Bienvenidos a Honduras

Thanks for everyone's prayers. I finally made it to Honduras safely. And better yet, I have yet to get sick! Internet is probably going to happen once a week. But for the meantime, I've been keeping notes on what has happened.

Day 1
I can't beleive I'm finally in Honduras! We woke up extra early, stood in a daze at the airport for hours, one 4-hour flight and a 1-hour bus ride later, I'm seeing the gorgeous cool, evergreen-covered hills of Zarabanda. I've unpacked most of my things into my fairly nice room with a desk, chair, clothes-hanger, and a double-size bed (pictures to come later). My parents are Eva Argentina and Daniel, in their 70's, and my brother and sister, Raul and Ana. Ana is a cool gal who is a ceramics artist for the bearby Valle de Angeles (where I am now with the internet). I had a frightening feeling when I first arived - that I had no clue what I got myself into. But now, all is great! I just have to learn how to manuall flush the toilet, and how to properly take a bucket bath (we'll find out in the morning)! Next up is gonna be handwashing my laundry in the pila. But I'm getting ahead of myself. One day at a time. I'm sticking with my new motto: Hakuna Mattata.

Day 2
First run at the bucket bath. It's everything I expected. I laid in bed contemplating my plan while the roosters called for sunlight. Had a nice, 15 minute walk to school with my neighbor, Eric. We live in a small community with just a few families. It's nice and tranquilo. We started with some frightening safety sessions and spent the rest of the day in "survival" Spanish classes. Turns out I know a little more Spanish than I give myself credit for, but we'll settle that tomorrow when I have my language interview to asses my level of proficiency. This is what will determine which class I will be in for the next few weeks. We also received some emergency supplies today: salt tablets, subscreen, bug spray, ibuprofen, a mosquito net, and my favorite, that malicious malaria medication we've all heard so much about. Also, tonight I went to church with my hermana, Ana. It was at a friend's house. Thought I didn't understand everything or talk to that many people, I did understand some. And it was encouraging.

Day 3
Cold shower. Good breakfast. Language interview. Spanish class. Tasty lunch. Walk home. Play fútbol. Very tired. Yummy dinner. Cold shower. Buenas Noches!

Packing List

Tuesday. D-day. I've spent the last week completing all the necessary last steps one does before leaving the country for 2 years. I've spent hours, maybe even days, scouring the internet to glean what useful items a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) might stuff into their duffel bag for a 27-month expedition into the unknown. I can't say I've found the secret, but here's what I decided to take with me for the journey:

Before

Bags:

1 - REI XL Duffel bag

1 - REI backpack

1 - Air Force backpack (special thanks to Andy Yount)

1 - Guitar case + guitar

Clothes:

5 - pants; 3 jeans, 2 khakis

2 - shorts; 1 athletic, 1 cargo

1 - sports jacket

1 - tie

1 - dress shirt

7 - business casual shirts; 3 polo, 4 button-down

14 - underwear

6 - pair socks; 4 REI everyday, 2 ankle

2 - brown belts

2 - light jackets

1 - hooded rain jacket (Seattle-boy had to buy one of these, because it doesn't rain that much/hard here).

Shoes:

1 - Brown dress shoes

1 - Merrell Intercepts - gore-tex hiking shoes

1 - Merrell Galiens - covered sandal

1 - Flip-flops

Miscellaneous:

1 - jungle knife (special thanks to Tim Walker)

1 - pocket knife

1 - clipboard (recommended by John Foss)

1 - 4x6 picture frame with photos
1 - calligraphy pen w/ nibs
1 - stack calligraphy paper

1 - travel sewing kit (special thanks to Kristen Strutner)

1 - passport holder/neckpouch
4 - extra passport photos (I remember reading this was a good idea)

1 - Rick Steves quick-dry towel

1 - Rick Steves silk sleep sack (special thanks to Grandma & Grandpa)

1 - 50ft parachute cord

1 - pair leather work gloves

1 - pair sunglasses

1 - travel coffee filter

1 - small plastic cup (for coffee)

40 - plastic bags, 20 quart, 20 gallon

4 - packs TSP spices; cinnamon, thyme, ginger, chili powder

1 - bottle REI deet bug spray

1 - bottle body wash

2 - sticks deodorant

3 - disposable razors

2 - sticks Burt's Bees

1 - small jar of Nutella + plastic spoon (this goes in the emergency kit)
1 - sport kite

Bandit wanted to come, but he took up too much room.

Electronics:

1 - Laptop + charger

1 - External HD

1 - iPod + headphones

1 - Travel alarm clock

1 - Red Cross solar/crank-powered AM/FM radio/flashlight/USB charger

1 - Free Red Cross emergency flashlight

1 - point-and-shoot digital camera + mini-tripod

1 - large zoom camera

1 - cell phone (unlocked) + charger

1 - set small speakers (why not?)

1 - surge protector

1 - 3-prong adapter

1 - financial calculator (I can still be a nerd, even in Honduras)

Literature:

The Bible (I plan on finding one in Spanish)

Mini Spanish-English Dictionary
Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook

Unofficial Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook

Honduras travel guide, Lonely Planet

"Building Social Business" by Muhammad Yunus

"Photographer's Guide to Yosemite" by Michael Frye

"The Age of the Economist" by Daniel Fusfeld

"The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

"Open Veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent" by Eduardo Galeano

"The End of Poverty" by Jeffrey Sachs (special thanks to Teresa Loucks)

2 latest issues of The Economist + subscriptions mailed weekly to Honduras

After

I realized packing everything is as much an emotional process as a physical one. But finally, all that I'll be taking with me for two years is right there. It's been a long time coming, but tomorrow I walk out the door and set foot into my next adventure. I appreciate everyone's prayers throughout this process. It's such an amazing and humbling feeling to know that people all over the continent have been praying for me. Keep 'em comin'! And I will let everyone know when I make it safely to Honduras.

And if anyone wants to mail me anything, I've posted my address in the right column. And here are some recommendation regarding mail straight from the Peace Corps handbook:

Do not have money or other valuable items sent to you through the mail. Electrical appliances cannot be sent through the mail, as they are prohibited items and could be subject to a custom fine. Letters and packages are sometimes opened by postal workers, and valuable items occasionally disappear. In addition, the process of retrieving a package at the post office can be time consuming, and customs duties may exceed the value of the items sent. If you must have packages sent; we recommend padded envelopes. (I've also heard that drawing crosses and writing 'Jesus te ama' will deter theft).

Estimated Time of Departure

It's getting down to the wire with one week left and I'm trying to wrap up all the loose ends of my life so I can leave with only future worries to occupy my thoughts. There's more to leaving than you might expect, it was certainly more than I expected. After all of the application steps for Peace Corps, there's all of the steps to actually get there. Apply for a passport, file taxes, consolidate bank accounts, schedule flights, measure luggage dimensions, put everything else in storage boxes... the list goes on. In fact, whatever else is on that list is what I'll be doing this next week. Not to mention trying to "pack up" all the relationships I'll be leaving behind. Sure there are phones and facebook, but even those start to fade away when you can't rely on your daily high-speed wifi and constant cell service.

That might be the hardest part about leaving. Saying goodbye to everyone. Putting human affairs on hold for 2 years. The relationships we have are much more difficult to pack into storage boxes. They don't keep well and when you reopen those boxes after some time, it always seems that some of them have disappeared. It's never quite the same. Having left a few different places, I can say that maintaining relationships with friends is hard to do while moving around. Each time feels like practice for the next time, but with this kind of practice it doesn't seem to get easier. However, our stories continue and they change and we meet new friends and remember old ones, hopefully allowing ourselves to continually be called towards adventure and greatness.

Having said all that, the anticipation is starting to build. My excitement started to go numb from the long process and all of the necessary hoops to jump through, but now that my time is growing short, I'm starting to get those pre-trip butterflies. I'm planning and packing and preparing, but there's always that huge void of the unknown. I might forget something, and I'm sure I'll learn how to live without it. I'll probably bring something that's not very useful, but I'll probably find some use for it. Anything could happen in Honduras. You might even say I'm risking my life - not like our military does with people firing weapons at me, but in stepping into an unknown place, being mis- or uninformed, being a misfit. In the end of Don Miller's book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, he talks about how the good, exciting stories are ones where we risk something big. The stories where we lay our lives on the line or others' futures depend on the character - those stories are Epics. Maybe this is something we all aspire to, and who knows if we will, but there's a lot to be risked and a lot of life to be lived!

