Reality check

I got in trouble at work today. Yesterday I went to San Pedro with Elmer to grocery shop for the medical team that gets here tomorrow. Somehow lines got crossed and I, without thinking clearly, didn't ask Dr. Moncada or Melvin the boss for permission to leave. I got a completely justifiable slap on the wrist for that one. There's my confession for the day. I feel like a scolded child. 

That said, going to San Pedro was like a breath of fresh air. I'm getting moderately stir crazy from being more or less locked into the Foundation property after 4 p.m. and from living in the middle of nowhere. I can't help it, I love cities. I also love running, I'm genuinely looking forward to running a lot when I get back in July to make up for all the time I've lost here. And, San Pedro had magic grocery stores where they sell things like granola and yogurt and baker's chocolate. 

All selfish and whiny complaints aside, life is good here in Honduras. Esmeralda feeds me a delicious lunch every day and people give me fruit all the time. I have a beautiful mountain in my front yard and I continue to learn tons about NGO administration, international health care, Spanish and the art of tortilla making. We haven't had a legitimate earth quake in over a week and I am hopeful this trend will continue. As I get more comfortable here at the clinic, I'm getting better at seeing what needs to be done so I stay pretty busy most days. Today I spent nearly 5 hours creating a half sheet with information about preventing the H1N1 flu. It took 5 hours because I had to give 2 computers and 3 printers a serious talking to before anything would work right. I've been slowly teaching the staff here how to use email, which is always a trip. I'm halfway through, though, so we are definitely making progress! 

Next week there will be another medical team here. Initially I was going to go to Denia the nurse's house on Sunday instead of hanging out with the team, but Elmer came down sick today so I'll be going with Melvin the Bearded to pick the team up at the airport and hang out with them this weekend to act as translator if necessary. I can't complain too much, that means I get to eat lots of delicious food and see pretty things. 

My other big news for the week is that Dalila brought nail polish remover to work on Wednesday after she and I decided my feet were too disgusting to handle. 1 pedicure later, I no longer look like I live in the jungle and wander through yucca fields in my spare time.