Skiing

Lemme just say something about using a language a lot when practice has been intermittent for a while... it feels like skiing. What you know comes back to you, like riding a bike, and the first day feels pretty good but definitely is a good workout. Then the second day, getting back out there on the slopes, you think, "Ooh, I definitely feel the burn from yesterday," so you don't push yourself as hard. Then there's a day or two when you think, "I need a rest day." But then you find a happy medium of enjoying the mountain but not overdoing it for your current skill level, and you realize how much more you could get out of this trip if you could only afford a private lesson... Awesome, because that's where this analogy ends! Language school starts on Monday, and it's a lot more affordable than ski school.

Let's see, where'd I leave you? Friday... we got our first look at the MCC office! We went over some of the CCM Honduras-specific policies and sat down for un cafecito to meet the other team members who work in the office, Rudi (program assistant, second from left) and don Marcos (admin assistant, right).

My brain still calls it fika

My desk

Reviewed how our personal bookkeeping will work, then went out for lunch close by. I had chuleta & remolacha (pork belly & beets). Pretty tasty! More meetings after lunch, including setting up our phones with new SIMs and local numbers, and talking about vacation policy. We went back to Caesar & Lizette's that evening, but this time, for dinner. We had some typical Honduran tostadas with beef, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, guacamole... 😋

Saturday, we had a treasure hunt in SPS to help us get to know the city better. It was SO HOT, but a useful exercise to get a feel for using rapiditos and taxis and to see some of the landmarks. Elieth, nicaragüense and YAMENer from last year who has extended her term with MCC, joined us for the hunt.

Electrolytes

Statue of El Forjador (The Blacksmith) - SPS es la ciudad del trabajador

We ended up at the Saturday Bazaar at the expo center and enjoyed the air conditioning during a late-ish lunch. The afternoon was for napping and cooling down from the day. Over dinner, we finally got to meet the reps, Jenny & Joel, just back from language school!

Sunday we received a warm welcome at the Mennonite Church. In the afternoon we had a pool party with the reps and their kids before heading over to their house for dinner. Keyla and I each made one of our favorite recipes for the team.

Colorado pie and crema espinaca for twelve

Yesterday we started our visits to MCC's partner organizations by visiting a couple sites that are drivable from SPS. Today, we embark on a road trip to visit several more!