Honduras 08: Archives

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
This morning, after waiting the two minutes post-prescription eye drops, I put in my contacts.

The eye doctor gave me a sample contact lens for each eye, and I go back for a check-up and to order contacts next week. My right eye has decent astigmatism so I have a toric lens in that eye, while my left eye has slight astigmatism (not enough for a toric lens), so I have an appropriate contact lens for that eye. My right eye is still adjusting the contact - since it is meant for astigmatism, it must find the right spot in your eye to see properly. At the moment my right eye is still a bit blurry and lacks clarity. I got these contacts for my trip to Honduras. The last thing I wanted was for humidity to make my glasses fog up or rain to get them wet, and me having to constantly be wiping them clean.

I am now confident that I am prepared (at least my eyes are) for my trip!

I ordered a CamelBak hydration pack AND backpack in one for my trip to Honduras. It is designed for women and at REI is $60. It was on sale for a week at Eastern Mountain Sports for $48. I missed the sale online, but found it on Amazon.com for $36! I need my water, since dehydration is dangerous for me with my medications, so I figure if I load up in the morning before we head out for the day, I will be set. Plus I don't have to carry a separate bag for my gear, since my rain gear and other such things will fit.
I also got awesome Teva sandals, and wonderful Teva water shoes. They function as tennis shoes and have equally sturdy soles, but have some mesh and let water in, seamlessly flowing from land/hiking to water/kayaking.

Update: My CamelBak arrived! It fits perfectly, since it is made for a woman, and it is extremely light on its own, so it it will be lighter with the weight of the water distributed than carrying a heavy couple of bottles.

Good day, and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
When I was extremely young, my family would go fishing "up north" (a few hours north of us in Wisconsin). My dad orchestrated this, since he grew up fishing (and his peers hunted and fished). At age two or three I would take the container of worms, lay them out on the dock, and count them: one, two, shree, seven, shree, nine...

They inevitably shriveled up in the sun.

I liked our rented cottage up north. I liked fishing even when I stopped eating fish at age six. I even once had a huge fish on my line, which would have pulled me into the water except that my uncle, the lone adult on the dock, grabbed me. It was a musky, they think, and it ruined forever my beloved Snoopy bobber.

As I have said, I am embarking on a trip to Honduras in January. We will have the opportunity to do some tropical fishing and fly-fishing, a marked change from lakes in Wisconsin. But the idea, to me, remains the same; it is sentimental and memory-inducing, fun and playful, skillful and artistic.

My dad just yesterday asked me if I would like to ice fish with him over break, "to get ready for fishing on [my] trip." I didn't really answer. My only experience ice fishing was with my brother and dad when we were little. The Thermos of hot chocolate broke and there was glass in it, so we couldn't have any. It was sad. I was cold.

I am going into this trip, though, with a much more open heart; a well-fueled curiosity; a desire to expand my mind; a willingness to try virtually anything, to push my limits, to challenge my strength, and to live an adventure.

Good day, and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
Somehow I do not mind needles. My tattoo was fine; and, more importantly, at age 15, I survived a "specialist" trying to re-insert an IV for literally an hour and 20 minutes (of solid poking me with needles all over both arms and hands) during my post-op hospital stay sophomore year of high school.

Even so, I thankfully have had the Hepatitis A and B shots previously (for going to Korea and for junior high, respectively). I have had tetanus shots and two of the three Gardasil/HPV vaccine shots (which hurt/sting upon injection, and the third supposedly hurts even worse, which I get next week). I get my anti-malarial medication next week as well. That medication is a trip essential for me, since my brother's service-trip leader contracted malaria in rustic Guatemala on their trip two years ago.

I am completely ready for Honduras. I suppose part of this sense of preparedness is false, simply because I do not know for what I must be prepared. But I am mentally ready to be active and leisurely and adventurous, both physically and psychologically (I know I will have to eat foods I usually would refuse to even smell). I am even excited to do so. I am thrilled to experience warmth in January, even if I get terrible tan lines/a farmer tan from being outside soaking up UV rays in my normal clothes.

My friends have asked me if I plan to go tanning/get cocktails so I don't burn when I get to Honduras. I don't fake bake. It makes you orange. Even if you don't think you look orange, you do compared to someone with an actual sun tan. Plus, I don't really wear sun screen (except when I was in Isla Margarita, Venezuela, after sunbathing heavily for the previous six days on a cruise - just being outside in the bright sun was actually painful).

My Teva water shoes and Teva sandals are still comfortable (I have been wearing them indoors to wear them in). We just opened the Christmas gifts from my brother and his girlfriend, and I got all bath/body things. We will open the other gifts this evening with my mom's parents, who stay overnight. My Teva products, CamelBak, and other trip items are Christmas gifts, so I am pleased.

Merry Christmas/happy holidays to all!

Good day and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
Happy New Year!

I have been in shopping mode, getting the things I need for my trip to Honduras. I needed shorts, since the weather will be so warm. I owned zero pairs of shorts that fit. Until autumn, I owned zero pairs of pants that fit (I bought khakis, black pinstriped pants, and jeans by December); I wear skirts. I am a skirt girl.

