October 2007

Final day at language school

Today we completed five days of spanish immersion, with 4 hours of spanish lessons each morning, then practicing together for about 3 hours each afternoon. Our minds are tired. We both feel like we acquired a basic vocabulary and understanding of verbs, but just very basic. We can go around the town and ask for things in spanish (no one speaks much english here), so we have gained that ability. The spanish verbs are very complex and we now recognize the conjugations, but that does not mean we can use them. We are still walking around with cheat sheets in our pockets.

Conference final notes and Ixbalanqe

It´s a hot humid day here in Honduras, tho not as hot as it might be in Haiti. Looks like it´s chilly at home, so I´m happy to be where it´s warm. As promised, here are some additional notes about the Conference. The final day of the conference focussed on medical missions and we picked up a lot of good information.

Update from Marcia

We just got an email update from Marcia. The news in Haiti is not good; they have had constant rain for more than 2 weeks. This month is usually when we make our trip to Haiti. It is clear that if we were in Haiti now we would not be able to do medical clinics. Marcia is not able to get to even the closest village. Here in her own words: Like you already know that, we're going every second Monday to St Eleine and second Thursday to Camp-perin. This month it is not possible because it's running everyday down here.

Conference on Honduras = Day 3

To begin with, I am writing this blog on a screen written entirely in spanish and on a keyboard that has different keys (allowing for accent marks, etc.). This will be a challenge.

Conference on Honduras, day 1

Paul and I arrived in Copan Ruinas last night about 6 pm - about a 12 hour trip. Honduras is beautiful but a bit warmer than it was in February. Copan's weather is still temperate and we enjoyed breakfast on a balcony overlooking the mountains and lush greenery. The Conference on Honduras began at 7 this morning. We've already gleaned helpful information including the possibility of a 750 GB digital library that might be useful at AUC and for Rose Ihedigbo in Nigeria also.