1 month down!

lo siento to anyone who has checked my blog for updates in the last month! it has been a whirlwind of change, beauty, and stress. I have now been in Honduras for 35 days and i am completely in shock over how quickly time has passed. i have another 5 weeks of training and then i'll officially morph from a Peace Corps Trainee to an actual Volunteer! so exciting! as for updates, i'm not sure where to begin. here's my best try:
I am currently in Talanga, Honduras for Field Based Training, which is basically a time where we receive specialized technical information regarding our specific project, mine being youth development. It's where they attempt to give us a taste of what it will be like to actually be a volunteer. My day begins with INTENSE language classes from 730-1130, lunch with my familia, and then more training in the afternoon that focuses on issues specific to youth development.
the days are long, but the other trainees are so much fun. i've definitely found kindred spirits-wonderful people who are positive and so happy to be here.
for all of you who teased me about the food here-suck it. my host mom owns a restaurant (my casa is directly behind it) and the food is AMAZING. i have steak and french fries for lunch with a watermelon milkshake. i am loving life. i'm pretty anti-frijoles, which is kind of a huge problem here. the Hondurans are incredibly creative when coming up with ways to serve beans. i've had them fried, refried, smashed, thrown in a blender, boiled, liquified, with eggs, with plaintains, with butter, with breakfast, with avocado, as a snack, on chips, on tortillas, deceivingly shaped like a sausage patty (unbelievably huge letdown) and numerous other ways. it's incredible really and i would be impressed if i wasn't filled with dread every time i spot them in a dish.
my host family here is absolutely wonderful. my mom owns a restaurant and is incredibly tranquila and then i have three sisters, three primas, three dogs, and a baby chick! it's hectic, chaotic, and just the way i like it! for those of you who are familiar with my luck theory, i've shaved off several good years of my life because of how awesome my host families have been. i am currently the only trainee in talanga to have a washer and dryer. bah! i count my blessings daily.
there are so many interesting stories i could tell, so many beautiful moments that i need to share, but my time is short! one of the most hilarious parts of honduras that has to be mentioned are the piropos. Piropos are the Honduran equivalent of catcalls and they're one of the best parts of my day. when a woman walks down the street, honduran males often find it necessary to yell certain expressions of admiration. Some are poetic, others crude, and they're often mildly creepy (i.e. when i hear a kissing noise from the deep recesses of a building. sketch). "Bonita gringa", "Usted es guapa", "I love you", and "Mi amor" are very popular, along with some other more graphic phrases.
though life here is stressful and i miss home a great deal more than i expected, i find myself laughing often-at myself, at situations that would only happen here in honduras, with other aspirantes, and at the sheer insanity of the fact that i will be spending the next two years of my life in this country.
all in all, life is so so abundantly good. i have been cared for and taken care of in so many ways and am truly living the adventure i dreamed of. more posts to come-i should have pretty steady internet for a few weeks! love, love, love!
"Making your mark on the world is hard. if it were easy everyone would do it. but it's not. it takes patience. it takes commitment. and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. the real test is not whether you avoid this failure because you won't. it's whether you let it harden of shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere."