since we were in a rush, I thought it best for me to have a role. Well, now it's clear that I will not be necessary in the future. The people from the vet class have already planned another course with a different coordinator, and they already have the transportation, food, and housing lined up. So, BAM. The rest of the mini-class groups will get a little warm up training for me on organization of this type of vocational class, and then they will be on their own. Let's just see if this works out. But thats 1/1 so far. :)

11.05.2010

hn52.

so i'm sick, and it's cold and wet outside. a perfect opportunity to write about everything that is worth writing about, which i guess changes depending on the reader. in this case, i'll just go ahead and write about whatever.

1. halloween - so my favorite US holiday was spent this year in Copan Ruins, with about 150 intoxicated volunteers. that is an estimated number, but I definitely think we were up there. PC guatemala was also represented, so that probably even further added to the chaos. and overall it was pretty awesome, if you ignore the fact that on the morning of the costume party i woke up with a sore throat and a fever. by the time the actual even happened i was feeling completely awful, but i still braved the night, put on my chilean miner costume and made an appearance. that only lasted an hour though, as with every minute i felt my sickness bearing down on me. by 11:30 i was ready to go home, and i said my goodbyes to my booing friends, and went home. however there were some highlights to the trip
a. the canopy zipline was incredible. its about the closest thing to flying that i have ever tried, and it was quite an experience. some friends took photos and video, so if those ever hit the internet, ill be sure to link there.
b. the copan hot springs are incredible. tiered pools. mud bath. natural massage. rainforest. what else can you ask for. and it mostly made me feel better until we hit the road on the way back and our jalon took twice the time necessary, while it got dark and really cold. that probably didnt help my whole sick thing at all.
c. the food was incredible. we ate in as many places as possible, but the main point is that what we ate was rarely tipico. we had steak/avocado/creamcheese/focaccia sandwiches (which for some reason was called a red neck), breakfast burritos, three course meals, and all sorts of other fun things. i would go back just for the food. and not too expensive either, surprisingly.

2. work - well work and projects are coming along. garden meetings are over, and we still have 30 spaces for local families, but there are a few communities in the mountains that are interested, and if their leaders are willing to get trainings with me, then they're in. i have also been thinking that i may just do the leader/participant trainings all at once, two birds with one stone style, and that way save some time and ensure a little more transfer of info. we'll see.

worms are doing great, and it seems that this season i may actually do what i promised last year, depending on funding, which has been promised, but is delayed, over and over again.

the vocational courses are on hold, mostly because of coffee season, but also because of inefficient management on the part of the instructors. apparently they don't manage materials lists for their courses, they just remake them every time (by hand, with paper and pencil), even though they basically stay the same except for actual quantities. they also don't have them in digital, meaning that i have to go to see all of the tecnicos individually, and convince them to give me the lists. regardless, its a big clusterfuck, but understandably so. however, a few organizations have shown me interest in supporting the classes, so once i have the lists of what needs to be bought, i can start begging for money, YAY!!

finally, i have this new idea, which i have been toying with for some time. something about a conference. but since i havent ironed out all the details, im gonna hold off on talking about it until i have everything set.

other than that, that's basically it. lots of reading, lots of watching HBO, some work in my model garden (which is on pause now that i'm sick), and some working out (also on pause). Pretty boring, no?

in fact, this whole blog thing seems pretty lame for the time being, since nothing of note is happening, and the only people who seem to read it are my family. and i talk to them on the phone. so, im gonna take a break.

10.25.2010

hn51.

So I decided that I don't feel like writing much, and thus, I will tell my story in pictures. Or at least, the parts of it I can tell in pictures.

They're all mixed, so just bear with it.

Pic 1: This is Rene, he's one of my garden project community leaders. He's standing next to a compost bin he built himself of his own volition. Kick ass.
This is part of Don Neto's garden. Everyone's work coming along just fine, so there are a couple of these garden pictures. It seems for the time being that I taught them well, at least some of it. The rest they knew already. In fact, maybe I didn't teach them anything at all...
Pic 3: Ok so this flower I thought was awesome, especially because of it's constant erection.
Pic 4: This is what that coffee that I picked looks like now. More or less. Mad dry and mad tasty :)
Pic 5: This is a tomato plant at Arturo's model garden. Only 3-4 weeks since transplant, and it's huge!!!
Pic 6: This is a refrigerator that was converted into a compost bin. Yeah that's right, take that recycling.
Pic 7: Beats. In a model garden. I don't know, I'm proud of them. Kind of like grandchildren almost...


Ok, that's it for now. Oh, wait, one story.

So I went to meet with one of the communities participating in the garden project. 25 families in this particular town had signed up, and I went to explain all the details of the project and to get them to sign participation contracts with 4 little rules. Well, we started talking and one woman asked me about the distribution of her garden, and whether or not she could put one of the rolls of fencing to use for something else. Now, the point is, every family gets one roll. So i asked her how it was that she figured that she would get two. And her response was that she had two families living in her house (her's and her daughter's), therefore she should get two. And it turned out, that many families had signed up as 2 or 3 in order to get more material. So 25 turned into 12, in about 30 seconds. I didn't know what to do. I had never seen this before, not in any of the other communities, and no other place was so daring as to try to illicit more than they were intitled to. So now I have some extra spots open, and I'm not worried about filling them, but I was shocked. And they were all clearly explained to at the beggining that it was 1 roll per household. Apparently to them, a daughter who gives birth at 16 and stays living at home is considered a separate household. Since when? And how come no one in any of the other communities with their 10 children ( and even grandchildren) per family thought so...

yeah, that's it. it may not seem like much to you guys, but i felt cheated. but hey, you live and you learn. now, i'll make sure to make those kinds of things much clearer for the future. :P

10.14.2010

hn50.

Ok, so first and foremost, this is my 50th entry in Honduras. Or at least, I think so. Regardless, let's just get on with it. Life is awesome. For now, I think that's basically it. Just had my mid term visit, where my my PTS, or Program Training Specialist, AKA boss, came to check out my work. We ended up sitting in meetings the whole time, but it was an awesome time, lots of future work got planned, some strong working relationships were formed, and all-in-all, I think it went well.
Work-wise, things are going well, although currently very slowly. Proposals are awaiting approval, solar panels are coming in December, and the coffee season is slowing things down all over. But, it all comes as a blessing, since I'm definitely in need of a break, and I can use the time to get involved in other things, smaller but equally exciting projects, and in the end stay equally occupied but less stressed out.
Oh, and the coffee experiment is moving right along. Although I'm not sure how it will turn out, because it hasn't been really sunny these days, and the coffee is drying in the shade, which may damage the quality. I guess I won't know until it's all over anyway. Here are a few shots of the process.


10.10.2010

hn49.

So I have decided to start a little experiment, and I think it should be interesting to see how it all pans out. I will make a cup of coffee from scratch, and I mean the scratchiest scratch. I will pick the coffee, dry it myself (se llama cafe melado), depulp it, roast it, grind it, and finally drink it. I thought this would be easy, but after starting yesterday, it seems it may be harder than I think. For two hours I picked coffee in my host dad's farm, and only picked enough for a third of a bucket, which is worth 10 Lempira, or about 50 cents. So 2 hours of work=50 cents. Pretty good for a university grad (one redeeming fact is that only a small portion of the coffee is ripe enough for pciking, which makes the process much longer). For now, its drying, so we'll see what happens. Here are some photos.


So, I will keep you guys updated with the progress of my beans. Let's see if I can make coffee. Maybe at the end I can even plant a few, making the cycle complete.




