Host Family Round 3

Although I have been blessed to have kind host families and comfortable living situations I am ready to have my own space and cook for myself. Too bad that won’t happen for another two months, guess I’ll just have to be patient. I am now living in Santa Barbara with Marvin and Melany Chavez and their three kids Estuardo, Ingrid and Nidia. Marvin and Melany own a hardware store and a workshop that sells cement, bricks and water filters. Estuardo is in his early 20s and helps out at the workshop. Ingrid is 19 and is attending university in San Pedro Sula and comes home on the weekends. Nidia is 14 and is in school. A young woman named Dinor also lives here and she does all the cooking and cleaning. Compared to what I imagined Peace Corps would be like I am literally living in the lap of luxury: two stories, running water, two cable TVs (one of which is a big screen), a real washing machine, beautiful garden and a full time employee! I have a two friends from Oberlin who are both doing Peace Corps in Malawi and when they read my blog and saw my pictures they made fun of my for being in the ¨Posh Corps¨. Although I am thankful for the amenities I would almost rather have a more hard core experience. Maybe I’ll extend when I’m done with Honduras and request a tiny island in the middle of the south pacific.

My house
My room
My family, from the left; Estuardo, Nidia, Ingrid, Marvin, Melany, Dave (Canadian volunteer)