hay mas!

I have not updated this blog in so long that I have a little catching up to do. It does seem to be a pattern that once a sence of routine is established I neglect the blog.

I went home to the states for just about 3 weeks. What a wonderful trip that was. Apart from not being able to see my grandmas, my aunts and uncles and Ethan, I had a perfect trip. I went to the beach. I had a great time at Andrea´s house for my birthday. I spent quality time in the woods with my Mama. I had a waffle taco with Lydia in the Pennisula Park rose gardens. I hooked up my ipod with tons of new music. I played the Nintendo Wi for the first time and let my brother kick my ass boxing. I rode bikes and went on a beautiful hike along the Mackenzie River. I spent a lazy afternoon watching TV on DVD on a very comfortable couch. I ate tons of good food. I spent quality time in yet another rose garden talking about the state of our nation with grandpa. I went to Canby to see the VanSants and Lee´s family. I became good friends with the love of Julie´s life. I went to Washington DC for the first time and felt a little patriotic for the first time in a long, long time. I learned who Sarah Palin was and that while it seems like a joke, she really does represent the other half of the country. I learned a lot about our capitalistic economy, and saw confirmation of what I have thought was coming for a long time.

I love my country because of the opportunities I have been provided in my life. I am not from a wealthy family yet I have always had access to outstanding education. My work ethic is basically a birthright and I have almost an unlimited ability to travel.

The love ends there unfortunately. I don´t need to get into it, nor do I really want to. I prefer who I am when I live abroad and I enjoy my life more. I like that I can´t be on auto pilot in Honduras because I don´t understand the culture well enough. I can´t make assumptions and can´t generalize. I don´t feel obliged to consume so much here and that makes my body and mind feel much more at ease. I like the simplicity of life here and the company I keep these days helps me to remain grounded but not forgetting about the endless possibilities of happiness.

That being said. I came back and quickly resumed my life on the river. I can´t explain how happy I was to come back. Everyone was just as excited to see me as well. I love the hugs and kisses of a proper return. Between reuniting with my family and friends in Oregon and coming back to Honduras (where hugs and kisses are a daily greeting) I was showered with hugs and kisses for almost a solid month!

After a week of settling back into the groove of things here, I was sent off again to Copan Ruinas for a development conference. And what an inspiring conference it was! I finally feel like I can actually make some headway in El Naranjo. We are going to create a school: Escuela Bilingue Medio Ambiente de El Naranjo. As soon as the initial plans are written down I will post them on the FUGENA blogspot and you can read all about it!

I want to write for a minute about Andrea, my new BFF. This girl is one of the coolest 19 year olds I have ever known…..and I have spent A LOT of time with girls her age. She has come from Kingston, Ontario to work at the Jungle River Lodge. She jumped on a plane to come down and learn a little more about rafting without knowing anything about what she was getting into. Seeing that we are the only two foreigners we have become quite close. She seems to have an old soul….. she is quite level headed and super chill. She likes to get dressed up in pretty dresses, loves the new Girl Talk album as much as I do and can dance! I can´t tell you how happy I am that she is here! One day she will leave to go back to Canada but I plan on prolonging her departure as much as possible!

As for the rest of my buddies here….everyone is good. Angel has done a few vanishing acts to Utila but when he is around he is the best English teacher in El Naranjo. Darwin is teaching me the birds of the jungle….the kingfishers are my favorite –I love watching the swoop down to catch their dinner (and Darwin´s commentary while they do so never gets old). Maura is like the big sister I never had……absolutely concerned with my wellbeing. She takes good care of me and everyone else too. The pet macaws at the lodge are becoming my friends a little bit too. While they like getting right in my way and try and bite me, they also let me pet their pretty feathers and feed them watermelon rinds.

I loved my two weeks at home in the best states of them all, but I am super glad to be back to my jungle home. Soy feliz.