9.21.2010

hn48.

where do i start? there's so much to say since i last wrote, but to be honest, most of it is pretty boring so i'll summarize what i can, and then drone on about something that some of you may find interesting. and if not, well fuck it, at least i tried.

work is good. i've been busier this month than ever before. i usually have 1 training session (for farmers doing organic model gardens for my food security project), 1 meeting, and 50-100 phone calls to make ever week. i think 80 in one day is my record currently, but as my CCC grows (that little organization that i organized for community-wide development projects) i have to call more and more people for meeting reminders and things.
the solar panel project is getting into it's final stages, with all participants in agreement, the mayor's approval signed and taken to the bank (that's almost 90 thou, baby!), we're ready to install by december. 43 systems in total is the final number. 6 public buildings (3 schools and 3 community centers) and 37 houses. not bad right?
gardens are good too. so far over 180 families have applied for the project, and still i get daily phone calls and house visits, looking to sign up.
there's more brewing, but i'm gonna let it go. i don't want to bore you guys just yet.
anyway, the whole point of this thing today is that i want to share a little cultural idiosyncrasy that i have recently discovered. to be honest, it has been a running theme in my peace corps career that just recently showed its ugly head, and made me realize something absolutely fundamental about the peace corps experience. it's all about trust. confianza.
when we started training, we heard that word a lot. but many of us, including myself, brushed it off. "it can't be that hard to get people to trust you enough to play with their lives," we all thought, "i mean, we're here to do good things, right?"
and when i got to site and found myself welcome in everyone's house, smiled at by every passing individual, and apparently loved by the people of my community, the concept of personal trust drifted further and further away from my mind. but over the months that i have lived in Honduras, in my community, I have come to see how important confianza really is. And how to get anything accomplished on a community level you need to earn your stripes.
1 example. meetings. when i started in capucas and called my first meeting of the 42 current organic producers of the cooperative, only 7 people showed up. Now, when i call a meeting of 10 people, i get 10, or if i call 30, i at least get 25. sometimes people bring friends and i even get more than i awaited. and it's not like i'm giving out free cookies or something at these shindigs. apparently these people care about what i have to say. :P
2 example. politicians are notorious in this country for absolute corruption and failing their constituency. look at the roads. or education system. or energy system. or...well you get the picture. and the people know this. but they still vote, argue about issues, and the politicians keep making promises. what's interesting tho, is that most people have a very conscious distrust for any statement made by politicians. and sadly, this mistrust is then transferred to other public figures, government employees, NGO workers, everyone. because when someone shows up at your doorstep promoting something, you always ask, "what's the catch?"
3 example. and this is the recent one. so, for the solar panel thing, the price per system went up. had to do with the bidding for the installation, but i won't go into details. the important detail is, it went up, 25 dollars per system. to you that may seem insignificant, but when your yearly monetary income can drop below a hundred dollars (thats 28 cents a day), its quite a chunk of change. and to no surprise some people were pretty upset. angry to be honest. a few even accused me of taking that money for myself, and using it for personal benefit. how do you jump to that conclusion? i mean, look at me! i'm harmless. and i had just spent 7 months working on this project, coming up there, talking to everyone, really, is that necessary? and at first that was my reaction. and then i realized, it's not their fault, it's cultural. so i went up there, had a meeting with everyone, and answered all their questions. and you know what? not a single complaint.
it's all about trust. and showing all your cards. complete transparency. and that throws people off, because they have different expectations. they think that no matter what you say, there's something you're hiding. but if you're honest, and give everything you've got, and show that you are willing to sacrfice yourself for their benefit, the whole mentality changes. attitudes flip, frowns turn into smiles (yeah i used that cliche, so eat me), and the whole situation appears to morph in front of your eyes.
this doesn't mean that everyone in town is willing to give me their first born or anything. people aren't trusting me with their finances. but at least for the basics, people care. and when i speak in public, they seem to listen at least 40-60%. and that's heavy. pretty awesome.

yeah i think that's it. i wrote this in two sittings, so some of my energy changed as i wrote. regardless, you're gonna have to live with it.

9.02.2010

hn47.

i left my house today to do some GIS work for the cooperative, a project that I have been involved in since I arrived here in site. the work involves mapping each parcel that pertains to certified farmers, in order to be able to demonstrate to inspectors the extent of property, locations of letrines, garbage cans, etc. usually its pretty monotonous, with hour long hikes along perimeters of fairly boring farms, with parts as steep as 45 deg. the climbing of the hills could be fun, but there's usually little scenery, and too much of one's concentration goes towards trying not to fall on one's ass.
However, today, well today was different. In fact, it was one of the most incredible experiences I have had in Peace Corps and maybe in life. Def top 25. If there was an MTV special on the life of DIMITRY this would be in there, with some comedians joking about all the little adventures. Regardless, here's the story, I know I won't do it justice but hey, whatever.

we started the hike at the entrance to the farm, a small grove of cedars that my host uncle has been cultivating for years now. the maderables, or timber yielding trees, are a hobby of his, and the whole property is covered in various species, with ceibas, cedars, guamas, and many others. most are juveniles, with only 2 or 3 years of growth, but still, they are already reaching 30 feet in height.
as we crossed the grove, i realized that the incline of his land was even steeper than expected, and soon enough we were slowly falling (you could not call what we were doing climbing or walking) down the steep clay terrain. the close we got to the river that borders his property, the steeper it became. at the end, a 75 degree incline prevented our decent, and we climbed through trees and down vines to arrive at the riverbed.
here the trip became much easier, and much more beautiful. as we walked along the rocks we entered an almost pristine forest that my uncle has been preserving ever since he recieved the property from his father. and it was forest then too, so at least 80 years left untouched. it looks as jungle does in indiana jones movies. deep underbrush, tall tropical trees, filled with butterflies, beetles, and a spongy floor, as soft as a sleepy's matres (leave off the last s for savings, lol).
we then turned onto a small stream that runs through the forest and marks the border of his property. now we were really in it, climbing over fallen trees, getting caught in vines of all sizes, and finally we arrived at a natural spring that my uncle is extremely proud of. to be honest, it's quite incredible. water comes out of the rock, crystal clear, with a sweet flavor like no other water. he's thinking of building a small pool there for tourists, so maybe if any of you come visit, you can take a swim in it one day.
we took a drink and continued walking. as the stream cut deeper and deeper into the rock it became a dark tunnel, with vegetation above and cliff faces on both sides at points 5-10 meters tall. we reached a point, and my uncle said, "you know, i have never, in my life, walked past here. i know there is a small pool up above but i dont think i have ever seen it." and he was right. but it was no small pool. as we reached the clearing we found ourselves staring at a waterfall and an 8 foot deep, 10 foot wide natural pool, with a small underwater cave going off to the side. it was paradise. we sat for a moment and then the clothes came off (til boxers, don't worry I'm not gettin naked just yet) and we both dove in. and although the water was freezing we swam for a good chunk of time, trying to touch the bottom, diving into the cave to see if we could touch the walls. it was absolutely incredible.
once we were out and dressed, we began the ascent towards the road and the end of the property. but we underestimated the true path of the stream, and found ourselves clinging to vines and climbing of completely vertical cliffs. fallen trees were our bridges, small seedlings and rocks our handholds, and luckily our rubber boots held tight to the slippery walls. within a few meters of the first pool we found another, equally deep and large. we continued further to find other little waterfalls, small draps of 5 feet. the whole place was unreal, very cinematic. as we reached the top we realized that it has started raining a long time before, but due to the thick canopy we had not felt a drop. in the end, as we walked out of the finca, we were soaked, smiling, and chatting happily about all of the trips we'll be taking to the pools now that we know they're there.

i think however, the craziest part of the experience was that it was somewhere so close to home, yet completely unknown to me and the owners. how do you have property and not know every inch of it? but i guess you learn something new every day right?

8.16.2010

new photos people. go to the my photos link to the right. peace.

