Chocolate River

My eyes are constantly burning here in Tegucigalpa. The pollution is intense. A small flash flood hit and the outside water way swelled. There is no water refinery so you are seeing a lot of sewage.

Early Birth

The morning was a rush, having been brought a woman from the mountains to our residence to aid in a complicated birth. The little boy finally poped out and we were on our way to Tegucigalpa to pick up Dr. Tom, a dentist interested in starting a project in Honduras. I am tagging along to help show him around. We will meet with the head of the dentisty program at the university and also speak with the man in charge of the dental aspects in public health. This is a quick stop of a lake on the way.

First Scrub

I finally assisted on some real surgeries today. Two hysterectomies and some other vaginal reconstruction were scheduled. In the end I did well and learned a lot in the process. It is a unique challenge to stay focused on the anatomy in a hot operating room. I have become somewhat fascinated by this and look forward to the next operation.

Hurricane Season

Honduras was hit pretty hard with Hurricane Mitch back in 1998, killing over 6,000 people. Though none have hit here recently, the strength of Katrina, and the possibility of Rita is taking its toll. Gas prices hit over four dollars, causing an increase in basic food items. The trucks carrying people down the mountains increased from 16 Lempiras to 20 Lempiras ($1.10). And of course, there was a drastic change in the amount of financial support for our clinic. Last I talked about finances; only six hundred of the six thousand dollars needed to support the clinic had come in. This is the first time ever the clinic may not be able to make pay roll. I have always marveled at the power of our country and how much we support others.

Independencia de Honduras

The excitement was relentless on September 15th´s day of celebration. The evening prior to the Honduran Independence day was entertaining. The school children put on an event at night with dancing and singing. It was a good time. The true day of celebration was slow and uneventful however. I am going to have to say USA all the way for a good celebration of freedom. I spent the day sleeping and working out. The latest drama however, was that nearly everyone I work with went swimming and BBQ-ing. The Honduran culture is unique in that instead of ever confronting people about issues, you just don´t say anything. Friday was interesting because people where extremely frigid. I suspect I wasn´t invited because I live with the boss and they failed to invite her. Naturally, I could care less, but find it humorous to have people walk on egg shells around me. So, me being me, I decided that I will have to ask why I was not invited and express my true hurt. Many Hondurans are funny that way, like little children. I guess we will see how they do with some direct confrontation!

New Boxes

We began construction on the first of many new garden boxes that will be placed on the clinic grounds to maximize the growing potential of the agriculture project. With limited funds and resources, these beds were constructed by recycling the bi-products of cut lumber. The outside of the tree is planed down and this product is left usually to wrought. Thus far, most everything is organized in the agriculture part and now I am finalizing my site plan for the remainder of the construction projects.

José Walks

Today we took a boy my age named José to the Sula hospital to remove his leg casts. He was born with club feet and until today has never wore shoes before. Dr. Harbin from Salina came down last month and helped out many people, and even took me on my first deep sea fishing experience. Above all, he is a quality beer drinking companion. Don´t get me wrong, the whole helping people to walk and where shoes for the first time in twenty years of age, good gesture. But, beer is beer. So, cheers to Dr. Harbin of Salina!

Cemetery

I took a nice walk today around town. There were people out celebrating Children's Day in the town square, bashing piñatas and singing music. Men were working spreading coffee beans on the basketball courts. There are at least three courts in this small town, all were probably donated by some international green space organizations. Though nobody plays basketball, they sure help when it is time to harvest coffee. I finally ended up at the town cemetery. These grave sites are remarkably similar to those that I saw in Croatia. I am not sure if they are elevated due to hurricanes or if it is just this cultures normal practice.

Tobacco Worm

The agriculture advancements are going well. Thus far I am organizing various spaces and trying to rid ourselves of un-needed materials. The tomato plants came down with a virus carried by white flies so we will hold off on planting a new crop until the problem is contained. This Tobacco worm has also been dinning on the plants for a while.

Missed Calling

After our chicken run to San Pedro Sula, we returned late to the clinic in the mountains. A car stopped just after our arrival and we were greeted by a local farmer with a nice machete wound. Being the only other person around, I ended up assisting. Turns out I may have a natural aptitude for such work according to my missionary friend Lisa. I figure I got used to it with the many witnessed battle wounds in the model making world of K-State Architecture.

Tumulo

This weekend was pleasant, filled with reading and relaxing, minus the shortage of electricity. My quest through Spain along the side of Don Quixote has been extremely slow. Like Quixote's faithful steed, Rosinante, I too have gained a companion for these Honduran adventures. My new Amazon Parrot, christened with the name "Tumulo" or Speed Bump for all you non-Spanish speakers, is quite lively. We have bonded over a number of past stories. After my tales of pigeons in Venice, he proved that he was just as capable of defecating on my shoulder more than once in a single hour as they were.

Education Advancements

Our local grade school now has electricity for the classrooms and power to run the kitchen refrigerator. Pete Sias, Brett Wallace, and Doris Bedinger visited from Salina to run the wire from the clinic's generator up to the school. They left me with the finishing touch of placing the post to make the final connection to the school. Lights and better school lunches will be a great way to aid the children's learning.

One Year In Honduras

My latest adventure in life has taken me back to Honduras. As the new agronomist at Fellow Man International I will be working hard to further develop and strengthen the agricultural project that assists this mission. My current plan is to stay for a full year, assisting on various projects ranging from aiding upcoming mission groups to designing and building houses in the cloud rainforest of Buenos Aires.