Next Tuesday is my final day at home. Then I step onto a plane with all that I can carry and start a 2-year adventure, leaving all I've known behind and throwing caution to the wind all in the hopes of a great story. Maybe then my posts can stop being about speculation and rather experience.

A Story

Happily Ever After. The classic ending. You've read a good book, seen a good movie, listened to a good bedtime story, and they all end with "happily ever after." It really is a great ending. It says all it needs to say to end the story. Every conflict is resolved, the protagonist reached their full potential, the villain was defeated, the kingdom is restored, and all is right with the world. Honestly, the rest is boring. So we cut it.

We all love a good story. It's even better when that good story is our own. We tell them with minor embellishments and we're sure to skip any embarrassing or boring parts. Why? Because we'd love it if our life was actually as good as the stories we tell. We want to live a good story. I've recently been reading this book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, it's about how our life would look if we were to put it in a movie. The most important part of any movie is the story. What separates exciting movies from bad ones? Story. What gets our adrenaline pumping or the tears rolling? Story. What makes us want to watch the good ones again and again? Story.

So what is a story? A story is a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. This is the definition Don's friend gives in the book, after they both returned from a 3-day seminar by Robert McKee about story. Don is working on making a screen adaptation of his life - a much better, edited version of his life. He discusses this idea that a story needs all these key elements to make it interesting, like conflict, passion, goals and obstacles and that for an interesting, satisfying, and fulfilling life we can utilize these same elements. The same elements that make a story compelling make our life compelling.

It got me thinking about my own life. About my own story. What kind of story am I living? How many boring scenes would I edit out? How often am I the character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it? Don writes in his book, "A character is what a character does." I'm reminded of a great storyteller, Shakespeare. In Hamlet, the protagonist is caught up in a decision: to be or not to be. That is the question. One part of him wants to kill his uncle and avenge his father, the other part of him wants to do nothing. Rather than being characterized by one action or the other, Hamlet is defined by his inaction. Despite his thoughts and intentions on doing one thing or the other, he does nothing. A character is what a character does.

So who is my character, what does he want and what conflict does he overcome to get it? I've asked myself this question a lot lately. The answer I'm tempted to give is 'I'm not sure yet.' But then what does that say about the story I'm currently living? That character wants nothing and sure isn't facing any obstacles in getting it. The other answer is 'A lot of things.' I want a lot of things, but my priorities probably change when obstacles arise. I was thinking about the last time I wanted something and overcame an obstacle to get it. I don't know about you,  but I can't recall too many. Honestly, up to this point in my life, I haven't wanted very many things and I haven't encountered very many obstacles, at least not big ones. And it's those big ones that really change a character. I remember reading Huckleberry Finn in high school. I didn't quite understand it at first because I kept trying to figure out the whole point of floating down the Mississippi. They were overcoming obstacles left and right, but what was the goal or purpose? Turns out, sometimes the purpose is the journey itself. Mark Twain seems to have had this down. It's the journey - the overcoming of obstacles, that really affects change in us. In story terms, this is the character development.

With just over two weeks until I leave, I get asked if I'm excited or nervous about going to Honduras and what it's going to be like. It's going to be an adventure. Will I want something? Yes. Will I have to overcome obstacles to get it? Yes. Is it going to be hard? Yes. I wouldn't expect anything less from something so many people have claimed to be life-changing. I think maybe I'm like Huck Finn. Maybe my goal right now is simply the journey; to overcome obstacles just to see if I can. And in the end, hopefully I'm richer for the experience.

Let me summarize with this clip:

A story is a character who wants something and overcomes obstacles to get it.

And if it makes a good story, it makes a good life.

The Process

So I've shared most of my reasons for wanting to join the Peace Corps. One underlying reason I left off is that if I didn't take this opportunity to join the Peace Corps at this point in my life, I would regret it. Regret. For who knows how long. Even if things don't live up to my wildest fantasies, at least I'll be able to say I experienced it and I'll never regret doing so. Especially since I am going to combine an MBA program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) with the PC experience. So since I made up my mind to join, here's what happened next:

• March 2009: Start PC application.

• October 2009: Submit MIIS application.

• January 2010: Complete PC application. It doesn't really take 10 months, I spent lots of time considering, reconsidering, and thinking it over.

• February 2010: Start Peace Corps' Master's International Advanced Entry Master of Business Administration (PCMI advanced entry MBA). Yeah, long name. Fortunately, MIIS had a spring start and put me on the advanced track due to my finance degree. Oh, and it's in Monterey, CA.

