Field-Based Training

So, we left Santa Lucia and our full group of 44 people and now we’re in Field-Based Training or FBT, as we like to call it. The Protected Area Management trainees went to Moraceli, Municipal Development went to El Paraiso and us Youth Development volunteers are in Cantarranas. I have to say that I was ecstatic to leave Santa Lucia. I had a great family, but the last week I was crazy sick at my stomach and had to go to the Peace Corps Medical Center. (Highlight of the trip = Free Internet at the Peace Corps Headquarters). To make it more fun, I picked up a random cold w/ fever and to top it all off, I had over 80 flea bites. No, that was not a typo. 80! So let’s just say I didn’t shed a tear. Lots of people in my group were really sad and some cried. (They evidently didn’t have flea bites or tarantula threats).

We left Santa Lucia early in the morning and after 45 minutes and one of the scariest bus rides of my life, we arrived intact but wishing we would have brought the Dramamine. We arrived on the day of a funeral and people crowded the streets as funerals are a very big deal in Honduras. They last 9 days. So rude bus driver guy evidently didn’t know that a funeral was going on and started obnoxiously honking to try to clear the street for our arrival. And then we were dropped off in the park with obscure directions to our new host families’ houses and all of our luggage that we were suddenly regretting we had brought in the first place. Thoughts rushed to my head. Why did I bring sweaters, a jacket and a hoodie? It’s a million degrees here! And Why did I bring so many toiletries? I should have just bought some local stuff. But, nothing I can do about that now. Just suck it up.