Rain and birthday wishes

So definitly just got caught in a torrential downpour and am currently hovering over this computer at Cyber Alex--which by the way is a phenomenal name for an internet cafe--- furiously typing away with wet dog hair and soaking khaki pants. Im thinking that the hot pink underwear was not such a hot idea given the fact that my pants are now 100 percent see-thru. Oh well, i guess you could say at the very least im keep these Hondurans on their toes
First and foremost Id like to extend a very heartfelt and gracious thank you for the warm birthday wishes. And, boy oh boy, what a birthday it was. Who knew you could have so much fun without alcohol??? haha, just kidding mom
so i awoke at approximately 630 am, a full 15 mins before i actually had to get out of bed, to the sounds of Spanish Happy Birthday. My lovely host brother, Tito, thought hed so generously lure me out of my deep slumber with the sounds of an old spanish man screaming Feliz Cumpleanos. Not only that, but by the grace of god the song managed to last a good 10 to 15 mins. It was truly unfortunate.
Then, of course, I had to be serenaded at school, only this time i finally put my foot down and cut them off after verse 3. Some of my friends circulated a bday card they bought at the pulperia (basically honduras version of CVS, only on a drastically micro scale...) that looked a little worn and tattered, prob because it had to of been sitting on the shelf for at least a few years collecting dust. It is totally awesome, I read it every night before i go to sleep and each time, never fail, it makes me laugh. School sucked, per usual, but afterwards we got a group together of about 10 to 15 ppl to head out for a couple beers, which was also very nice because, lets be honest, we all know how i thrive on being the center of attention. As much as I wanted to stay and hang out I had to get back to my house by 630 for my special birthday dinner.
Now let me preface this part with a brief history-- so I live in a two floor apartment, and the bottom floor is basically a bunch of rooms that branch off of an open air mini-plaza. Its actually really cute and quaint. But moral of the story, all the neighbors can peek their heads through the wire fence, so to speak, to chat, theres a very communal feel to it all, not to mention that fact that basically everyone living within a block radius of my house is somehow related to the family. So in summary, theres this Japense exchange student, Satoru, living with the family thats across the plaza from us. And, lucky me, hes taken quite a liking to me (WARNING--note the sarcasm). Not to worry, hes way too awkward and horribly oriented with the Spanish language to approach me about this. Rather, he relies on his host mother-- who i believe is somehow my cousin-- to make awkward comments about how pretty I am... yeah, real uncomfortable.
So fast forward back to the birthday, so this Japanese man decided he wanted to cook me dinner, came over the night before and spent 3 hours cooking me an elaborate curry. So that was quite awkward because he brought his whole family over to stare at me while I ate it. One word--uncomfortable, but in a really hilarious way. Then some other family came over for brownie-cake my host mom made, of which i ate approx 7 pieces. it was awesome. if only i could of gotten my hands on some milk that didnt come out of a pouch. woof.
so that was the bday in a nutshell. good times.
In other news, we found out the other day that our project group will be heading to El Paraiso for Field Based Training, which means well be heading out there in a little less than 2 weeks. EL Paraiso is right on the border of Nicaragua in the south of Honduras, which means, yup, you guessed it, CRAZY HEAT AHHHHHHHH. im in no way prepared for that seeing as it gets nice and cozy here in the evenings, around 50s, which makes snuggling up with my sleeping bag the highlight of the day. Field Based Training will last for 6 weeks, well spend most of that time putting into practice all the boring theory and info that theyve been shoving down our throats for the past 2 weeks. Whoooooooooooooa! After FBT we return to Santa Lucia for a week to wrap things up, and thats when they finally tell us where were going to be living for the next 2 years, what kind of projects well be working on, etc...
So thats the update here. Im hoping ill have some more fun and interesting stories to share once i get out in the field. For now my awkward encounters have been confined to the walls of my spanish class, where we discuss such topics as How to let down (gently) the creepy Japanese man who may or may not be in love with you. Awesome.
BESOS!