8.04.2010

hn46.

its funny that i always want to start my journal entries with "its been a while". its as if i feel guilty to you guys, even though this blog is for me as much as it is for you. regardless, my bad. its been a while. maybe im actually apologizing to myself? anyway.

life is the shit. hands down, all is good in the hood. 100%. well maybe not 100%, but close. so let's see...

it seems all the projects i'm working on, from small to big, are making progress. and that's pretty excellent. the worms are alive and well, making fertilizer and living their happy lives of food and sex. they seem happy in their pulp beds, although if i could find some sort of worm viagra i would be real happy too, they need to munch less and bang more. i wish i could tell them. i guess it's my fault for not following a basic rule of ecology. but hey, they're alive and making the best organic fertilizer around, so i'm content.
solar panels are moving along full swing. we collected the first half of the household contribution from all the participating families. that money in turn will be passed on to the contract bid winner, a company that will install the systems up in the mountains. now all that's left is to train the community members in organization techniques, community energy system management, and solar power basics. i think we will also be setting up the monthly bill structure, training electricians in the town, and well...kicking ass. 44 families, 6 public buildings. that's pretty awesome. in november the panels come, by christmas they're all installed, and by new years i can celebrate.
the garden project is also doing it's thing. all of it got a little hectic when USAID tecnicos told me that they are on contract only until Sept. 30, so that means that we need to try to collaborate as much as possible, and have mad training sessions, while the connection exists. supposedly these contracts are frequently renewed for the next cycle, but i don't want to count my eggs too early. so we are going to be doing 10 model gardens, paid for in part by the mayor (supposedly, not confirmed yet...so cross your fingers) and by USAID (trainings, maybe seeds). we just did a day in the field with the latter, viewing some of their installations in other communities, and it seems like they will be an incredible ally in the achievement of our goals.
and then there's always the work with the cooperative, which is moving along slowly but surely in the background. the gps mapping project is rolling again, and now i have trained two local youths how to handle a GPS, so they're pretty much doing it without me. i still make the maps themselves, but i think i'm going to try to teach the basics of some of the locally available software to them. otherwise, there's the upcoming certification in sept/oct, an ecotourism project that's in the works, and the constant effort to improve production techniques among the coffee farmers. i have been somewhat slacking on the last one, but then again, we do talk about it a lot casually, so maybe i'm making some sort of small impact.
and i think that's that for work. sounds busy, but it's really not so bad. i still have plenty of time to see my friends, share experiences, eat some non-campo food, and maybe go out once in a while.
so not only do i feel productive, i also enjoy quite a large amount of freedom. this may be a fluke though, and the whole thing will come crashing down one of these days, but i'm staying optimistic. so far it's only been getting better every day.

7.28.2010

so here's the break down, ill make it short and sweet.

news:
solar panel project is moving, money about to be collected, panels should be installed by december, and 45 families, 3 schools, and 3 churches, will have light. for 20 years. sweet right?

worms are about to get a 1,500 dollar investment for structural improvements, so...sweet right?

just started a garden project that will benefit a possible total of 2000 people directly. thats right. 2000. 200 home gardens, with an average of 8-10 people per household, so...sweet right?

doing mapping with some local youths, teaching them gps usage, and maybe some software stuff later once we get to that point. kinda sweet right?

started working with the local school on their garden, so we'll see where that goes. not sure how sweet it is yet, so we'll hold of on our judgement.

organized a group that consists of all of the community leaders, and we started planning community projects at the whole community level, not just neighborhoods. so that's pretty dope too.

a week ago i was told that i dance like a latino. take that all of you who have ever told me i can't dance. these hips don't lie bitches.

and for the time being that's it. im not in a mood to write much, but i feel obligated to share, so here it is. questions?

7.12.2010

hn45.

ok, so time to dish it out again. this time, i think i have found a way to keep my thoughts in order, keep them fresh until i write again here. i have started jotting one or two word notes, little memory-joggers that allow me to reflect upon the whole week, or at least the past few days. in this case there are three topics, three little vignettes that you guys can enjoy, or not, depending on your disposition. i'll mix it up too, that way the serious stuff is nicely sandwiched between two nicely toasted funny stories, or at least, funny in my mind.

size 32 pants-

ok, so this is a new crusade of mine. it's hard to say when it began, but I had never known the true extent of my situation until i actively began to search for a pair of jeans last month. you see, peace corps teaches you that owning two pairs of pants, both dirty and torn, is ok, because when you live in the campo you don't really need much else. but if you ever want to go out, get a bite to eat in a nice establishment, goo to a meeting with important NGO people, you always feel out of place. and to be honest, at first, i was damn proud of being a gringo from the campo, and showing up dirty to a fancy restaurant was somewhat of an honor. but now, well, now i want a clean pair of jeans to go along with the rest of my wardrobe that frequently doesn't really match with a pair of cow-shit-stained jeans. anyway, so i went jeans shopping in santa rosa, and that is when i first got a taste of the phenomenon that i will now call the "32 dilemma". you see, no matter what brand of pants, what style, what width, all of the jeans that are sold in santa rosa, are 32 length. that's great for anyone of that size, the world becomes your infinite oyster, but for the rest of us, the 31s, 30s, 28s, and well, anyone other than a 32, that's a problem. the funny thing is, i don't really know many hondurans that are taller than me, in fact, i don't know any, which means that not a single pair of jeans that a honduran dons in his existence, fit. at least not at first. what i was told by all the sales people is that everyone gets them tailored to size, to which i raised an eyebrow and all i could ask is...people tailor jeans? well apparently they do. but i wasn't ready to give up just yet. i thought, maybe it's just santa rosa, its a tiny town, and it actually makes sense that the stores wouldn't order anything else. when everyone fits into your one-size-fits-all pants, and they can just be altered, there's no problem right? so i thought, i will go to san pedro sula, the industrial capital of the country, and try my luck at the mall, where therich of honduras go to shop. they still have cheap pepe jeans there, and they should have different sizes because, well the rich would never put up with that kind of shit. and guess what, i was not only mistaken, but to such a degree that i was blown away. i tried 5 stores, 2 of them major international department chains, and only 1, just 1 had pants in different lengths. except that they were levis, and for the low price of 70 dollars a pair. now i earn maybe three times that in a month, so, levis were out of the question. finally i gave up, went home pantsless, or just dirty, and decided that until both my pairs of pants disintegrate i will never buy another pair of jeans. so yeah, thats that.

-jealousy

ok so this is the serious topic, but i will make it short. so for those of you who know me, i am not a jealous person. i could give a shit. i'm sometimes envious of other people, but it's usually brief, and i come to my senses quickly. but there is something in my life here which somehow every time strikes a nerve. and it's totally silly to even think this way, but i can't help it. so basically it's this, many peace corps volunteers are super busy. and it always flips on the envy switch for me to maximum. i want to work. i want to work all the time. and right now, i basically am busy maybe half the time. and to be honest, it's horrible. its suffering for me. im here to work god damn it, and frequently it just doesn't happen. so i feel guilty, which then turns into envy, which makes me feel worse, and finally i snap out of it, but it always leaves this thick residue in my psyche. i guess it's motivational, but regardless, it sucks. that's it, just wanted to share that.

-acid

ok, so this is a story so rediculous and absurd, i thought it worth mentioning. so i'm at a hotel in santa rosa this one time, and i'm sittin around with my friends, gettin ready to go out for some pizza. i open the door to go into the hallway and i am hit with this smell, something heavy and acrid, and i look down to hall and find myself staring at pools of liquid that are, like, steaming, smoking, or evaporating in a visible way. regardless the shit is so toxic, that it fills your mouth, your nose, your lungs, and it feels as though it is burning you from the inside out. you can almost feel your cells screaming. so we all jump out of the room, slam the door, and take another connected hallway to the stairwell. as we arrive we find some cleaning women looking at the hallway as the tiles seem to melt away beneath the pools of noxious liquid. so i figured, i'd ask, maybe they know whats going on.
-so what is that stuff?
-its acid.
-umm...what's it doing on the floor?
-well the floor was dirty, for quite some time, so we figured we'd get it really clean.
by the way this is all said in a very matter of fact way, as if regular cleaning supplies are out of the question, and an old fashioned floor washing just doesnt exist
-what kind of acid?
-just acid, what does it matter.
-what about protective equipment, we almost suffocated when we came out of the room, and you guys are just chillin in it?
-no we dont need that, its fine, no worries, move along.
so yeah, and thats how it ended. we got back that night and the floor had that typical acid slick on it, with our shoe soles slowly melting away with every step.

