“Hey man, do you want try this tequila my girlfriend brought me from Mexico?”  It turns out the correct answer to this is “no” but this is a lesson better learned the hard way, at least that is what I tell myself. The answer of “yes” initiated an almost unforgettable night, mostly because of my [...]

“No, I don’t think so: a pump would need gasoline, spare parts, regular maintenance.  Ultimately the contraption would fail them.  They were better off hauling water the ancient way, with donkeys, goatskin pails, and goatskin water containers that when filled looked like little fat goat corpses.”  Paul Theroux, Dark Star Safari Sitting at my desk [...]

With my inevitable, albeit temporary, return to the greatest country on earth, otherwise known as the United States of America, looming I have started have started to reflect back on my last nine months here in Honduras and found some things to be thankful for, most of which my friends and family will find utterly [...]

The power was just out for third time this week and I adapted like clockwork: turned the brightness on my laptop down to the lowest possible setting, lit candles and started to boil water for dinner.  When the power came on two hours later I found myself thanking God that it wasn’t off for longer [...]

Something needs to be said for life’s small victories.  I recently had quite a big-small one.  After scouring two grocery stores (that term is used with quite a bit of liberty), visiting the local market and bartering with a neighbor for some eggs I managed to coble together the ingredients to make pancakes from scratch. [...]

“No sir….. You accept it. Life’s a wild ride buddy. Not enough time here on earth to stay bitter about anyone’s actions.” -Jacob S. pontificating at a bar somewhere in Boston at approximately 10am on a Thursday. I have learned that life is an experience best viewed from a distance and preferably with a good [...]

The last two weeks have been filled with half understood conversation and semi awkward moments, which usually occur after I blurt out a well thought out Spanish phrase and someone mistakes my well planned axiom for a true functioning understanding of Spanish.  I have also been trying to digest what it is I will be [...]

A lot has gone down since my last post.  I failed the language interview. Spent an extra week in intensive Spanish classes. Spent an hour on the side of a busy street because of a blown out tire.  Pushed a car up a muddy road. Passed the language interview. Had a private swear in ceremony. [...]

I have been here for almost two months and it feels like two weeks.  Spanish is coming along nicely and I have lucked out twice with host families, so at this point I have no complaints. Spanish isn’t an extremely difficult language to learn although it is a little challenging when you need to do it [...]

That everything in his house was wrapped in a tortilla.  Well, he must have lived in Honduras because everything in Honduras comes with a tortilla.  To me, the odd part is that tortillas are eaten much like Americans eat bread with dinner.  Usually they are eaten on their own or they may be used to [...]

I thought long and hard about this but in order to give full justice to the people and culture of Honduras it was necessary. The staging and flight went down without a hitch.  We arrived in Tegucigalpa around 12:00 on Wednesday and were escorted out of the airport to a parking lot in the back of [...]

Bags are packed, most of my goodbyes have been said and I finally authored a web page to keep everyone in the loop.  On May 24th I will be headed to Tegucigalpa, Honduras via Miami, Florida for 27 months with the Peace Corps as a business development volunteer.