Breaking Hearts and Speed Limits

(written 3/10/09) Happy B-day Gumpy!!

Well two weeks down and it feels like a lifetime has passed me by in only a few moments! Time passes so differently here because they days are long but filled with a million new experiences. This past weekend was so much fun! On Saturday we had our half day of class which was a cultural day. The entire morning was spent moving between 8 stations to hear a presentation about each of the major indigenous groups of Honduras and then try their traditional food! The food was amazing and there was even little children dressed up in traditional clothes and presentations on how to dance La Punta, the national hip shaking dance. Everyone had a great time and since I am such a nerd for those kinds of cultural activities I had a blast! Afterwards the cellphone man came and I bought a phone! It is free for me if you want to call, though definitely not free for you, so if you want to buy a phone card and call me just email me or ask my mom for the number! Later on when I got back from class and a quick trip to Valle to do some homework, I met my host dad, Isidrio, for the first time! He is like a breath of fresh air! Unlike Gloria, who is super nice but very shy, he talks a lot and knows so much! I liked him immediately and spent hours talking to him. Turns out he has a degree in biology and spent 6 months doing his practicum in the U.S. on bees. He also lived with the Moskitia Indians, which I learned about earlier that day, for a little over a year and worked in their hospital in 1990! Now he works in San Pedro Sula for a clothing importer and apparently he is in charge of the majority of the paperwork and general processing to bring the clothes in from China and resell them to other countries. You can really tell how much Gloria and Reyna miss him too. Later at 7pm Gloria, Reyna, and I went to a block party! It was in a neighbor’s front yard and you could definitely hear the party before you could see it! The whole yard was decorated with streamers and lights and children were running everywhere. Once everyone arrived one of the host mothers gave a really nice speech welcoming all of us to Honduras and saying how happy they are that we are here. It was so nice! Then played musical chairs, yes I did knock a small boy to the ground in order to win, and then we ate some delicious chicken, rice, and tortillas and Brent played the guitar. Afterwards we got down to the serious business of dancing! One of the host mothers moved all the furniture out of away in her living room to transform it into a dance floor and blasted the meringue and reggeton for hours. Everyone was dancing, the kids, host moms, and all the volunteers! I really forgot how much fun it can be when people don’t take themselves too seriously! We all danced with the little kids and my little Reynita was a dance machine! I even got some of the old boys to dance with me, Jose who is about 12 and Samuel, Matt’s host brother, who is 14 but lied to me and told me he was 15. However, this may have been a mistake because after that the boys would b-line it for Theresa and I to make sure they took turns dancing with both of us for every dance! Samuel even made it a point to let me know he currently is single even though he is usually too shy to look my in the eyes hah. It was so cute though because he was clearly dressed up in his pink and white stripped polo. Matt and I also spent a good amount of the time displaying our sweet dance moves such as the fisherman, shooting the guns, and various hand dances. Apparently we went to the same middle school dances. Overall the party was so much fun and a really great way to let loose with our host families! It is important to note though that since the party Samuel (14) has been lingering outside my house waiting for me to say hi to him and playing various English songs loudly such as evanescence on his cell which I am told is an attempt to impress me haha. I guess Matt and his host mom have been making fun of him relentlessly, poor boy. How was he to know I am such a heart breaker (just kidding).

On Sunday I woke up at 7am to clean before our trip to Teguz (the capital). Now I know everyone is shocked to hear ME say clean, but its true. On Sundays I wash my clothes by hand on a concrete type of washboard and hang them on the line to dry as well as sweep and mop my room. I was finished by 9:30am and them took a quick bucket bath before we were off! Our official mission was to go to the grocery store since Gloria only goes once a month when her husband is home to go with her, but I was especially excited because the whole family as well as my neighbors Sonia and Theresa, my fellow business volunteer were going with us for Theresa’s and my first trip to Teguz. Now I had known we were going but it had not occurred to me what type of transportation we would be taking. To my surprise we were taking Isidrio’s work van which is basically a white plumber’s or carpenter’s van with nothing in the back apart from some tools. So lucky Theresa and I, because we got to ride in the back sitting on a really thin mattress the whole way! It was so funny because there were 3of us in the back and it felt like we were in a movie and we were gonna roll up to someplace and all pile out like we were about to rob the place haha. Unfortunately, the road to Teguz has a lot of twists and turns which made the whole trip feel like we were riding a roller coaster! Plus everyone here drives super fast so we were barreling around corners and totally disregarding speed limits which made the whole experience feel so much more like a movie. Once we got to Teguz, about 30 mins later, we went to two supermercados which are grocery stores that are very similar to Sam´s club in the U.S. to buy a months worth of groceries. It was nice because Isidrio kept asking what I like to eat and then buying it for me! Afterwards, we went to Pizza Hut which was amazing! I was able to enjoy stuffed crust ham and pinbnable pizza with some awesome jamaica (fruit punch). Once we finished we all piled back into the van for the outrageous ride back to Santa Rita! All in all it was a great visit, especially since I didn´t get robbed which apparently happens to everyone at least once while they are serving in Honduras.

Once we got back I spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Isidrio before he had to head back to San Pedro Sula the next day :( I am really going to miss him and all of his stories! In fact he gave me the cutest speech before bed, at 8:00pm haha, about how happy he is that I am living there and how he hopes I will love Honduras and visit often. It just goes to show how important having a dad in the house can be to making it feel like a home!

Overall this weekend was great and now I am looking forward to my birthday and my volunteer visit!! Hasta Luego amigos!!