Frustrated Packing & How I Have Become My Wife

Heading off to ATL tomorrow.  Then to Honduras on Thursday.

And naturally, I started packing today.  2 bags.  80 lbs.  Thought it would be a cake.  And here's what we've got:

Clothes:  (Have no idea if this is enough or too much.  Will be interesting to see.)

5 button up long sleeve shirts

10 pairs of socks

13 pairs of underwear

2 pairs of shorts

7 white undershirts

1 sports coat, tie, and relatively nice pair of black pants  (None of which match, but what can you do.)

1 pair of pajama pants

3 pairs of jeans

3 pair of light khakis

1 pillow

1 towel & wash cloth

3 long sleeve shirts

2 pair of basketball shorts

1 swimsuit

4 polos of diverse color and fabric

3 shortsleeved button ups

1 sweater type thing

Shoes:  (All of necessity)

1 pair of tevas

1 pair of hiking boots

1 pair of boots

1 pair of tennis shoes

Things & Non-necessities:  (The things that I think we might need.  Will be REALLY interesting to see how useful these things are.)

Duck Tape

Leatherman 

Cooking knife

Super glue

Bottle/Wine opene

Headlamp

Adapter/Power Surge

Extra wallet

2 belts

Alarm clock

Day planner

Battery recharger

Calculator

Dominoes

2 decks of cards

Accumulated travel sized items (compass, tape measure, screwdrivers, etc.)

Pill thingy

Crap load of rechargable batteries

2 large bottles of contact solution

Germ away stuff

Toothpaste

Pills, pills, and more pills (3x month supply)

Extra mouse

Puzzle of the US

Chalk

2 games of Uno and some bubble stuff

A nice metal bottle

Shampoo, soap, cologne, extra contacts

40 ft. of rope

Shaving kit and extra deodorant

Cable ties!!!!

Frisbee

Maglight

Dopp kit

Notebook and Folder

And that's it.  Everything someone needs for two and a half years in a foreign country.  Or at least, what I imaging they'd need.  But this is really a cut down list - my first packing attempt was a disaster. 

The whole exercise has been an extremely frustrating experience.

Now whether this all weighs 80 lbs...we'll see.  Tried weighing in on a scale and we look like we're ok, but looks can be deceiving.  Plus, Lauren's got all her bags and stuff.  Fun, fun times.

And on that note, I understand her that much better.  For the last two weeks she's been stressing about this.  I get it now.  Packing for a really, really long trip - while not knowing what you'll need or where you'll be leaving - is a complete, unadulterated bitch - 'scuse the language.  So my apologies to Lauren for all the mocking - I understand now. 

I understand.

And, so that's where we're at.  

2 days till we're in country.

Might be a bit till we can post more, but we'll get to it as soon as we can.  

If you can think of something that I'm missing, you've got about 25 hours to let me know!

-Jacob 

Dos Semanas

We've come to discover that we aren't very good at updating our blog. Hopefully this will be remedied in Honduras when we are begging for things to do during off hours. Well, okay... maybe after the 12 weeks/6 days a week/8 hours a day of language and technical training, peppered by safety and security meetings, meals with host families, field based travel, etc, etc... And maybe after an additional 2 months of site adaptation during which we live with another host family before moving into our own house... and then we'll have to figure out the electricity and running water situation, obtaining and/or building furniture, setting up a kitchen...

Anyway, our next post may be in 5 months :)

But for now, here's our menial update:

In exactly two weeks (dos semanas) Jacob and I leave Texas for Tegucigalpa, Honduras. We've over-bought everything we'll need... some of which we probably don't need at all, but whatever. We've been told to pack for virtually all-weather conditions, minus snow of course (yay!). The Honduran climate is primarily affected by elevation, which runs from sea level to 9,000 feet, hence the all weather needs. I'm packing my hair dryer, I don't care what anyone says. Hiking boots, sandals, shorts and jackets, and plenty of rain gear. Haven't tried putting anything inside our suitcases... I'm not up for that yet, should be interesting to say the least.

We've traveled quite a bit in the last 4 weeks too, seeing family in Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. We have a good 3,000 miles under our belts since pulling out of NYC last month.... Jacob drove about 2,900 of those, thanks babe :)

We've made our flight reservations to Atlanta for staging and look forward to meeting the other volunteers traveling with us to Honduras. I'm in a bit of organizational overload, which only means I'm more ridiculous than ever.... lots of lists. And everything is spotless (compulsive cleaner, especially when nervous... hopefully a useful trait, lol). My former coworkers always got a kick out of my desk, it looked like I never did any work, ha! Oh well.... I won't have a desk to clean for quite a while.

Anyway, we'll try to update again before we leave, and hopefully we'll be able to send some short updates during training. Hasta luego!

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 :)

I Should Have Watched Destinos More

"¿Donde está la biblioteca?"

Sorry, just practicing.

According to our supremely talented Placement Officer (she got us accepted after all,) we're going to be speaking Spanish for the next few years.

In February, we're shipping off to someplace south of Texas.  Where the food is hot, the women hotter, and the tequila ice, ice cold.  Not that I like tequila.  But a cerveza fria would not be a shame every now and then.

And there you have it peoples.  The extent and total knowledge of my four years of educational Spanish.  It's amazing what you remember:
 

• Library
• Beer
• Cold

My Spanish teachers would be so proud.  Makes my college graduation joke of - "Hey mom, I got a D in Spanish.  It stands for diploma" - even funnier.  Hopefully, retention on this go around will be easier seeing as how we'll actually be using the language.

And I won't have to watch Destinos.  Which I never did - hence the D.

Anywho - needless to say, the wifey is ecstatic.  Random Spanish words, things we can do, and the ubiquitous :) have dotted my GMail chat throughout the day.

And I am excited as well.  Though I'm practicing my machismo by not acting excited.

In a gracious act of full disclosure, I will say that I'm a tad disappointed about not going somewhere colder.  I like cold places.  Mongolia would have been nice.  Or Ukraine.

But what can you do.

I'll just have to learn to live with the heat.  It'll be like living in Texas all over again - though my current beard may be the first intentional victim of this future crusade.

So off to either: Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay, Ecuador, or Guyana .  We'll know specifics in a few more days.

Adios till then.  (HAH! There's another!)


P.S.  I was just informed that I'll get to take my boots with me - something that had been frowned upon until now (apparently, leather rots - who knew.)  And that makes me supremely happy (the boots, not the rot.)  I like my boots.

-Jacob

Monday, November 15th

Just a quick update, our Placement Officer emailed us yesterday letting us know that the program/country will give her a definitive answer regarding our approval for an invitation on Monday.

Monday. It seems so far away!