Aqui Estoy

Well, I've made it to Rancho Santa Fe! My trip was pretty uneventful. My flight from Chicago to Miami I had the entire row of seats to myself, so I laid down and slept much of the time. I watched a little bit of the in-flight movie, "The Shaggy Dog", but it wasn't that good. Our flight was a little bit delayed, which actually worked out really well because I went straight from one plane to the other in Miami with really no layover. The next flight on Taca stopped in San Pedro Sula for about a half an hour and then we flew to Tegucigalpa. It was pretty much an up and down flight; not long at all. A few people from NPH found me waiting outside. I hopped into the pick-up truck with Mauricio, Manuel, Cynthia, and Paola. Mauricio is an ex-pequeno who now lives in Tegucigalpa. Manuel drove the truck to Rancha Santa Fe. He's a pequeno, although he's probably in his late teens. Cynthia and Paola are sisters. Cynthia is 8 and Paola is 7. Their mother is an ex-pequenos, but was recently diagnosed with cancer so she brought her daughters to the ranch. Not long after I got in the truck it started to rain. The traffic is crazy. No real lanes, people crossing the street anywhere, no straight roads. People just honk to get where they want to go. In the rain it was even more chaotic. We had to keep wiping the windows so we could see outside. The guys also had to run out and cover all my luggage with tarps so it wouldn't get wet. Before we left the city we picked up another volunteer, Doni (sp?). He's from Austria. He had just finished up a study abroad in Costa Rica and bused it to Tegucigalpa. It was a little bit weird because he speaks German, English, and Spanish; so I wasn't sure which language to speak with him. We chose Spanish because of the other people in the truck, but it was pretty broken conversation. We arrived at the ranch, dropped off our stuff in the dorms, which really aren't that bad. There are five sets of bunk beds and 4 dressers connected to bathroom with 3 showers, 3 toilet stalls, and 3 sinks with a little counter and mirrors. I had to learn how to use the toilets. You have to put used toilet paper in a trash can instead of the toilet. Also, you have to manually flush the toilet using a sink-like faucet on top of the toilet bowl and then pull a string to clear the water. It doesn't work that great. That'll be something I have to get used to. There are 2 dorms -- boys and girls. I met some of the other volunteers. They're from Germany, Turkey, Austria, and the United States (WI, ME, MN, IL, CA, MA, NH). At night I'm told everyone kind of splits off according to native language because they're too tired from speaking Spanish all day to speak another foreign language. The volunteers range in age from 22-40, plus two families. Most of the volunteers are around 22-27 years-old. I was glad I brought a flashlight because the lights on the ranch go on and off constantly. However, when we were hanging out and the lights would turn off, we'd just turn on our flashlight and continue the conversation. No big deal. I guess if they turn off late at night, they don't even bother turning them back on. I got to walk around a little bit last night. The stars here are amazing! I'd say better than the UP. I feel like I'm camping, but one of the volunteers told me that that would go away in about a week when I realize that this is everyone's home. There are a couple ranch dogs and cats here as well, but they're not very friendly. There are also a lot of bugs -- in the garden courtyard of the Casa Personal (volunteer home) they have a "Cucaracha Checklist", which is a checklist carved in wood of all the murdered cucarachas. This morning, I also saw a bunch of "sopilotes"/buzzards. They are huge, black, and ugly. I was told they're seen all over, especially around the trash. I'll have to post a picture, because I've never seen them before. They're pretty gross. The terrain is hilly and there are tons of pine trees. I thought it would be more lush and tropical, but it's more foresty. That also added to the camping feel. Well, guess I should head our for now. Hilary, the current SLP from Oregon, is making "baleadas" (tortilla, refried beans, eggs, crema) for the new volunteers.

Hasta Pronto!