News from the Mayan Ruins

Day 14: I hacked my way through dense forest to barter beads and bits of string with the savages in return for high-speed internet access. Four young boys ride stationary bicycles to power my laptop and accompanying wireless router.

Okay, its not like that at all. In fact, I am way too spoiled right now. To review the last few weeks: I first arrived June 17th, and during the following week I worked with a group of ~20 of Katie's church friends. We built three small homes for widows and especially needy families in a village about an hour away from where we are staying. For those of you following along with google world, it is nearby Lake Yojoa, the largest lake in Honduras.

The compound where we stay is quite rural. The nearest internet or telephone is at least 30 minutes away by car. Since our group is transported to and from the compound by cattle truck (its everything you imagine), for group members connection to the United States is nonexistent. The Honduran staff generally live in San Isidro (the nearest town, with internet) and have cell phones, so the disconnection is more of an intentional thing...like summer camp. That being said, it is a good thing.

So the first week was building houses, getting to know the Heart to Honduras staff, and trying to get my project off the ground - I got three interviews done, which is fantastic! At the end of the first week, the team returned to Ohio and left the Group of Four: my Katie, two other 20-somethings, and me. The four of us will be in Honduras for the rest of the summer, and our first order of business was to improve our Spanish - we left for language school in Copan Ruinas last Sunday.

this is where I get to the "spoiled" I live with one of the more upper class families in the town, and attend language school for four hours a day. While internet used to cost about $1/hour at the nearby internet cafe, I found out two days ago that my host family actually has a wireless router, which the father gladly hooked up (I don't speak enough spanish to understand why it wasn't hooke dup to begin with) leaving me with constant access to high speed internet...I am like a binging heroin addict fresh out of a week of rehab. I know I only have my drug for five more days before I have to go back underground for about 4 weeks. Just one more email before I quit...