7.08.2010

hn44.

time to resume the old format, get back into the groove. i'm back bitches. that's all i got to say. in all meanings of the term, or phrase. i am back in my site, after some large amount of time away, and i feel like my batteries have been truly recharged. the trip to the states left me a little burnt out, even though it was supposed to be a vacation, so my 4th of july escape was necessary. so before i go any further, lets talk about that.
honduras only has, to my knowledge, one micro brewery, located on the shore of the largest lake in the country. D and D brewery, in Naranjito, is a gringo oasis, with hash browns, blueberry pancakes, tasty beer (apricot, raspberry, pale ale, you name it), a pool, and well, the isolation and freedom that some of us look for in a country where everyone and anyone knows your every move. so we let loose, hung out with some peace corps nicaragua people, and had an amazing time. but i think the highlight of the trip was our trip to the nearby waterfall, the name of which i can not recall at the moment. i can't go into too much detail at this moment because my dad will be visiting and i want it to be a surprise, but i tell you this, if you want to do some crazy shit in your life, come to this waterfall. its not hard to find.
alright moving on, back to life in capucas. first and foremost, i sold my horse. he is now in the possession of a long distance local family member, an uncle or something, who is actually a horse trainer, and has the property and resources to truly take care of him. so i'm happy. well to be honest, not happy, but i think that will take some time. it's like giving a kid up for adoption, you feel like a douchebag, but you know it's for the best. it's gonna be weird not to have to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn to go feed him, but hey, more sleep means a much happier relaxed demetrio.
as for work, i think i am slowly getting what peace corps is all about. these coming months i plan to organize everyone here into one meeting, just to sit down and talk and recognize that we all have common goals. because in the end, that's what's holding people back. everyone thinks that all work thats done at the end is for someone's personal benefit, but that's not even remotely true. and as they say here, "un pueblo unido nunca será vencido" - a town united will never be conquered or beaten. and it's true. nothing can be truly accomplished on a community scale until at least everyone knows what's going on. and that's the start. after that, well, we'll see. maybe things will work. maybe they wont. and if they dont well, i'm gonna go buy a guitar this weekend, which should take up some time. alright, for the time being, that's all i got. i had things i wanted to write about, but they escape me at the moment. maybe if some of you readers were more active i would be a little more descriptive.
oh wait, one thing. i've been thinking about this a lot, i have been advertising it to everyone, and now i put it out here publicly: read the book SHANTARAM. it may change your perception of life, the universe, and everything. maybe. it sure did for me. i'm still not done, but i'm close, and, well yeah. check it out. let me know what you think.
i will start writing more as well. that's a new goal. put down my thoughts, not just commentary on whats going on. alright, so yeah. im done.

6.26.2010

ok, so long time huh? well i'm back, back to the blog, back to honduras, back to my life for the next year and change. i spent 2 weeks in the states, which I guess requires some comments, thoughts, reflection, whatever. my brother got married, which was incredible, so congrats big homie. the wedding was held on his property in the middle of the redwoods, a simple but beautiful ceremony, with friends, family, and many wonderful people I had not met before that day. we had spent days preparing, putting candles everywhere, stretching lights between trees, decorating, and everything else that is part of a faerie woods wedding (if you know the bride, you get what I mean). i think this was the first time i had ever partied with my brother on this level. at least, we had never done the russian kicking cossack dance together before, and well, my brother split his pants, so it must have been good. all of you who have my facebook can see the pictures, and giggle. i wrestled two people, won once, jumped on my dad, and had a rowdy time. but hey, its a russian wedding, what do you expect. although interestingly enough, more tequila was drank than vodka, which i guess is a sign of our slow but sure personal development. as for the rest of california, i spent much of it eating. everything. sushi, steak, sandwiches, cookies, ice cream, bacon, everything. i gained 5 pounds. which is awesome. although to be honest, when you are as food deprived as I am, you begin dreaming about flavors, textures, everything, and when you finally get there, it's never how you imagined. i guess my mind makes better grub than professional chefs do, too bad i can't make it all materialize. but i did thoroughly enjoy all of my culinary excursions, so no complaints, and thanks to all who provided me company (you know who you are) . and after a week of running around like a mad man, i changed states, went to jersey, and kept on running. much of jersey was spent with my friends, the rest with family, some professors, and basically it was a hyper-social experience. it was interesting to see how little and how much things had changed in just a year, and it was definitely a trip, in all the different meanings of the word. i also ate a lot in jersey, more sushi, fat sandwiches, pizza, subs, everything. if you don't know what a fat sandwich is, well go to new brunswick, and you can ask around, and have the most incredible heart stopping eating experience in existence. i won't even go into it, because words can not do a fat sandwich justice. only a fat sandwich can do a fat sandwich justice, and even then, if you dont finish it, you haven't reached true enlightenment. i even got to see the shore, which was just as guido as i left it. the most interesting and, at the same time awful part of my trip, was my realization about the USA that can only come after living a year abroad in the developing world. the word waste is not even sufficient to describe it. just look at an in-flight magazine, the one with all the shopping, and you will know what i mean. who really needs a nose trimmer/laser pointer/spatula combo? or a garden gnome that also doubles as a cooler/stereo/laser pointer. all the things in there seem to have lasers, so maybe thats a trend i missed while i was away, but still. you get my point. who the fuck needs all that shit (sorry for my language, but i really am that concerned). people live with so much more than they need, more than they even want at any one point. it's as if everyone is constantly buying just in case, like, just in case you need a garden gnome with a laser pointer, you never know right? and everything comes triple packaged, double sealed, with a box around a bag (mom, you'll get that reference), and in the end, you don't even need the thing. and it's worse than that. i have come to honduras to help with development, but i look around here, and people dont nearly do as much damage as we do back home. so they throw garbage out of the bus windows, we have a garbage dump the size of texas floating in the pacific. and that's just one example. in the states, we have access to so much, so much that could be diminishing the impact we have on climate change, ecosystem degradation, and we do nothing. i know that this is a cliche argument, and every environmentalist and his grandmother have said it, but the true understanding only comes when you leave. when you see how other people live, and think. how can we encourage development, with a clean conscience, when we ourselves don't practice what we preach. i guess its pre-emptive, we are trying to prevent the creation of more USAs. and maybe that's not so bad. but then the question comes up, why don't we do something about it at home? why don't we make everyone put solar panels on their roofs? or make everyone drive a hybrid? or require snack companies to use less bags per bag (you know what i mean by that)? or create more co-gen plants, or some other garbage management system that actually works? or plant more trees? or clean our water, our air, everything? what the fuck? and to be honest, i could rant for hours, but instead i'm going to go and read, learn, and maybe actually change one of the things i mentioned. you never know, someone's gotta save the world right?

5.29.2010

rainy season. at once wonderful and awful. the promise of life, the revival of all growing things, brings a joy to the hearts of all in the Honduran campo. corn can be planted, zacate grows quicker, and everything begins to swell and grow ripe. but the constant wetness, the grey skies, the lack of sun, heat, and clarity bring a certain sadness into the air. clothes are constantly humid, rain boots become a necessity, and leaving the house grows into a task instead of a joy. it is amazing how a change in weather can inflict a change in lifestyle so quickly. and this is another reason I don't think i could ever spend my entire life in a country like Honduras. 3 months straight of rain would bring about depression every time, and slowly but surely i would probably lose the only marbles i have left. and although it's not much, but i prefer to be somewhat sane to being completely lost in dark brooding thoughts. and sure, one can say, it's all in your head, rain is life, it's a happy time. of course it is, but not when it happens every day, week upon week, with no end in sight, and everything begins to mold and rot, including the mind. i don't know how they do it here, how they maintain their smiles, but they do. that's for damn sure.

5.21.2010

i saw a dead guy today. not like sixth sense, "i see dead people" kind of dead guy, not casper the friendly ghost or anything like that. no, a real dead guy. i was on my way to santa rosa when my jalon slowed down. i took out my headphones, and stood up in the back of the pick-up to see what was going on. up ahead, a police barricade was slowly being erected, and a line of cars was quietly streaming by, with people hanging out of their windows curiously looking ahead. so i joined the masses in their quest for answers, and looked on with no idea of what was to come. as i watched the police officers tape off the area, i noticed up ahead, about 25 meters in front of me a pair of shoes, which i soon realized were connected to feet, legs, a torso, and a head. a person, lying in the road. blood was streaming from his head, and he lay there, uncovered, for the bulging eyes of the onlookers to gawk at. i had never seen a dead person before, and i looked on with a morbid curiosity. the saddest thing, and this is what really scares me, is that it had almost no effect on me. i don't know if it's years of action movies, or killing millions of nazis in video games, but this poor guy had absolutely no impact on me. i expected my stomach to turn, my heart to sink, at least my eyes to close on instinct, but nothing came. and my ride rolled by, the driver and other passengers with the same reaction as me. as we drove further, we found the cause of the accident. a bus was parked along the road with the man's bicycle crushed beneath the front tire. it seems that the dead guy, sorry dead guy but i don't even know your name, it seems he was riding in the middle of the lane in the morning, when the bus, coming from the opposite direction, decided to pass a car while in a curve and going uphill. a bad combination. as the bus reached the hills summit, the byciclist did the same, and the result was, well you already know. the worst part is, no one will probably be arrested or jailed for this. no one will act as a witness, testify, or even care. because, and here's the saddest part, life is worth very little here. people die in accidents, get killed by jealous boyfriends, get chopped up by machetes for absolutely nothing, and people just keep on going. they say, what a shame. but that's it.
oh and here's the kicker. in the time that i have lived here, at least three people have died on the same exact 50 foot stretch of highway. but no one even thinks to put up a no passing sign, paint some lines on the road, maybe fix the road, or really do anything about it to prevent it from happening again. the last guy was on a motorcycle and was left so unidentifiable, that they had to use the motorcycle's registration to figure out who it was. and for the same reason too. someone tried to pass without any visibility, and ended up taking the life of somebody's son, or husband, or father. to be honest, it scares the shit out of me, but the worst part is, that there is nothing to be done about it. you just gotta keep on moving, taking the same road because there are no others, and hope that you wont be in a car as a passenger when some asshole does the same thing. i add this not so that my parents worry, or my friends, or peace corps staff, but its just a reality all around honduras. there are no traffic laws that are really enforced, no signs, no lines on the highway. it's like russian roulette, with cars instead of bullets, and sometimes more than one person with the barrel pointed at their head.

there's more that i was going to write, things about life, work, the horse, and whatnot, but after having written what I just did, I need to clear my head and take some time to think. maybe seeing the dead guy did have some sort of impact on me that just stayed dormant until now. everything otherwise is good tho, and soon, just within a few weeks, i will be on american soil for 2 weeks, so get ready.

5.05.2010

it's wed, and i spent the morning on horseback. at this point, all of my projects are moving along, although somewhat slowly, and i feel as though i am finally accomplishing something. and even if i accomplish only 1 thing, one tiny thing, then 2 years of peace corps will be worth it. right now, i am running out of fingers for all my small accomplishments, starting the count on my toes. and the amazing thing is, all the volunteers around me are equally, if not more, successful. left and right, community businesses, organizations, schools, medical centers, churches, women's groups, and the communities themselves are growing, improving, and learning with us. the exchange is incredible, and what's interesting is that every little action, every interchange, counts. it's not much, but it definitely gets the job done.
as for me, let's go step by step. turbine project is one. probably the most important one, not because of its benefit to people, but because of its benefit to me. yeah that's right, totally selfish. but it's a dream. it's moving along at exactly the pace i expected. due to the conflicting schedules of people, lack of accessibility to the area, and immensity of the project, we are still in the initial steps, but there's constant progress. an local engineer, representative of a german development organization, is coming on saturday to inspect the water source, take professional measurements, and tell me whether or not the project is possible. and i know his answer already, but i would like to hear it from him. then we go to another organization, this time local, who will act as a third party in our collaboration with los alemanes. basically, it looks like we have the right group together, now let's see if we can bring electricity to 25 families in the middle of the mountains. that means 500 trees saved a year due to electric stoves (they burn to cook now, they wont have to after), another 10-20 due to lightbulbs, and countless hours of extra time. i think after that, i can sleep easy at night forever.
solar panels are another. that's right, im into that shit too. at this moment, 35 families in the same mountain as the aforementioned community will be getting a whole solar panel system, with battery, converter, wiring, energy saving lightbulbs, car lighter chargers, dc/dc units, the whole shebang. that means lights, tvs, radios. some trees saved, some time saved, some novellas watched. pretty sweet. but i didn't have to do much for that so far. although i organized the original meeting and facilitated the reunion, the real effort falls on a local NGO. but i'll be with them every step of the way. planning, installing, training. right now, i have already attended a workshop on basic electric systems and solar panel installation, and next week, part 2. complex system design and installation. should be dope. plus free hotel and food for three days/nights. so yeah, that's project 2.
worms. still chillin with the wrigglers. but it's slow, slower than i expected, and now i think all we can do is wait. we need the population to double about 4-5 times, which can last well over 6 months. which is actually good timing, because that means that by next coffee season, we will have enough worms to process all the pulp quickly and efficiently. so although it wasn't ready in time for this year, it should be good by the next temporada. and our worms are big bastards. thick, long...yeah anyway. the point is, i've seen other set-ups, and they all have tiny little skinny buggers. so yeah, my worm is bigger than yours.
gardens, still waiting.
eco-tourism, starting.
housing improvements, something that just popped out of the blue, and hey, may turn out to be awesome. who wouldn't feel good about rebulding the houses of 10 families with habitat-honduras, a local NGO that does just that...build houses.
and now i get to my personal project, the horse. ruso. i've been thinkin about this a while, and i almost considered selling him due to the costs and time investment that i sometimes can't provide. and then today happened. this takes us back to the beggining.
it's wed and i spent the morning on horseback. i rode around for a while talking to carpinters, getting ideas on cabin construction for the eco-tourism project, and then i decided: time to have a little fun. so i took ruso on a ride to the nearby town of yaonera. i think thats how you spell it. anyway. we're riding along, sometimes gallop, sometimes slow. it's hard to run downhill, and sometimes you just don't feel like holding on to your hat. anyway, i reach the entrance to the town and decide to turn around. i figured, i covered the distance necessary so, why not go back. as i start the return, i hear a sound behind me as a guy on a horse, and another on a mule, round the corner at full gallop. now, turns out mules can run. not super fast, but definitely faster than i ever imagined. so i think, hmmm...as they pass me i squeeze ruso with my boots, and he springs into full speed. and a horse is not like a car or motorcycle. when you squeeze, they go. no rev, no acceleration, the muscles just tense up, and like a slingshot, all of a sudden you are propelled forward. i catch them as the slope drops, and all of us slow down to prevent an accident. horses aren't made to run downhill, it's a balance thing. they can do it, but it's dangerous, and at any moment they can lose balance and slip or flip or fall. basically it sucks. so we slow down, exchange smiles and knowing glances like two guys in hot rods at a stop-light. as the slope levels out we all bend forward, and go into a gallop again. the mule falls back but the other horse keeps up for some time. and as i lean into ruso, we start pulling away at a speed altogether new for me, and the last thing i hear from the guy behind me: "god please dont let there be a car around the corner". and luckily there wasn't. we both turn left and slow down again due to the incline.
"that's a beautiful horse you got there man" says my new friend.
"thank you sir, igual"
"sure can run"
"your's too"
"not like that"
we start chatting and ride on for a few seconds when the guy on the mule catches up to us.
"damn dude, what a potro (stallion)"
we exchange stories of our animals. turns out they train horses and mules, and the mule they have with them was given to them by someone to work on. sweet mule. never thought i'd say that. we decide to race one last time, a flat stretch, a curve, and a hill to climb at the end. i fly forward and reach the hill top in less than 30 seconds. i turn around, and my mouth drops to the ground. the other horse is close, and chasing the horse is the mule, with the saddle dragging behind, and the rider coming in last. turns out mule guy didn't tighten his saddle, and when the mule rounded the corner the saddle slipped, and he fell. jumped. a little of both. it's amazing he survived. sloppy, not to tighten your saddle prior to riding. i got down, helped him with his cinchas, and all three of us rode off together. it was incredible. they told me i should race him. i think i will. can't sell him anymore can i?

