Going into Week Four

Week 3 was full of classes and guest speakers.  Six current volunteers came to talk to us about safety and security and to share any stories they have.  We also had two male volunteers come and talk about sports in case anyone is interested in starting or continuing some kind of team at their future site.  On Thursday we had two different volunteers talk to us about creative arts, one about dance and theatre, the other about music.  That same night we had a presentation for our host families about our Youth Development mission.  Two of my fellow trainees, Michelle and Yesenia, put together and gave this presentation in spanish to our host families because they are both native speakers.  It went very well and hopefully people hve a better idea of what we are doing in Honduras.

Friday morningwe had a special assignment instead of bein picked up at 7am by Peace Corps staff as normal and being driven to the office.  They divided us into three groups of five and we had to take the bus with our groups into Tegucigalpa.  From there each group bartered for the cheapest taxi to take them to a designated location where a PC facilitator would meet each group.  We had to practice our spanish by going around to different bus stations and asking about the schedules and prices.  Our main objective however, was to explore the market, ask about food and prices there, and buy something for our host families with the 30 lempiras they gave us.  Mom host mom wanted me to bring home a watermelon.  I opted to buy a smaller one because I knew I would have to carry it around with me.  Being at the market was a lot of fun but we had to take major precautions.  We had to wear casual clothes that fit in and we had to leave all jewelry, even watches, at home.  Even with these precautions, a group of gringos (white people) still stick out in the crowd  But everyone made it safely through the day and we even got to run acros the street and peek inside the futbol stadium, El Estadio Nacional!  We are no allowed to go into the city on our own for another four months, but we are all looking forward to seeing a game!  It was a great morning and a great week!  I just need to keep studying my spanish!