Busy!

Please excuse the lull in posting, we've been a bit busy since accepting our invitation to Honduras! Yep, it's official. We stage in Miami on February 22nd and then off to Honduras on the 23rd, woot!

We've read... and re-read the welcome book, sent in new resumes and aspiration statements, applied for our Peace Corps passports, sent in official resignation letters to our bosses, started packing... again, and reserved a Uhaul truck to make the 1,800 mile trip to Texas, eek! (If you are awaiting an invite, please be aware that as soon as it comes, you will be VERY busy!)

Now we just need to decide what is left to do in New York City before we say good-bye.... bitter sweet, but it's a very good time to leave. We get to have all of the holiday festivities minus the worst of the weather come February.... we'll be in Texas by then, drinking margaritas and wearing t-shirts and shorts :) Most of the time left will be spent with friends, eating out at our favorite spots one last time... and walking through all of the museums (tear!) I will miss it, but then I can remind myself of how horrible the subways smell, how rude people can be when they steal your cab, and how you can't get anywhere in Midtown between Thanksgiving and New Years because the streets are soooo clogged with tourists! Plus, a whole new world is about to open up to us... bring it on!

Anyway, we may not post again for a few weeks with so much left to do, but until then... Happy Holidays!

Honduras: The Texas of Central America

Honduras.

I've realized in the two days since receiving our invitation that I know nothing about the country. My knowledge consisted of:

1) That place that Reagan sent Iranians to play Contra.
2) They had a bloodless coup awhile ago.

On further research, I've realized that #1 is wrong. The Persian, video-game players were in Nicaragua. I should have known that.

But the coup thing is true. Everything I've read has said that it wasn't a big deal. Nobody was hurt. The army just stripped the President from his bed and shipped him off to Costa Rica. No harm, no foul. After all, he only wanted to lift Presidential term limits.

A happy coup then.

And everything is all hunky-dory now. Nothing to fear.

Except for the crime, murder and everything else that can happen in an underdeveloped nation.

Okay - so my research to this point has stemmed around the seedier parts and history of the country.

And that's understandable in my mind. I like to know what I'm getting into. Always know where you're going, and where the back entrance is. Situational awareness.

But aside from all the bad press, Honduras also has quite a bit to offer.

The first being that they actually need us there. In particular, I'm excited about the business work that I'll be doing. Sustainable business models, business incubation, and working with their tourist traps (I imagine ecotourism - the trappiest of them all) is definitely needed. In some ways I think - naively I'm sure - that my efforts will help Honduras reach where Costa Rica, the darling of Central America, is now. And that makes me happy. Seeing as how Costa Rica was damn nice when we went - granted we went to the richer parts, but let's not split hairs.

Second in my mind is the country itself. The geography and people. Mountains, plains, beaches, rain forests, maybe a desert here and there. This place has it all.

Plus - from what I've read - there's a cattle area that reminds me eerily of west Texas. Flat, hot and there's cows everywhere.

Also, everyone walks around in large hats and cowboy boots.

Oh - and everyone has a gun. And speaks Spanish.

So it'll be just like Texas.

We're not moving away! We're possibly moving home!

- Jacob

We've been invited to serve in...

HONDURAS!!!!!!!!!

We are both incredibly excited... and slightly overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork accompanying the invitation!

Jacob will be serving as a Business Advisor (Business Development), and I'll be serving as a Health Advisor (HIV Prevention and Child Survival).

It was definitely worth the wait, and I'm sure the rest of our time in the States will fly by now as we prepare for the next 27mths. For all those out there still waiting on an invitation, don't give up!

Now... off to read through all that paperwork :)