24 Feb, Thurs.

Thurs, 24 Feb. a beautiful morning. we're going Lionfish hunting ... finally !!!! ...at 7:30am we walked into town and down to the west end of the island to meet the boat that will take us to the Marine Reserve at Turtle Harbour. Unfortunately, again, the boat was leaking and we couldn't go :( .... but Pamela got a video camera, and were also going to do a short documentary on the work that the volunteers are doing. so, we made that video anyway. what a hoot! Pamela made an intro, and Tim talked about a volunteer experience at BICA; Julia talked about the mangroves; and i talked about the Lionfish. Pamela asked the questions and also translated into Spanish for the viewing audience. it took a couple of hours coz we were all nervous and wanted to practice before our TV debut. the show will air at 7pm tonight on the local station. they thought that the boat might be fixed to go this afternoon, but it was not. so i continued my work informing and interviewing businesses about my Recycle Program. still with a lot of great conversations with some really nice people. i continue to be encouraged! it's a lot of walking and talking and the sun was hot. about 1pm i'd had enough and headed back to take a break. we worked in the 'office' for awhile, then Abi and i headed into town and hit a few more businesses on the way. then we got brave and went into the area where the locals live; not a very 'nice' area :( .... i had been told that is where i should go, because those are the people who most likely will pick up bottles and cans and recycle them for money. and they are the ones that will be key if this is going to work. there were a few markets there, and in each case a young person on the street, volunteered to help us translate our mission. we also went to the 'pool hall'. there were 3 girls behind the bar, none of them spoke any english. we tried without much success and finally they got a young guy to come help us. he was amazed at the concept and explained it to the girls. then he asked for more flyers and out the door he went. we heard him yell at his friends, ...."hey, we got WORK!" ..... WOW! could it really be possible that these kids will be able to clean up the piles of trash that is floating in every vacant piece of land here? we stopped a few more young boys and explained how they could make some money. they all understood. we can only hope that they follow through! at least Abi and i left feeling that we had really accomplished something. Pamela said we were going to try to go out Lionfish hunting again tomorrow .. fingers crossed! we got back here around 6:30 and the rest of the group reminded us that we would be on TV at 7pm.... so we all gathered around the TV and watched. it wasn't too bad ... ok, maybe it was. but it was entertaining, and i think informative. Tim and Julia's segments weren't too bad, but unfortunately, the wind was really strong during mine and it was difficult to hear anything. the lightening was also very dark and you couldn't see my face ... which actually is fine with me!!!!!!!!! i'd took a video of the TV and will see if i can get something on YouTube. but probably not until i get to Roatan, where i hope i will have faster internet connection than here. these are still photos taken from the TV. Tim and i went into town to dinner. everyone else was eating in. i'd never been to Main Street Grill before, Tim said it was good; so we went. i had the Grilled Tuna with a Jalapeno Cream sauce, garlic mashed potatoes that tasted like homemade, and a salad with a mild creamy Caesar dressing ... the first time any restaurant served that here! it was all awesome ... i think the best tasting meal i've had since i've been here! then back home. i started thinking about packing up all my stuff, which after a month, is unorganized and everywhere. ....i just thought about it, and felt overwhelmed, and did nothing. then i started thinking about leaving all my new friends .... again. now i know what kids feel like when they have to switch schools when their parents move. and ... i started thinking about the fact that this next assignment in Roatan will be entirely different than any i've had. i'll be alone! the Roatan Marine Park does not have housing. they have arranged for a place for me to stay ... but i won't be with other volunteers. so i will have no 'avenue' of meeting anyone ..... i hadn't thought about that before. it's not that easy for me to meet people so we'll see how this works. i also thought about how i was going to get to Roatan on Sunday. There are 2 options: a 4hr catamaran ride with Vern; or the double ferry option, i.e., ferry from Utila to LaCeiba, wait, and then ferry from LaCeiba to Roatan. ...with all those thoughts in my head, .... i went to bed :)