Hey everyone, I just got back from a weeklong project design and management workshop in Tegucigalpa. I took my best friend from Cruz Alta and we hung out for 3 days of grueling class work (all in Spanish) on designing a project in our community and following it through. If this project thing pans out it is going to seriously cut into my hammock time (only kidding I’ve actually not spent any time in my hammock lately, a sad thing really). The only thing about getting to Tegucigalpa is that it is a complete pain in the nalgas (look it up), Elias and I spent about 12 hours walking, hitching rides in the back of trucks, and riding in chicken buses to get there. It is easy to forget how far out there I am sometimes. But this little trip did some pretty amazing things to our confianza (trust, more or less), and I really look forward to working with Elias on some of our ideas. And after another 9 or so hours getting back to Gracias I’m ready to get back in the saddle so to speak. Actually I’m probably going to chill here for tonight and head out Sunday. On Tuesday I’m going to head out with some folks and pick some coffee and de-pulp it. The coffee season is in full effect right now and nobody in Cruz Alta is dealing with much else. Classes won’t begin until the coffee season is over (late feb early march) and it looks like I’ll be picking up a sixth grade English (with some environmental Ed. thrown in to spice it up) in addition to teaching the ninth grade. Some folks have also expressed interest in more intensive, optional English classes. I’m up for it but it isn’t really what I came down here to do. I really want to set up a wilderness camp for some of the youth up here. Nobody from my town has ever been camping (well life in Cruz Alta is pretty much camping), rafting, rappelling or any of the cool stuff that these camps have to offer. I think it would be a huge deal in terms of improving self esteem and environmental awareness. This is pretty much what I want to focus my Master’s thesis on; the role of outdoor recreation in environmental development. Or something like that anyway. The only problem is money, these camps are expensive and I’m probably going to have to write a grant and solicit funds from NGOs or something to that effect. Alright alright, I’ve got to go get some café or risk facing the tremors and sweats of a serious caffeine withdrawal. Much love to everyone who’s reading this and also to those few who aren’t. Joe