I got a cute Nike tennis skirt, white with pink trim. It has the shorts (since it is a tennis skirt) so that is a nice compromise with Mother Nature for me.
We went to the outlet mall in the Kenosha, Wisconsin area, and I got shorts at the Under Armour outlet, $19.99 each and they are that nice, quick-drying material.

I also needed sunglasses with UV protection. I had prescription Chanel sunglasses, but I got contacts for the trip, and I also don't want to bring expensive things (besides this Macbook Pro) with me, should anything happen to them. After trying on at least 20 pairs, I settled on these large (but not huge) brown square-shaped frames with 99% UV protection, which even stay up on my face (I have no bridge on my nose)! Best part is the price: $14.99!

I also purchased Teva sandals, since I only owned flip flops or dressy sandals. I can do some basic hiking in these, walk around extremely comfortably, and clean them easily. Plus they are purple, my favorite color. I found them on Amazon.com for under $40 (which is good for Teva, I discovered).

Additionally, I purchased water shoes. They are awesome! They are also Teva, have mesh areas to let in water, work on preventing odors, are made of good material for water, were designed for kayaking, and have a sturdy sole so that I can wear them as tennis shoes/hiking shoes on land and not have to change if we go in the water! These are from a few seasons ago (thank you Campmor!), so they were $19.97! I love a good deal.

Finally, I got a packable rain jacket at Gander Mountain (who woulda thunk it?, as Yogi would say). It's light green, lightweight, and easily rolls into a size to put into the drawstring bag. It was literally the only one left of the only rain jacket the store had for women, so I got lucky. At $29.97, it seems cheap after repeatedly seeing jackets for $69.99, $99, $199, $170, etc.

I hope 2008 brings you joy, peace, warmth, and enthusiasm.

After a difficult semester (except that I felt good/did really well despite everything), I agree with Adam Duritz and the Counting Crows: a long December, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.

Good day and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
I spent the last several days a few hours north of my hometown, staying with my pregnant aunt, uncle, and the kids: Isaac, Katya and Evan. Yesterday my aunt had the baby, five days after her due date, on her birthday. I am proud to be the new cousin of Annika Grace. Although I'm adopted and not a biological relative, she looks just like me as a baby!

I realized that I would love to meet some kids on the trip to Honduras. I have extensive experience with my eight-, six-, and four year-old cousins, but would love to meet children from other cultures (my uncle is Filipino and the kids are thus half-Filipino). I will be getting a taste of local flavor, but would really enjoy meeting the children; they provide the most humble, honest depictions of everyday life in any society.

The four year old, when saying his bedtime prayer Friday night, said: "Thank you for family, and thanks for watching over the TV and Scooby Doo. . ." How adorable! He had watched Scooby Doo that afternoon, and only a child would thank God for a cartoon second, before even saying, "and thank you for baby Annika. . ." I really want to see what the children and babies in Honduras are like; how they are, I am sure, so similar to the children I know and love, since they share the joy and simplicity that unite all children.

I hope to have the opportunity to visit a school or at least interact with children of some age on the trip. I would gain much from doing so, discovering the specifics of Honduran life while realizing the intricate comparisons one can draw from them to American children.

As the class itself draws nearer (Monday, to be exact), I am getting excited. Off to Chicago tomorrow to prepare for Travel Writing!

Good day and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
Travel Writing 53-2545J has commenced. Our two pre-trip classes are through, and we leave Sunday for our highly anticipated, 10-day excursion throughout Honduras. Our itinerary, although somewhat flexible, is finalized, and we have our questions asked and answered. We know what to pack, and I personally have nearly everything.

Yesterday my Amazon.com order arrived, and I am thrilled to have it. My dad has gotten me the waterproof/underwater case for my Canon PowerShot SD600 digital camera. It has a special setting for underwater shots if you have the casing, and I know it will be invaluable on the trip. I just have to figure out how to remove the waterproof seal to put the silicone gel on. I have a similar casing for my iPod, and it is great fun to use my iPod with the coordinating headphones when swimming, snorkeling, or hot tubbing.

Also, my mom and I were at Borders, and she reached for the Lonely Planet Honduras and the Bay Islands book (which she bought for herself, although I had excerpts), and a young man standing there told her he had been in Honduras for five months on a paid Christian internship until November. He stayed in San Pedro Sula and visited Roatan. It was serendipitous, happening to find someone in a bookstore who had just come from the country I will be in three days from now.

I am glad to depart Sunday, since my brother's (21st) birthday is Friday, and I hate missing family events. My parents are taking me to O'Hare Sunday morning, at a reasonable hour (unless there is a snowstorm predicted; then we will leave Saturday night and stay down there), to arrive around 10:30 a.m.

I will have 10 days of action-packed serenity, of mustering up courage, of bold flavor, and of blue-green waters.

Good day and good tidings.

Kristen Pankow is an undergraduate journalism student.

