Leala in Honduras!

Let me begin by saying that I hate flying into Chicago. When I first got to John Wayne airport, I had already checked in from home; however, when I got to the airport, I was too late to check my bags in. Thus, my flight that was to get into DC at 8:30p was dropped, and I had to take a flight that would arrive at 11:30p. It wasn''t too bad because I still had to get my Power of Attorney form notarized and I got to eat Vietnamese food for the last time. All is well when I take off. Then when I arrive at O'Hare airport in Chicago, my plane decided to not pull into the gate for whatever reason. Instead, I sat in the plane for an additional 20 minutes with no explanation for the cause and began to worry about being late for my connecting flight. It turns out that I had nothing to worry about because my flight to DC was delayed 20 or so minutes. Happy times. Traveling got even worse after I boarded the plane. We did not take off until 2 hours later! Apparently it was so cold in Chicago (28 degrees F!!) that 5 of the 7 re-fueling trucks were iced over. Fuel came way later. I eventually got into Reagan National Airport in DC at 1:40a and into my hotel at 2:00a. Blah! I hate the Chicago airport!

We are staying and having orientation at a hotel in Georgetown, so it's very convenient. IT'S SOOOOOOOO COLD THOUGH!! My ear lobes are hurting me because they are beginning to freeze off. All (50 or so) of us were more prepared for the tropical weather in Honduras that we had forgotten to think about the orientation in DC. I miss warm weather.

Orientation has been pretty good though. I had come into this really not being mentally prepared to become a volunteer, so orientation has begun to make me a lot more excited about my future job. Here at orientation, there are many volunteers but only 3 sectors that we are working in. They are: Health, Water Sanitation, and Business. It is a good mix of people and jobs, and things look pretty promising for cross-sector work that will enhance public health in Honduras. Very much so, I am finally looking forward to moving on to my future.

With that being said, here is my contact information for the next 3 months at my Training Center in Santa Lucia, Honduras. Even after I move to my site, you can still send stuff there. On a related note, it would be better to send items in padded envelopes rather than in boxes. Also, adding religious symbols and words like "God will punish you" or "female hygenic products" would probably help prevent people from opening up the packages. I hope to hear from you all soon in some way or another!

Leala Ruangtragool, PCT
Voluntario del Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 3158
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
America Central