4.26.2010

so yeah, with a birthday behind me, and a new year ahead, i am pretty damn excited. things seem to be working out just fine, even though periodic hurdles require...well hurdling. i think thats the correct verb. regardless, things are on the up and up. i have internet at home now, thanks to TIGO. so if you want to chat with me, gmail chat and facebook chat should be on pretty regularly. i am right now workin on multiple project proposals, doing some research, and basically being a desk monkey for the next few days. and friday, well friday i get my new pair of cowboy boots. first pair in my life, and hopefully they will last me until panama.
in other news, it seems the renewable energy project is lookin good. a local NGO, in collaboration with an international one called GTZ, is interested in providing solar panels for the communities in the mountains where hydroelectric installations are not permitted due to national park law. the people will only have to pay the cost of the battery, which is a little expensive, but at the same time, if they can't pay it now, how will they be able to pay it in 5 years when the battery needs replacing? right now, 9 families have already agreed to the terms, and thats only from one town. another village refused all together, because they were expecting something free. and the last town is doing the survey now, but it seems that at least 80% will be interested.
as for petatillos, well next week the engineer will be coming to investigate the water source, measure head and flow, and then hopefully, fingers crossed, the turbine project will be underway. two weeks ago my counterpart from the town, the evangelical preacher, got a chance to go to a workshop on turbine management, all expenses paid. so that made me feel pretty good. he had never even been to that part of the country, or stayed in a hotel...so, i think that gives me some brownie points.
the horse is doing well, bit training is coming along, and i think within a few weeks i will finally have a normal fully trained stallion. fuck yeah. time to race with some locals and show off. there's this special race they do here where the riders have to hook a raised ribbon with a pencil (or similar object) at full speed at the finish, and so, i think that will be the format. i think i have a pretty good chance. i'll let you guys know if i lose miserably.
and finally as for my 24th, well it was spent in solitude. just how i wanted. it would have been nice to get together with friends and family, but here, its a little complicated. and i needed some time to myself. so i listened to music, read, worked a little on a proposal, rode my horse, and enjoyed the beautiful day. my uncle's family surprised me with a cake, this milk and banana thing, and it was wonderful. a warm gesture that came unexpectedly, so all i could do is smile, laugh with them, and share the cake. we even ate some of it this morning. every day people surprise me a little. sometimes quite a bit.
but most importantly, i think i'm slowly starting to understand what makes me tick, what makes me happy, and how i can alter the world around me to fit my needs, desires, wishes, etc. its pretty sweet to feel this way. you should all look into that. and if you already got it, well let me know, maybe we can share some wisdom, have a deep conversation, and continue learning. although all of it kind of makes me want to join a monastery where i can hit a big bell in the mornings, sit all day meditating eating mountain herbs, but hey. i doubt that will go down. a little out there, no?

4.15.2010

hn43.

i watched a kid water a garden today in the rain.

amoebas are not fun at all, if you see them or hear them anywhere around you, you may want to vacate the premises. then again, i guess you gotta try everything once right?

horses on the other hand are fun, especially if you ride them down mountains, in drizzle, on a sunny day. very awesome.

coffee farms are not flat. in fact, they are very much extremely not flat. it's a criteria to join the coffee farmer union, and get the t-shirt.

american boot laces can not withstand the wear and tear of honduran campo. i can. eat shit boot laces.

4.09.2010

hn42.

hey all. it's been some time, and i've been getting shit for not writing, so i think it's about time for some news, some thoughts, and well, some more useless blog entry-ness. oh and there are new photos, so check it out.
first and foremost, i am busy. finally. for the first time in months, i have a completely full schedule. the worm project is underway, although moving slowly than expected. i guess i made the mistake that may cost us the project, by not thinking ecologically. you see, reproduction rates depends on population density, and when we bought the worms, i ignored that. instead of putting all the worms in one bed to reproduce and then separate them out, i split the small quantity we bought between 4 beds, and now the worms are not multiplying as fast as necessary. and if we can't sell the first fertilizer before the rains, we can't get the pulp stored, and then the product will drop in quality, and well, you get the point. but i think its still ok to be optimistic.
two, the renewable energy project is moving along. my counterpart will be at an all expenses paid workshop on the beach all week, learning about turbine maintenance. the week after we have a meeting with a local NGO to discuss the details and costs, and I think we have two organizations to back us up. it seems like this may work. i think.
three, this coming monday about ten of us volunteers will meet with the local organization that manages Celaque, the national park, and hopefully we can start a permanent partnership and collaborate on the management of the park and its buffer zone. i may poop my pants if this works, because well, opportunity of a life time.
four, well, there's lots more. i'm back to mapping fincas for producers, doing one or two every day that i dont have something else going on. its a pain, walking coffee farms on mountain slopes, getting sweaty and scratched up, but every time is an opportunity to get to know people, and learn something new. like for example, right now is chikirin season (they're like cicadas), and they're everywhere, and they excrete water at high pressure, so if you walk around coffee farms right now, you always feel a drizzle. i had no idea until a farmer told me. go figure. walking around gettin urinated on doesnt sound like fun, but its kinda refreshing.
i am also looking into starting a garden project, but i dont even want to go into that.
and finally, the horse. ruso is awesome. as we speak, or i write, or whatever, his bit is being fashioned at a nearby blacksmith's and so by next week, or two weeks or so, he will be bit trained and ready to go faster and longer distances. right now though, all i can say, is he's just like me. hotheaded, stubborn, and quick to act. but i like that. i wouldn't have it any other way.
and in terms of life, well i think im happy. in fact, i know i'm happy. and that's all that really matters. i'm broke, i live a simple life, and for the first time in years i'm calm, not stressed, and really happy. so. you know, in terms of the ups and downs of peace corps, i'm pretty damn up.

3.23.2010

hn41.

as i sit right now, in one of the two offices at my cooperative, small wisps of cloud float by the vibrant green peaks of the nearby mountains, slowly but persistently streaming towards the west. the peaks look spectacular today, with every shade of green blanketing the whole surface, with even the summits exuding life. its amazing that even after 7 months of being here, the landscape amazes me. i wake up every morning, walk down hilly roads of my town, and every time i stop to look and my mouth gapes at the sight. i wish i could take panoramic pictures every day, and post them somewhere so that maybe some of you may feel the same wonderment i do. anyway, thats some observation for you guys, and now a short account of whats been going on, what may happen in the future, and basically what is up in general.

1. my mom came and went. we spent an amazing time here in honduras. we visited the ruins of Copan, which are absolutely incredible, and I reccomend to all. the town itself is made for tourists, and provides a pleasant lodging point for the days you spend exploring. the ruins are immense, elaborate, and stunning. walking the land between them one feels almost a part of the era, as if you can imagine the Maya going about their daily rutines. You can see where they had their ceremonies, where they lived, played, its just...amazing. On the other side of town we visited an aviary, and got to see close up toucans, parakeets, and all sorts of different colorful birds. check out the photos if youre interested.
after we left, i brought her to my home town, and over the span of a week we rode horses, visited families, went up into the mountains, and well, kept busy. everyone loved my mom, and she hit it off with them as well, even tho the language barrier made conversation sometimes taxing. but the the fact remains, when you put good people in a room together, no matter what language they speak, they can understand each other and learn to respect and love each other. my family still sends hellos to her every day, and she calls and does the same.
2. as for work, everything is getting totally rediculous, exciting, and overwhelming at the same time. the worms are doing well, and we are about to begin collecting our first fertilizer. this week we will be working hard on bringing as much bagged pulp into the working area in order to insure that we have enough organic matter for the worms to work with.
the hydroelectric project is also going extremely well, with meetings planned with different organizations, and what seems to be like significant support from GTZ, PRORENA, MAPANCE, and la Hermandad de Honduras. Of course, everything is still in the initial stages, and nothing ever goes according to plan, but at least it's looking more and more possible every day.
the cooperative is also slowly but surely starting the home gardens project and looking into the financial aid/school fund project, so it seems that all of the many parts of the puzzle are slowly fitting into place.
and last but not least, it seems that MAPANCE, which is an organization that controls the national park of Celaque, is interested in collaborating with Peace Corps and ICF (Instituto de Conservacion Forestal) in managing the park as a permanent partnership. which means, we may have gotten ourselves a really awesome local couterpart for a long time. now its all up to us peace corpsers to get together and meet with their representatives, and see what we can do. basically this is an amazing opportunity, so if youre in celaque, and in peace corps, call me. like now.

ok, thats basically it. the horse is awesome, life is awesome, and semana santa is almost upon us so that means the beach for a couple of days. oh yeah.

3.21.2010

hn40.

ok, so first and foremost new photos. check em out.
2. im not sure where to start with this entry, and i may not even try. in fact, i may give up on this blog all together for some time. but i doubt it. basically, it was a crazy week. my mom came, we had an amazing time, check out the photos, i wont say anything until you ask me questions.
the coffee competition was awesome, my friends ended up placing as the top three producers, i met some great people (all you awesome cupper guys and gals), and lots of networking. thats all i feel like writing for now. im pretty exhausted so maybe when i get my energy back we'll continue.

3.16.2010

life is wild. will explain later. maybe

3.04.2010

hn39.

alright, it's been somewhat of a crazy two weeks or so, and it's difficult for me to recount everything all at once, but i will do my best. i guess i can start with last week, when i had what i think to be dengue. now usually dengue lasts about 8 days, is a completely miserable fever type disease, and since there is no cure for it, one just has to tough it out. well, i found myself last saturday, or two saturdays ago, with a fever of 102, body aches like you wouldn't believe (that might be why people call it bone breaking disease), chills, and a general feeling of malaise: basically, i wanted to off myself and get it all over with. that lasted two days, after which everything kind of died down to something a little bit more manageable. now, that's what makes me think, maybe it wasn't dengue, but then again it's kind of exciting to come down with a crazy tropical disease, so if anyone asks, well...dengue it is. i spent about a week in bed, and only got up to get my worms. that's right, worms. they're finally here, eating all my coffee pulp, making fertilizer, having sex, and more or less partying at my expense. let's just hope they reproduce fast enough to make me what i planned within a month. otherwise, some collection agency might show up knocking at the cooperative's door.
and that brings me to the real story.
this week i had an experience, or actually a series of experiences, that made me reconsider how i view a little bit of everything. so i guess it all began on tuesday when i rode ruso into the mountains to a little town called petatillos. the village consists of 25 houses spread out over about 5 km, smack dab in the middle of the buffer zone of celaque, a national park. the people there have been living in such a secluded state for about 50 years, ever since one of the founders decided to buy some land in the mountains. i had been there once before to get to know some of the people, but this time i was coming to stay for a few days to begin research for the project that the community is interested in. now, for your knowledge, petatillos has neither electricity nor running water. so they came to me with hopes of getting a micro turbine project along with a water system done in the mountains, in order to get both at once. and of course, i jumped at the idea. how could i not. anyway, upon my arrival, i was led to the humble home of the pastor where we began to make our plans and set up a schedule of what we would be doing for the next three days. what followed were experience upon experience that left me somewhat speechless. let's make a list:

1. honduran farmer guys, regardless of their ages, are capable of scaling any cliff or mountain, in any direction, a thousand times better than i could ever even imagine. we spent half a day exploring the nearby water source and i think i almost died about 8 times. granted, i am in no shape to be running around a mountain with a machete in one hand and a GPS in the other, but it was definitely exciting. i fell about every 50 yards, sometimes ending up face down in some rainforest plant hoping that i had not split some vital part of me with my newly sharpened machete (which i never even used, dumbass). i slipped in the river, almost tumbled down a waterfall, and lost my pen twice. the hondurans, they just laughed and kept telling me to be careful.
2. really poor hondurans appreciate what they have more than anyone i know. and these people are definitely up there on the poor ladder. we're talking, 1 room houses for families of 8. diets that consist of beans, tortilla, and the occasional veggie (although the pastors wife did make me chicken soup for breakfast today when i left, which i think was probably the first time they had eaten chicken in weeks. i was blown away. yeah that's right, for breakfast). no heat, bathrooms, showers, or TV. these people live with almost nothing, and love every minute of it. we spent hours talking about the park, their mountain, what they have, and not once did anyone say that they didn't have enough. in fact, most of them said that they were blessed, and every day thanked god for what they had been given.
3. really poor hondurans are ready to give everything, time, money, effort, everything to improve the livelihoods of their children. if i had done the same survey that i did there in my town, the answers would have been so different. every single person told me they were ready to sacrifice everything for this project. and they meant it. i think.
4. its amazing what people can accomplish with the little resources they have. and although the poverty that these people live in is almost unimaginable, they manage to accomplish great feats every day. for example, even though most of the adults in the town are illiterate, they built a school for their children with their own hands, and now 25 little petatillians spend all day long reading and writing with a teacher who is paid out of the pockets of the parents. they also organized together and are currently building a brand new church (which i'm not sure i approve of since half the people still dont have latrines and have to shit in the woods, but still), and everyone who works on it is doing it for free.
5. the environmental awareness of illiterate poor hondurans is higher than that of more than half of the united states. even though these people, 30 years ago were cutting down the local forests, burning the soil, using extremely harsh agro-chemicals, and more or less destroying the park they were living in, now their attitudes are completely different. we spoke at length about their relationship with the environment and although they don't know how to write the word, they practice conservation with every step they take. only dry dead trees are used for firewood. no one bathes or brings their dead animals to the water source (yeah they used to do that). no one hunts or kills little birds for fun like they do in my town. they have figured out that if they fuck up where they live, they'll have nothing left, and now they are fighting to protect it.
6. ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects love white people. or maybe they love jews. or both. or maybe it has nothing to do with that and just has to do with the fact that i'm not from there. regardless, i got eaten, completely, and now am covered with more red bumps than...well, i don't know, make up your own comparison/simile/metaphor/whatever.
7. religion is an interesting thing. i have never like organized religion, nor do i believe in the creation stories that many religions have, but i still think that there still might be something up there. i have prayed, i have blamed "god" for things, and frankly, i could say i'm somewhat spiritual, or something like that. and honduras is having an impact on me in that respect, because well, everyone here is religious. and its hard to maintain a secular opinion when everyone around you is telling you to accept christ. well, dont worry guys, i haven't done that just yet. but i did spend many hours talking to the pastor about god, and whatnot, and i learned quite a bit. it seems that faith is a very powerful thing. and although i don't exactly believe in miracles, i do believe that a people united in their faith can accomplish extraordinary things. but i guess the point of this little factoid is a little different. my experience in petatillos was a novel one because they were more interested in my jew-ness than anything else that i said about religion. because as you may already know, jews are god's chosen people, and when everything goes to shit with the apocalypse, jerusalem will be saved along with all the jews in there. and the people of this town were totally obsessed with the fact that they had a jew among them, a jew who might provide them with water and light. the pastor even made a point of it during his sermon which he asked me to attend, when he spoke for about 30 minutes about jews, and the whole shebang. and the people thanked me. not for coming and working, yeah they thanked me for that at another time, no they thanked me for being a jew. weird huh?
8. going hand in hand with this religion thing, i learned that there is much in the bible that speaks of protection of the environment. maybe not directly, but definitely the topic is covered. and although i had somewhat known this before, i had never had quotes. and now i do. now i want to get more, and use this as a means to an end. if i talk to farmers who wash their pesticide bottles in the rivers, i can now use the bible to maybe make them reconsider their actions. how can you love your fellow man as you love yourself, if you're making him drink round-up? (i know thats not a direct quote but since i learned it in spanish, well...)

ok, for now that's it. i will add more, if i think of anything else.

