Kickin it with friends

This past weekend, I was finally able to get off the Ranch for a bit. Since I arrived in early July, I haven't had a complete weekend away. I was way past due.

Friday night we went and made dinner at the house of a bunch of the university students from the Ranch - great friends of mine. We made the favorite American meal - pizza.

Saturday we traveled a couple hours outside of the captial city, to a little town called Yuscaran. Two friends had plans to go for the day to meet up with their father, who by the way, is the most adorable man alive. See photo to the right. Yuscaran is where the not so tasty Yuscaran (way intense alcohol) is made. So naturally, we took a tour of the factory, and got a huge free sample from the sweet man that gave the tour. I wonder where that bottle will end up. Nobody in their right mind should ever consume that. It was a little ironic that the tour guide told us he is a recovering alcoholic. He did AA 20 years ago (yes, that exists down here, and for good reason), and hasn't had a drink sense. He told us some pretty crazy stories about his drinking habits before finally giving it up. Good for him.

Saturday night we went out to one of our favorite bars on the boulevard, Mister Marinos. Many good times were had.

Sunday, back to the Ranch, in preparation for for my final two days of working in the clinic in Honduras. Oh, Monday and Tuesday were long and intense, but last night I turned in my country report (9 pages long - yikes) to the National Director, and wiped my hands clean of that mess for a bit.

Today I'm in the city waiting to pick up a friend that is coming back to work after being home for several weeks. Pretty psyched to see her. Tomorrow the brigade doctor comes down, and we will travel to the site of the annual medical brigade, to follow-up on the water project that the team started in June. We will also begin some planning for the brigade of 2009. On our way back, I'll finally get my trip to the beach that I've been waiting for for 3 months now. Unfortunately, it will only last one night, but, at least it's something!

Wednesday of next week, I take off for El Salvador, where I will work in their clinic for about one month, evaluating their system, and trying to figure out how I can help them be able to adhere to the health policy of NPHI. I'm really looking forward to the visit there.

Flight home T-minus 33 days. I arrive on the morning of October 28th, and am really looking forward to it!

Miss you all tons,
Annie