In Honduras, one may not flush toilet paper down the toilet. The systems cannot handle anything else. Instead, dispose of any products in the adjacent wastebasket.

Don’t forget this and flush toilet paper.

And, really, don’t flush toilet paper.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
The only thing I dislike about traveling (besides having to unpack and then repack) is missing things at home.

It’s not as though watching the Packers’ playoff game with my family is better than being in a lovely location such as Honduras (unless you are a diehard fan, I suppose), but I hate returning and having to catch up on what I missed to be able to go forward in the same manner as before my departure.

Traveling is wonderful, though. Discovering new things, new places, new customs, new people, or anything new is irreplaceable. Moments of serendipity when traveling are rather fantastic.

I hope to continue to travel, and to write about that travel. Travel writing is greatly meditative, causing you to reflect on all you experienced and learned in a day.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
Today was white-water rafting day. We trekked down to the river, got into our rafts (mine, "Team Nutrio," had three students and our leader), and began paddling after some instruction. here were fantastic rapids; it was a rush.

The scenery, when we were not "holding on" or "over left/right" or "forward paddling" or "back paddling," was beautiful.

Near the trip's completion, we got out, took a hike, and went to a waterfall (I did not swim in it, though). Then we finished the paddling and returned to the "jungle," our accommodations.

I love it here in Honduras.

After a spaghetti lunch, some students went to a women's sewing co-op. I stayed behind with others, laying out/resting in the sun, playing games, and talking with my classmates and the rafting guides (one of whom has "mullet dreads"). Tamarind juice is popular with our group here, something new to me. That is another wonderful thing about this trip: trying new things, and enjoying them as well. I have been surprising myself with my adventurous nature, something I have adopted only in the last few months.

I have been learning much here. For instance, even though everyone says to certainly wear sunscreen, I can fail to wear it at all, including today, and still be simply gaining color (and not getting burned). I learned my strength paddling, my fortitude, and the importance of hydration (a long story).

I am tired lately, since our days are active and our mornings early. Tomorrow we are off to the ferry, which will take us to Roatan, in the Bay Islands. There we will snorkel and kayak, among things. We will eat salad with lettuce from a greenhouse that grows it hydroponic and uses filtered water. I cannot wait.

More to come after needed sleep.

Good day and good tidings.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
Yesterday we took the ferry to Roatan. It was a rocky, unsteady ride. While I have never experienced motion sickness in the past—thus not taking Dramamine in advance—I certainly did yesterday. I vomited two times and then another on the boat, two times at the supermarket after arriving, and then today, after feeling better kayaking, about six or seven consecutive times.

Needless to say, I am wary to eat. I have been sipping on diluted Gatorade I had purchased, in addition to sleeping.

Tomorrow, though, is kayaking (actually going somewhere) and snorkeling (finally!). Since I had not vomited in years (I think I had the flu in eighth grade, I don't think after ninth at all), I had forgotten how not fun it is. In case you, too, forgot, it is highly involuntary.

I think the soda today did me in. This is strange, since at home a Diet Pepsi usually settles my stomach. Then again, this was Fresca. And Fanta. Oh well. As Sharon (my teacher) told me, no soda (pop) until I am in Chicago, at which time I will likely make my parents bring me a cooler with Diet Pepsi, since I have suffered withdrawal from it.

The Packers game is currently on, so I am following it online. I have an extensive amount of writing to complete this evening, so I will need a good start and an awakening of some kind. I can't believe there are only two days left! It has not seemed like 10 days are almost over. At least I have attained a pretty good tan. My face is quite dark.

See you all pretty soon.

Good day and good tidings.

Kristen Pankow is an undergraduate journalism student.

KRISTEN PANKOW writes:
I was going to celebrate that I am no longer sick. But then I would have to knock on wood. And I do not see anything made of wood around here.

Let's just say I ate food today. And some yesterday. It was good. And refreshing. And I am writing in really simple, short sentences. I do not know why.

I wrote everyone on this trip a note. Old-school style, folded-up, lined paper with the person's name written on it. I'm pretty high-class when it comes to paper/stationery products, as can be seen.

I am glad to be coming home. Two words: DIET PEPSI! Oh, wow, have I missed Diet Pepsi, and especially my true love, Diet Pepsi from a fountain. Mmm. I am actually salivating, sadly. My mom is also bringing me spring water. Both items will be cold. And I am ecstatic because I've been drinking purified water this whole time and, let's be honest, I am picky in my water consumption on a daily basis.

Also, for some reason the soda here makes me sick. Like, I can't keep down anything if I drink one. Or maybe since it was two. But I had literally two sips today and felt funny for a while. Oh well.

But I loved this trip ... I mean, class. It was completely worth everything and was so much better than I even thought. I have some awesome pictures and memories and such. And I didn't even have my camera attached to me.

I will leave you with some John Mayer: I was "hoping to see the world through both my eyes. Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm in the mood to lose my way with words."

Good day and good tidings.

Kristen Pankow is an undergraduate journalism student.