Monday, April 6, 2009

Despedidas in Trujillo

I'm writing this blog update from Tegucigalpa, and have officially been homeless for one week. This past week was spent in Catacamas, Olancho, which is a really pretty town that I hadn't yet visited during my service. I was there to facilitate another Viviendo Positivamente TOT with a few fellow volunteers. The training went well, though wasn't as well-attended as we had hoped. But it still gave us valuable experience leading up to the big training we're doing after Semana Santa in Tegucigalpa.

My last week in Trujillo was a blur of despedidas and moving. I had two "official" despedidas (goodbye parties) - one with PCVs and other extranjeros, and one with my honduran friends and counterparts.


The first despedida was all the things I love about Trujillo rolled into one great weekend. We spent a night at Tranquility Bay, a beach resort outside of town run by a great Peruvian-American couple. We spent the day relaxing on the beach, then had a delicious brick-oven pizza dinner. The power went out and the field outside the restaurant was lit up by fireflies. After dinner we went swimming in the caribbean, under a starry but moonless sky. The water was filled with bioluminescent organisms, so every movement would cause the water to glow.


The next morning we got up early to take a trip to Cayo Blanco. Cayo Blanco is a cay that has sunk to just a few feet below sea level. It's surrounded and covered by a small but thriving reef. Fernando brought his underwater camera, so we were able to get some pictures. Among other things we saw a stingray, an octopus, bright red sea urchins, and lots of jellyfish.



We spent the rest of the day relaxing at Tranquility Bay before returning to my apartment in Trujillo. That night we started out at Evelin's in Barrio Cristales for some guifiti on the beach. Then we went across the street to Nunu's where they were having a live punta show, and we all danced a bit.


Then it was on to Truxillo, a recently remodeled disco in the center of town. They play better music there, and it was air conditioned! We danced until 3am and then got baleadas in the central park.


Before the second despedida, I had to move out of my apartment. I spent two days moving/selling/giving away all my stuff. Finally my apartment was bare. It was a strange sight, one that I haven't had since June of 2007.

My second despedida was also fun, but much sadder as well. I took the support group out for dinner at Andrea's Hotel in Barrio San Martin. We spent the evening reminiscing and then each member of the group gave a short speech and presented me with a going-away gift. Then we danced bachata for a couple hours. It was really overwhelming to get so much appreciation from the group, especially when I feel so guilty for leaving. After having been so completely accepted and taken care of by the members of the support group, it feels wrong to be going back home to my "real life."

So that's that. My service in Trujillo is over, and after facilitating a couple more trainings in other parts of the country, my service in Honduras will be over, too. It's hard to believe the 27 months are almost up.

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