mediocre

I finished my first week at The San Diego Reader today. It's nice to have a job and my coworkers are awesome. Surprisingly they've shown a real interest in my life and have asked lots of questions. It's these questions that have made me realize how mediocre I possibly might be.

"Oh so you surf?" said one sales rep after I put a pic of waves in El Sal on my computer.
"Well, not really. I'm learning," I answer.

"You play guitar?"
"I took a class in high school and play for fun, but I'm not really any good."

"You were in Honduras a whole year? You must be fluent at Spanish?"
"Not really."

"You have plans for the weekend?"
"Nothing really. I might hang out with friends from my university and on Sunday I'm going to the Jewel concert with my mom."

"So, did you have a serious boyfriend in college."
"No."

"You must've seen a lot of crazy s@#$ in Honduras -- you know, like gangs and political stuff?"
"Not really. That all happened the day I left."

ANYWAY, these questions have made me want to actually finish something. When people ask I want to be able to say, "Yes I do play the guitar and I'm damn good at it."

entry level

I'm back in San Diego ... and the search for a job has begun! The more I talk to friends my age the more I think we're experiencing the same emotions: confusion and frustration. We're done with college but we don't yet have the job of our dreams --- and we're not sure what that job actually is anymore.

With that said, I had my second interview at The Reader today -- it's not for an editorial position, but I'm still excited about it. I should know by the end of the week if I got the job!

Tonight a bunch of friends from JBU are coming over for dinner -- it should be a blast! Tomorrow I'm going to Mexico with my dad and Bethany -- I'm pretty excited about that too! Friday I'm getting new registration tags for my car ... and that's the extent of my life plans for now.

Peace.

ousting presidents

I'm back in the U.S.A. safe and sound, but I can't help but wish I was in Honduras to see first-hand how the situation with President Zelaya will turn out. I've been reading updates in the New York Times, but when I compare them to the information I receive from people in Honduras and my own first-hand experiences I'm deeply frustrated.

The Organization of American States (OAS) called the military overthrow an "old-fashioned coup" and has given Honduras three days to replace their ousted president. The OAS says that if Honduras doesn't let Zelaya back they will be suspended from the group.

Here's the thing that makes me livid. The articles do not accurately portray the situation in Honduras. The Honduran president has been trying to change the constitution so that he can stay in power at least for another term. He was telling people to go to the polls to vote to make these changes. Technically, according to the Honduran constitution, this is an act of treason against the country because it goes against the constitution. However, until the president formally published something telling people do vote to change the constitution it wasn't made official. The night before President Zelaya was removed he published this edict, thus giving the military legal reason to remove him.

It wasn't an illegal coup!

The Honduran military wasn't acting unruly or chaotically --- they were simply defending their country's constitution and democracy! The U.S. and other members of the OAS need to get their facts straight!

To get better information about the situation in Honduras read the comments on the New York Times article today.

mucho tiempo sin update

Hello!!!

It´s been awhile since I´ve updated ...

I´m in El Salvador!! I just spent an amazing week on the beach with Brittany Hoover, one of my roommates from college. Her flight left this morning and I´m heading back to San Pedro Sula tomorrow to catch my flight home. I´m sad to leave.

The beach was amazing. Brittany and I had a great week. We had an amazing view ... which I´ll post pictures up as soon as I´m home ... and made lots of new friends!


It´s my third time in El Salvador and I continue to fall more and more in love with it!

despedidos

My time in La Ceiba is almost over. I leave tomorrow to go to San Pedro Sula and from there I'll travel to El Salvador. I'm excited about my next travels and about going home, but I don't want to say goodbye. Here are some photo highlights of my last days in La Ceiba:

dance baby dance

I'm living in Barrio La Isla now with Micah and Tyler ... and the occasional backpacker who needs a couch to sleep on. My first weekend with roommates in Honduras has been full of lots of things: packing, unpacking, eating, dancing, high school PROM, cleaning, educational movies, parties, rum, dancing, discos, beach volleyball, drinks, dancing, Japanese food, romance novels, fruit, the river ...

Here are some photos that capture the essence of the weekend:

Dancing at prom. The students all looked awesome! Most of the girls had their dresses custom made and the boys all looked nice in suits. Prom here was much different from my prom ... the whole family came to the party! I left around 3 a.m., but even then the dance floor was still pretty full with students and their families.

Cindy and me -- a group of us meet at the beach every Sunday afternoon to play volleyball, hang out, and watch the sun sinking into the Caribbean Sea.

Tyler, me, Matt, Cindy and Hiromi at Ki'Bok Sunday night for a little fiesta. Hiromi made a traditional Japanese dish and afterward we had a photo shoot with random objects.

Only one week left in La Ceiba. Estoy triste. :(

ode to hiromi

I just got back from having coffee with my good friend Hiromi. It was awesome. We laughed so hard and talked about all sorts of things ... girl things ... in Spanish. :)

It's been a rough week, although I'm not sure exactly why. I haven't been feeling myself. A lot of stuff is stressing me out. It was really nice to take a break from everything and giggle with a good girl friend.

Hiromi is a volunteer here through the Japanese government -- kind of like the Peace Corps. She's one of the sweetest, most joyful people I've ever met! I hope we're friends forever! :)