Hondurian Shigella!

It has been a while since my last post. I have done a lot this summer. Mainly, I worked on my thesis and made some progress... If I don't sound excited it is because I am not nearly as far along as I would like. I did make progress though. I also spent a weekend in Utah, and 9 days in Honduras, a night in Miami, and a day in the hospital at Maine Medical. Honduras was like a whole other country... wait it is a whole other country. I was amazed by the beauty there, shocked by the living standards, and nervous about the food and water. We were able to place two radio antenna's, look for our old sensors, successful radio tests, tested many water towers, helped solidify the hydro model, and made plans for the next year. The food was surprisingly good, the people were some of the nicest I have ever met, and I even learned a few words in Spanish... My first full sentence was a joke that no one got... I am probably spelling it wrong.... Que pense a var a nabar a manana? "Do you think it will snow tomorrow?" Man was it hot there! I got heat rash, and yes I got some intestinal illness called Shigella. I didn't actually experience it while I was there, instead it came to critical mass around 5 am on Friday after we had already set off for the long weekend in Maine. I had forgotten my antibiotics, and my stomach paid dearly. By the time I was in the hospital the nurse couldn't take my blood pressure properly because I was so dehydrated... Ten hours later they gave me the antibiotic my doctor in Boston had recommended, and I was feeling a little better by Saturday night. I feel better now but weakened, and I now have a head cold that the rest of the family seemed to bring back from Maine, or Utah, or whatever. Now it is back to school and thesis. The class I am taking this semester looks promising, a class on fluid dynamics of interesting phenomenon, like skipping stones, sportsballs, and insects. In the picture I am on the right, Andrea on the left. We had to wear bandanas because the roads were so dusty. We had to ride in the back of the truck because there were only enough seats for 6 inside the cab, and only two seatbelts! I got to drive, and it was a fun because they honk at almost everything, and you get to pass a lot of beat up old trucks with thousands of bananas stacked in the back with some kid riding on the top of them! I almost forgot, I saw a crocodile! It was huge. Of course, it was across the river from us, but we did have to swim in the same river, so technically I swam in crocodile infested waters! Yikes!