Adios, Honduras

I realize that it's been a really long time since I last updated, and I'm sorry about the long wait.  I wish I could say it was because I've been busy working and enjoying my life in Honduras, but unfortunately, that isn't the case.

We received word on December 20th that Peace Corps Washington had decided to close down our post.  The official reason was because of "safety and security concerns for volunteers" and we were told we would be sent home sometime in the next few weeks.  I was back in the U.S. for Christmas at the time, which definitely put a little bit of a damper on the holidays.

I was able to go back as I had originally intended, but now only to pack up my things and say goodbye to everyone.  I spent about a week wrapping up my life in Santa Bárbara, emptying out my little house, eating at my favorite baleada restaurants for the last time, and spending time with people I knew I wouldn't be seeing for a while.

All of the Honduras volunteers were then sent to a conference in Tegucigalpa to hear the official reasoning behind the decision and to wrap up our service.  Although I am heartbroken to have to leave my life behind, I understand that Peace Corps felt there was too much of a risk to our safety to keep us where we were.

What does this mean for my future?  They have offered us the chance to re-enroll in another country.  Specifically, for me, they have a position in a Water and Sanitation project in South America leaving in September.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point, because re-enrolling would mean signing up for another 2 years and 3 months in the new location.

This also means I'm putting the blog on hold.  If I end up serving again, I can't wait to share more stories with all of you.  If not, I'll try to share them with you in person (now that I'm back for good).  Thanks for all of your interest and support- it meant a lot to me to know that people back home were interested in what I was doing.  I'll leave you with a couple more photos of Santa Bárbara: