Last week was indeed quite eventful; filled with incredibly positive and not-so-positive moments. It started like any other week, a quiet Monday that many were dreading because of a sleepless weekend. Monday was followed by Tuesday (no surprise there). We had visits planned to Belén Gualcho for Tuesday and Wednesday to learn about the water situation in that community. If there are any Hondurans reading, they might ask: “Why would you go visit this small community hidden in the mountainous occident of Honduras?" Well, Belén Gualcho was actually hit with a Hepatitis A epidemic about a year ago. While we were there, we met with local officials, health centre workers and ministry of environment representatives from whom we learned about challenges they ran into while dealing with the epidemic, temporary solutions they’ve come up with and what they foresee as necessary for the future. We then were able to visit various water tanks, the source of Belén Gualcho’s water, where they dispose of their dirty water, etc. Needless to say, even though this was an educational trip, that did not stop us from taking advantage of the beautiful landscapes around us and taking lots of photos. I must say though, what shocked me the most was the people we were with. Some of the town counsellors spent the entire two days with us and even followed us on our hikes. Talk about hospitality! Overall, they seemed very interested in water related issues.
Unfortunately, this amazing couple of days was followed with a bit of a sour moment for me. After a couple of weeks of difficulty with my living situation, the decision was made for me and my counterpart to change homes (YAY!). While leaving our initial home with all of our luggage Thursday afternoon, our hostess’ dog decided she was angry and bit me in the thigh (OUCH!). Thankfully she didn’t rip my pants and a visit to the doctor wasn’t necessary. Fortunately, that was the only down-side to last week. Friday came and turned out to be an extremely productive day work-wise. Then our weekend activities consisted of a movie night and a trip to Copan Ruinas. What more can you ask for in life!
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