Spam Rocks!!!

8/23/07

Spam rocks!

What an amazing food product! Who would of thought that a greasy clump of dog-food-looking meat could slide out of the can and then become so useful? I remember eating Spam as a child and liking it, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t had it since high school! As I was complaining to my mother about the difficulty of finding good meat here and the often less-than-delicious flavor, she recommended Spam. I thought she was crazy and that it would be disgusting, but once again my mother is wise! (ask me about the ice cube trays sometime) So, this week I have been frying up Spam and putting it on sandwiches to take to work, in my bean and rice burritos, with eggs….I think the possibilities could be endless!

Sunset walk

8/19/07
I walked up the hill tonight at sunset. The sun was beautiful as it set over the ocean and cast a gentle glow over the clouds and the deep green hillsides.

The howler monkeys barked at me as I climbed the hill, and so I stopped and followed their sound. Then I saw them, cute little black monkeys hopping from tree to tree and a baby as well. So cute! A few of them stopped to look at me curiously, though they didn’t pause long in their playing and barking. I guess they are used to seeing Gringas in these parts!

Things I love about Honduras

Some of the things that I love about Honduras:
*Pepsi that comes in a THREE Liter bottle. Awesome!!!
*mangos falling off the trees
*the smell of green
*the grateful attitude of most Patients
*the amazing stars on a clear night
*incredible downpours with much more water pressure than my shower
*the sound of crashing waves in the afternoons

*brightly colored boats

Geckos and Howler Monkeys

Mom, you will be glad to know that the creepy crawly quotient has been pretty limited!!! Very nice. Maybe part of the buglessness of my apartment is that I am upstairs. I have plenty of cute little geckos around that eat up most of the little bugs. And there are some huge toads downstairs that make lotsa noise at night. But no chickens! Praise the Lord! No cockadoodledooing in the middle of the night. Though there is the occasional Hee-Haw from a donkey passing by. Here is a photo of a local hitching post.

We do have monkeys around. I haven’t seen them yet, but you can hear them in the evening. They are called howler monkeys. They are a medium sized black monkey but when they howl is sounds like a bunch of German Shepherds are barking at you from the tops of the trees! Its kinda creepy! They really don’t like motorcycles. Anytime someone rides up the hill on their motorcycle, the howler monkeys go crazy and I’m sure people can hear their complaints for miles around!

Honduran Church

August 12, 2007

Church was lovely! Ten of us sqeezed into Norma’s SUV and drove down the bumpy road to the village of La Colonia, picking up a few kids on the way. The service started with all the kids getting up front and singing songs, hand motions and all. Then some announcements, which of course included my illustrious introduction. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to go forward and sing a song (Lord help them!) or share my testimony. We sang more songs. Multiple songs all to the same “Honduran Christian Chorus” rhythm and then a few familiar hymns. The preacher was pretty good, though a bit long-winded. About half way through I was focusing more on the sweat dripping down my face and the hot heavy air in my lungs than on his sermon. By the time church was over, it was so stifling inside that everyone rushed outside to visit in the fresh air. Then we stuffed about 15 people into Norma’s SUV to head back. There were a jillion little kids in the back of the car, with the pastor squished somewhere in the middle! I have a pretty funny photo!

I am finally here!

When I stepped off the plane, I was overwhelmed by the smell of Honduras. It is a good, earthy smell. I never realized before that Honduras has a smell, but now I realize it is quite distinctive and wonderful.

It is so green here! I just love it. The heat and humidity is another story. I pray that I get used to that quickly.

Everyone at Loma de Luz has been very friendly and welcoming, inviting me over for dinner and lunch. I am starting to get settled in. The hospital is beautiful. Quite nice for a developing country!

I don't have much time to blog right now, but I will write more later!

...and the beginning of a new adventure!

I leave for Honduras tomorrow morning. I can't believe the day has finally arrived! It seems like I've been waiting forever!


I have my bags packed, each weighing 50 lbs, my computer, my carry-on, and of course my DRUM. I hope I can carry it all!


It seems surreal that I am moving to Honduras. In so many ways, it seems like just another big trip. Lots of bags, checking off my list of things to do, printing out my flight itinerary... Its just that from now on I'll be flying round trip from Honduras!

The good news is that I'll be home briefly in November! Thanks to my wonderful friend Michelle getting married December 1st and asking me to be in the wedding, I get to come home much sooner than I anticipated! So, I'll get to be at home with my family for Thanksgiving. Yippee!

Well, I better finish checking off my list of last minute things to do...