As promised, here are a few photos. I know most people would rather look at a few pictures then read a long narrative, so we'll work on getting more. I'll also try to keep up the narratives for those who have the time and patience.

Santa Lucia is dripping with beautiful flowers, but this tree takes the cake.

Saturday morning, Javi and I and a few other trainees walked to the top of a nearby mountain for a view of Tegucigalpa and the valley. In this photo you can see Santa Lucia in the background.

As we got closer to the top of the mountain, the road had more horses and cows than people.

Our training center is located in a beautiful building on a steep hill. This patio is where we like to hang out during our breaks and chat.

After the business walk around, we talked about the things we learned at this café with a beautiful view over the valley.

The business trainees got to walk around Santa Lucia on Friday afternoon and talk with local vendors. This picture was taken at the front gate of a pulperia (local general store) where we got to ask any question we could think of about their business.

Aqui estamos en Santa Lucia

Greetings! To our readers (if there are any), this is our first posting DESDE HONDURAS…woohoo! We have been getting used to our new lives and schedules here in Santa Lucia. After traveling 16 hours Sunday to get here from Washington DC, we were exhausted. We met our host family who we will be staying with for the next month, and although they are nice and their house is comfortable, we were both thinking to ourselves…what the hell are we doing here?!!! This is natural of course, and that unsettled feeling has lessened with each passing day. Our first night here, our anxieties were making us question our decision to be here, but already we have started to appreciate this new way of life. Although I’m sure everyone goes through this, especially the first couple days when you are still working through the awkwardness of living with complete strangers who don’t speak your language, but it was a bit hard on us as a married couple. Some might say it would be easier, since we have a “buddy,” but it is also more challenging, thinking about our friends back home who have started building their lives around children, professional jobs (that actually pay) and new homes. This new adventure has not been a step in that direction, and you naturally will question sometimes. HOWEVER, that is not to say we are not enjoying ourselves immensely. We are having a great time practicing our Spanish and we are really looking forward to our business projects . We haven’t found out what those are exactly, but we’ll keep you all (or the ONE person who actually reads this) clued in when we find out.

Our host family has a nice home here in Santa Lucia and we even have a hot shower. Some of our fellow trainees have different situations. MANY do not have the luxury of hot showers, and one guy has 4 burros that live just outside his window, who hee and haw and serve as his alarm clock. Awesome!!!

Our stomach health is still good (although we hear its coming), we’ve made a few friends and life is generally going pretty well for us.

We have a pretty little spot of Honduras here, and we promise to get some pictures up next time we post something. We have yet to take a picture here, but it has been very hard to get much time away from our training and from hanging out with Alba Rosa, our host mom. She is a great cook and they do actually eat chile and other spicy stuff here, so as you can imagine, we are very content.

That’s all for now. We’ll check in a little later. Ciao amigos!

Our Address

If you'd like to send us any goodies (especially books in the near future) use these addresses for now:

For postal service (USPS) mail/packages:
Javier or Sara Prada, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3158
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, America Central

For FedEx, UPS, or DHL mail/packages:
Javier or Sara Prada, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Avenida Republica de Chile #401
Colonia Palmira
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, America Central

February 17, 2007

Well, we're finally off (fingers crossed) tomorrow at 3 am. Washington DC has treated us well but we're ready to get this party started. We hear Santa Lucia (our training site for the next month or so) has only one internet cafe with so-so speed so we will update you on our arrival as soon as it is possible.
Spending the last week here has allowed us to get to know our fellow PCT's better than a "usual" staging would allow. They're an intelligent, adventurous and accomplished bunch and we are both proud and humbled to be in their company.
Hasta pronto.