2.20.2010

hn38.

i think the hardest thing so far about the whole peace corps experience is that little credit is ever given to the volunteers. anyone who's called licenciado here in honduras, or someone who has graduated from university, is talked to with a huge amount of respect. these people are employed as tecnico's, people who come and advise others, almost like consultants. but when we come in, as voluntarios, even though we might all have advanced degrees (in some cases even a master's), people talk to us in a whole different way. its as if with the title "volunteer" we are clueless, with absolutely nothing to offer. but then, why would we be sent here in the first place? what purpose do we serve? and i know, many of you are probably thinking, dima maybe you're looking at this all wrong. maybe its because of your compulsion to always be right and show off your smartness, that's making you act this way. and yes, that very well may be possible. and if so, forgive me, but i think this goes deeper. i think, because i look young, and am not from here, i am considered just some gringo who's trying to get things done but has no real capacity to do so. and you know what, that's just not fair. just because i don't know all the things honduran farmers grow up with, doesn't mean i'm incapable of everything. it definitely doesn't mean that i grew up in a box, with everything handed to me. i have so many fellow volunteer friends that want to print business cards that say licenciado just so that their opinions begin to matter. and what's worse, when our suggestions are logical, scientifically based, and constructive, they are frequently thrown out based on what some other licenciado said a while back, not taking into account that we are equally qualified to make such statements. and whats even worse, those that come to communities as tecnicos often promote technology or projects produced by their companies just to make a sale, instead of thinking about the community, and so their opinions are naturally biased. the thing is, i know i act like a know-it-all, and i need to work on that, but come on, give me some room to function. why ask for my help to organize a project and then tell me what i should do point by point. if you know how to do it, do it. don't tell me how to do my job. and if i need help, i'll ask. and i will always respect your opinion. but its hard to respect someone's ideas when yours dont get the same. thats all i got for now.

2.14.2010

hn37.

there's this guy in my community who i always thought to be a little off, in the head that is. i've chatted with him a few times in jalons, at the cooperative, and he never really said anything more than observational statements, and in a way that made me always tend to walk away slowly, nodding in agreement. but after a few times i realized that the dude just never had a real education, and that at least his intentions were good. and today, well he totally gave me a whole new respect for mankind and honduran campesinos. so i get out of this pickup truck at the entrance to my town, which is about 2 k from my house uphill, and it turns out that the guy, let's call him bob, bob was riding in the front. and so we're walking, and i'm thinking, man this is going to be "fun" [that's sarcasm by the way]. we are walking down the hill when we pass this piece of wood in the middle of the road. i don't think anything of it, but bob stops, picks it up, and throws it into the gulley on the side of the road. without a word he continues walking, and i think, well he's considerate. and then he says:
-man, it's really important to be intelligent right?
-sure, i say, of course (i didn't really know where this conversation was going, so i just smiled and nodded).
-because, not anyone would have picked up that piece of wood, and someone could have gotten really hurt. imagine riding on a motorcycle with your amiguito and all of a sudden you slam into that? and some people just dont think about that kind of stuff
i didn't know what to say. i hadn't even thought of that. and here's this guy, who only finished 3rd grade, can't read or write, and he's more socially responsible than i am. it made me feel awesome, and humble at the same time. the funny thing is that the guy recognized that intelligence was the key, that it was something worthy. most people here spit on education, they leave as soon as they can. of the 9 grades available, many only go to 6. and altough, in some cases its for good reason, especially since your family is starving and you're the only one around who can work, but for many it just doesn't hold any appeal. with my amiguito (that's what he calls me, even though he knows my name) bob, i'm pretty sure it was a necessity, so i respect him for it, even though he's a little behind. but although his demeanor does not exhude genius, i can proudly say that i think bob is smarter than me. and i have a bachelors. what do you say to that, rutgers university?

part 2: evangelical wedding
so i was invited this saturday to my cousins huge evangelical wedding, to be held in corquin at the experimental center of IHCAFE (they have two big conference halls, so...) anyway, i was called early saturday to come help out and receive the gifts for the family, which made me feel pretty damn integrated. at around 6pm, when the wedding was supposed to start, i was standing guard by the present cart, waving people into the hall and awaiting the ceremony. only problem is, punctuality is not a cultural norm here, so when the wedding was supposed to start at 6 30 at the latest, it was 7 30 when finally everyone took their seats. except for me. i made a discovery in my attempts to help that kinda blew my mind. so for a wedding of about 150 people, the family had not hired anyone to serve drinks or food. all they did was call one of the aunts and put her in charge of everything. now I dont know if any of you have experience with banquets, but doing that alone (well, not exactly alone, she had 1 assistant, and another aunt came to help) or even in a group of 3, not possible. so i was upstairs pouring champagne into 150 glasses (which is weird because evangelicals don't drink, so that all went to waste), and setting up the tables when the bride and groom were saying their vows. and when the people took their seats, i served them their food. i think i brought plates to def over 100 people. no serving trays, nothing. 3 plates at a time. running around like an idiot. and the people talking to me like a waiter. do i look like a fucking waiter (to be honest, i was kinda dressed like one, so it could have been confusing, but come on!?) i guess its all part of being a volunteer. :p. however, now, my aunts are all absolutely in love with me, i don't think they've seen many gringos do what i did last night. hooray for non traditional integration techniques, take notes all you volunteers that read this. lol.

2.09.2010

hn36.

the periods between entries are slowly increasing in length, so i think its about time i get back to writing. i miss it, mostly because it makes me feel like all ofyou who read this are participating somehow, that you are all here with me to help me through this journey. and yeah, peace corps is one hell of a journey, and its definitely true that we all need someone to let loose with. in this case, its you guys.
but the hard part this time is that there is little for me to say. lately i have been spending a lot of time getting to finally know the town that i live in. i've been here 5 months, and when i thought i knew everyone, now that has all be thrown out the window. and now i wont be so foolish. it weird seeing a place change all around you, but still say the same. it's like what people say about reality sometimes, trying to reference the matrix or any other attempt at trying to shatter our concepts of existence: the world we see is in our minds, imposed there by a serious of neuron connections. i know thats a cliché but still, i thought i'd put it out there. capucas hasn't changed per se, but i have, and now the people i felt like i knew, i now see them for who they are. and the funny thing is that probably in a few months, i will repeat this whole shpiel again. the most amazing aspect of this transformation is that i feel that much closer to my fellow capuqueños. i visit their homes, dring coffee with them, chat about the farms, about livestock, about politics. i know their families, play soccer with the little kids. and now, i am learning about their individual struggles, their poverty, their hopes and aspirations. i am beggining to feel more responsible for these new friends of mine.
its also giving me new ideas for projects, things that i hadn't thought about earlier because i was so isolated in my cooperative. i am starting to think about a scholarship program that we might be able to set up with some generous outside funding in order to send some really poor community children to school. this money would go towards book, school supply, uniform purchase and of course, in the case of secondary education, tuition. i think it would be cool to structure it like a financial aid system, where the child who recieves the funding will then have to pay it back as a percentage after getting a job. that way other children could take advantage of the same opportunities. if anyone has any ideas on how this could be done, let me know. i will keep brainstorming in the meanwhile.
in other news, the horse is good, i've been riding him a whole lot, although i have only been doing that instead of training, so i will have to stop having fun for a bit and train some necessary behavior. slowly but surely however, he is becoming more manageable, and i have done a few long trips with him and without any problems. i have to keep in mind that he's only 2 years old, so i have to cut him some slack.
i have also begun to take weekends off from community life, and his has definitely given me back some of the energy i was missing. life here can get you so caught up in work that its easy to forget that sanity is more important than success.
anyway, thats all i can think of for now. hit me up with ideas if you want. miss you all.