• March 5, 2010: PC interview.
• March 10, 2010: Nominated for Peace Corps assignments leaving in Jan/Feb/March 2011

• April 2010: Receive medical, dental, and legal forms.

• June 2010: Complete medical, dental, and legal forms.

• October 2010: Follow-up PC interview. I find out I'm headed for Central American in February.

• November 2010: Receive official invitation to serve as Business Advisor in Honduras! Departs February 23.

• December 2010: Complete academic portion of MBA at MIIS.

• February 23, 2011: Staging in Atlanta, GA. Think of it as a welcoming and intensive orientation.
• February 24, 2011: Fly to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to start 3 months of Pre-Service Training (PST). Language, cultural, and technical training. During this time, I'll found out where my real assignment is and get an idea of what exactly I'll be doing.

As you can see, it's a long process. Peace Corps received roughly 10,000 applications each year and sends roughly 40% of them and less than that complete the 27 months of service. The application process itself seems to foreshadow what Peace Corps itself will be like. Things move slowly. There are lots of steps. You have to talk to multiple people. You have to be patient. Maybe they think if you can make it through the application process, you have a chance at surviving the next 27 months of the unknown. But I'll tell you the anticipation never gets old and finding out that I'd be leaving for Honduras was one of the most exciting days of my life.

If you're interested in the Peace Corps, you can check out the Peace Corps page I created (and will update further) or check out www.peacecorps.gov. Remember, it's never too late to join!

Why the Peace Corps?

When people ask me why I decided to join the Peace Corps, it's not always an easy answer. The real answer is I have a lot of reasons. They seem to change depending on the day and which direction I decide my life should take (as if I have any idea, or control). Some deep, some shallow, here are my reasons for joining:

• I want to do something great with my life.

I've often asked myself: what makes great men (and women) 'great'? From Alexander the Great to Winston Churchill, Jesus to Mother Teresa, Gandhi to Rosa Parks, da Vinci to Alfred Nobel, Mozart to Ella Fitzgerald, Queen Elizabeth to Martin Luther King Jr., Cleopatra to Abraham Lincoln, Plato to Emerson, Newton to Einstein, Socrates to Shakespeare, Michelangelo to Monet, Nelson Mandela to JFK, and countless more... What is it that they possess that I do not? What can I do to be like them - to change the world?

• I want to see the world.

I'm not sure if we all have that little voice inside of us, that adventurous spirit telling us to let loose and take off, set sail and see the world. Well, I do. We all have a need for comfort and security, especially as we grow wiser, but while there's still foolishness in my blood I feel the urge to shirk off the responsibility and comfort of this American life and travel to some other world. Some other life. And now's just the time. Young, restless, unemployed, homeless and single. I was feeling so adventurous, I decided to leave the Preferences section on my Peace Corps application blank!

• I want to be like Bear Grylls.

OK, I said some of them weren't that serious. This one's not that serious, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. I have a small confession to make: I love survivor shows. Not the reality ones where people get voted off islands. I'm talking about the hardcore machete-swinging, bug-eating, fire-building, bamboo-rafting, rabbit-slaying, real manly surviving! I know Peace Corps isn't the same when it started, which means it's been effective. I'll be living in some form of civilization. This I recognize. But still, can't I have a little bit of my own Man vs. Wild? I'm reminded of another manly reference: Fight Club. When Brad Pitt asks Edward Norton, "How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? I don't wanna die without any scars. So come one; hit me before I lose my nerve." While I'm not condoning physical violence, I too don't want to die without any scars - stories - from a real encounter with life. So let's go before I lose my nerve!

Special thanks to Tim for helping me get started with this one by hooking me up with one of these great tools. It will soon see action. 

• I want to work in international economic development.

Microfinance, specifically. It's a term with a lot of definitions. Basically, it can be described as banking for the poor. There's a book by a similar name, Banker to the Poor written by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner that discusses his cognitive dissonance regarding the economics he teaches at University while the poor live just beyond the schoolyard. Yunus devises a theory that these people simply need access to affordable credit as an opportunity for economic freedom, a theory which he then proves with his creation of the Grameen Bank. The field has since exploded into hundreds of microfinance institutions (MFIs) across the developing world. I read this book several months before graduating with my finance degree and found myself utterly fascinated with the idea and had a desire to impact the world's poor and disenfranchised through this channel. The best part is it takes advantage of my finance background, passion for social injustice,  and my urge to travel (since the greatest need is outside the US). And most positions within MFIs require 2+ years of development experience, preferably bilingual with an MBA. Perfecto!

• I want to help people.

The typical response. It sounds so cliché when I say it, I almost prefer mentioning all of my other reasons. However, this is one of those deeper reasons that stays with me despite what day of the week it is or what I think I want to do with my life. Even though I got a degree in finance, I don't believe that money is equivalent to happiness. I feel that many people become worried about making money, "providing" for a family, paying back school loans, or whatever that they pursue economic prosperity, yet lose the life they've longed for. My personal theory goes on to say this is the cause of mid-life crises, where people suddenly realize that making money or pursuing a career at 80+ hours a week doesn't seem to fulfill them. Now I don't think that these two ideas are necessarily mutually exclusive. In fact, I hope to combine them in my future (but not the 80+ hours part).

• I want to find out who I really am.

This is similar to the Fight Club reference, but it's more about the soul-searching spiritual experience I anticipate having with all of the free time and none of the distractions. Moses spoke with a burning bush on a lonely mountain. David connected with God surrounded only by sheep. And Jesus often withdrew to a secluded place to pray and hear from God. Most of us live noisy and distracting lives here in the States, always on the go, music in our ear, energy drinks and fast-food to eat while we do it. I hope to find this time of quiet and truth-seeking in the mountains of Honduras. Maybe you have a place you go regularly, I typically prefer my closet, in which case I would encourage you to spend some time there soon. If you don't yet have a quiet place of solitude, I encourage you to seek it out and spend some time in your own soul search.

"Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed—doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language.

But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace."

~John F. Kennedy

Adam

I've Been Here Before

Once upon a time a little boy barely out of middle school was  invited on a grandiose adventure with his grandfather. His grandfather had been long admired for always bringing back coins from wonderful and far-off places. Travelling was a part of the job description, because he was a missionary. How envious the little boy was, always dreaming of seeing these places firsthand, and now, the invitation was before him: a one-week mission trip to a pueblo right outside San Pedro Sula, Honduras. There, the community was in need of help building a second story on the little school house, painting the blank cinder block walls of the inside with bright, cheerful colors, digging a cesspool and septic drain field for sanitation, and spending time encouraging the local church.

Nearly a decade later, I realize this was a pivotal moment where God opened my eyes to see a world beyond my own. It's also the point when I realized I need to learn Spanish! My life has been so comfortable. I'm able to eat whatever, and whenever, I want. We even have a refrigerator to hold all of the food we can't eat! I can drive here or there or go to a park or watch TV all day. I only need to work 5 days a week and certainly not while I'm attending school (though, of course I do!). We have a nice house and even a yard - in fact, two! Have I ever felt the pangs of hunger? Only when I'm fasting. Have I ever been hopelessly sick? Only until the clinic opens in the morning. Have I ever longed to leave my life and travel far away where I thought things might be better? Alright, maybe this one is true. I'll admit my reasons for joining the Peace Corps are partly selfish. I want to be a world traveler, speak other languages, know a different life. Having been there before, it's made me appreciate this one so much. But also, being here has made me appreciate something there.

So why didn't I post a picture of the giant cesspool we dug? Though I do appreciate good septic systems, there was another moment I remember more clearly about that mission trip. We spent our final day seeing the beauty of Tela, Honduras, one of the most stunning beaches I have ever seen. It's this picture that I took 10 years ago (with nothing more than a disposable camera) that reminds me what a beautiful country Honduras is and reminds me to appreciate the something there. Which now I certainly do, having seen the rest of the 4" snowfall melt away here in Seattle yesterday, trying to imagine it's a warm sandy white beach welcoming me back to its shores. It's odd isn't it? That foreign country I set foot in so many years ago is the same country I will now call my home for the next 27 months. God does things like that - those little things that no one else thinks about, but you see how meaningful they are to you.

I lay in bed staring at this picture. I've always wanted to be there again. I'm so thankful for the Peace Corps and the opportunity to live in this magical, adventurous place - to live a magical, adventurous life! What a blessing!

"Hope deferred makes the heart grow sick,

But desire fulfilled is a tree of life."

Adam