el huracán

Hurricane Alma passed almost peacefully. I went with Amilcar and Maynor to visit Matt during the worst of the rain. We made it back to our house drenched but safe.

I´m kind of worried that I´m telling all of my good stories here and that I´ll have nothing left when I return. Grrr. Anyway, here goes.

I did make it to the swimming hole with Emily and others. After a good half-hour walk through trees and along a rocky streambed, we saw the little lagoon 30 feet below, over the edge of an enormous rock with all of the creek water flowing over it. Needless to say, it was a lovely 30'foot jump and the water was amazingly refreshing. Getting back up was challenging but fun. The second time in was also good.

Feeling not entirely challenged, Dan, Anna, and I took a trip up the nearby mountain-hill with Frederlinda´s son Maynor and two of his (and our) young friends. Maynor is 12; The two girls are about the same. The trip up was rocky and scary, but the view of Sabana Grande was amazing. It really is a plain surrounded by mountains. The trip down the other side of the mountain-hill was also incredibly scary; I was sliding down pine needles on the seat of my pants. I probably didn´t need to be quite that cautious (Maynor and the two girls were running), but it freaked me out. Dan says that he´ll be climbing a farther mountain soon. I think I´ll take off my flip-flops and put on my hiking boots for that one.

Alex and I were playing a game this afternoon where we bounced a coin off a wall and tried to land it within hand´s reach of the other guy´s coin. It is fantastically easy to amuse Maynor and the other kids here. I have a little LED which has a strobe setting, and I freaked out Maynor and Marlen with it at night. It really is freaky to see somebody´s strobing face creeping and then speeding toward your own. I also freaked out Marlen (and Marisela) with a frog that was sitting by the porch. I´ve never caught anything larger that a firefly before, so I didn´t know what to expect. Fortunately, the frog-toad-thing had a nice backbone to grip. I was afraid that it was exploding when I first grabbed it (I nearly dropped it!), but it was only croaking.

The food here continues to be delicious, and I did find another egg in my window. It was part of my lunch today. Scrambled, not sunny-side-up. I´m looking forward to helping Dan construct his solar cooker and (most likely) replacing one or a few tiles in the solar center´s tiled (they´re called tejas) roof. Matt and I will also probably be planning a gutter system, even if it doesn´t end up being constructed this summer. There´s always time.

ciao!
Pete

un huevo

Yesterday, I found an egg in the window. Today, I had rice, beans, vegetables, and an egg for breakfast. Then I shooed a chicken out of my room. Leaving the door ajar was not brilliant.

I´m back in Ocotal, the nearby city. It´s about 10 miles from Honduras, and an 8-minute bus ride from Sabana Grande. The buses here are from the States; there are still signs inside marking emergency exits. Every bus has religious icons in the front; I´m not certain why. Anyway, the last two rides to Ocotal that I´ve had were standing room only. On the way back to Sabana Grande, I should be able to find a seat.

Emily, one of the other volunteers here, is going to take a few people on a hike this afternoon. I´ve been given to understand that there´s a swimming hole involved. If I can, I´m going in.

Pete

el sol

I´m tired, hot, and sunburnt. Now is not a good time to blog; I´d like to relax for a while first. But I´ve been thinking about what to blog, so here´s most of it:

I like showering outside among the trees with the mountains off in the distance. I expected it to be awkward, but It´s very relaxing and refreshing.

Frederlinda prepares amazing meals. I never thought that I´d enjoy rice, beans, plantins, lentils, tomatoes, and some other vegetables on the same plate (much less at all), but I can´t put my plate down :)

I plan to choose something to work on very soon. I was at the school this morning learning how to ground an electrical system (and why), and I believe that I´ll be working with one of the Solar Center staff soon on gutters (and what to do with the rain water) for the solar center.

Mike Vehar just left the house, bound for Honduras. I´m not over that loss yet.

I think I´m going to get a Coke now. It sounds nice and refreshing and sugary and cold and delicious...

hasta luego!
Pete

la ciudad de Managua

I stick out like a sore pinky :)

I still don´t know enough Spanish to survive alone. I had trouble changing a 100 cordoba bill for c$10 bills today. I did not learn that skill in Spanish class, but it´s necessary here. Imagine handing a $100 bill to a hot dog vendor--nobody´s going to have change!

We had rice and beans for dinner yesterday as well as breakfast and dinner today. I think that this is only the beginning. Those were just the common elements; there was much more delicious food. The fruit juices were freshly squeezed with a bit of water and sugar--orange, passion fruit, lemonade, and more. They are fantastic!

We talked with some 8- and 9-year-old kids today. I cannot speak at a second-grade level :-) I do need to practice.


ciao!

en avion

I translated for a Guatemalen man and helped him make it through the Cincinnati airport ticketing, customs, and terminals this morning (around 5am). It wasn´t too difficult, but I found that it slowed my English down because I was thinking in 2nd grade Spanish.

Everyone made it here okay and I´ll add updates later!

3 Days

Woop - Time to get down to business.

Two years ago, I traveled to the Belgian cities of Brussels and Brugge with my aunt, uncle, brother, and cousin. I felt stupid only knowing English and decided then to study a foreign language in the fall.

Later that summer, I met the chair of my department. Dr. Hallinan introduced me to ETHOS, an organization at UD which connects UD students with volunteer opportunities abroad (In Spanish-speaking countries for the most part) and helps prepare students for those trips. Hearing about ETHOS, I decided to take Spanish classes along with my regular mechanical engineering classes.

I've been taking classes for four semesters now, and ETHOS set me up on a trip to Sabana Grande, Nicaragua (it's near Ocotal, in the northwestern part of Nicaragua, incredibly close to Honduras). I'll be working with Grupo Fenix (see grupofenix.org) and four other UD students (Matt, Lori, Dan, and Anna) on solar stoves, a solar autoclave, and more (to be defined soon, I hope). Another UD student, Vince, will be in Managua, Nicaragua.

I'll be returning home in early August. Until then, please enjoy my updates and my philosophical and technical commentary!

6 Days

Finally unpacking from UD

10 Days

Not that I'm counting

18 Days

Two and a half weeks