¡Bigoté Ridículo! (Ridiculous Mustache!)
¡Buenos Tardes Familia y Amigos!
Sorry for not updating in quite some time, despite what you may have heard about the slow lifestyle in third world countries, I´ve been extremely busy! Training is suppose to be preparing us for life in our sites, but I think we (the trainees) are all going to have some initial culture shock when we arrive at our sites and find out that it´s not nearly as busy as training.
I´ve been learning bastante (lots)! How to build latrines, wood efficient stoves, chicken coops, etc. How to write grants, and manage life as a gringo volunteer. How to farm; organic methods, soil conservation, livestock management, etc. And TONS of español!
My friend Erin sent me a letter in which she asked me to give her a few details about what makes Honduras Honduras, and I had such a good time making a list of details I thought I would share a few with everyone...
- Hondurans use warm milk for cereal in the morning. My family thought I was crazy when I requested to pour cold milk over a bowl of dry cereal.
- You don´t throw the TP in the toilet bowl (if there is a toilet bowl!) you put it in the small waste basket next to the toilet.
- All the dogs have genetalia, and needless to say there is a plethora of canines in the streets.
- Sugar comes in coffee ...always. Kinda like in the south with our tea.
- There´s no Kroger or Publix. There´s a market where you buy meat, veggies, and fruit. And for everything else, you ask around to find out who sells what out of their home. There´s also lots of "Pulperias" which are small little shops run out of the front of peoples houses that sell soda, chips, sugar, cookies, bread, soap, coffee, etc.
- Diswashers - ha!
- People throw trash down on the street always, it´s just what they do.
- When it rains, sleep is delicious! You can hear it on the tile roof, and it puts you to sleep like sirens (the kind from ocean, not the police kind).
- You can buy 1/2 liter bags of water from the Pulperia, a perfect post-futbol refreshment.
- Honduran Hospitality puts "Southern Hospitality" to shame. It's extremely difficult to visit a house and not wind up spending 30-40 minutes talking, sipping coffee, and eating a small cookie or something. Every home that I have visited has been extremely warm and welcoming. Hondurans certainly understand that relationships take time, and they max out every opportunity, it's great.
There´s a few details for you guys. Hope that gives you a little glimpse of what Honduras is like. I think it´s important to record my initial observations before it all becomes normal for me. And as always, you´re all invited to come and taste Honduras for yourself!
Okay, what´s next... I head back to Santa Lucia (I´m in Catacamas right now for Field Based Training) on Friday. I officially find out where my site will be for the next two years on Tuesday, meet my counterpart (a member of the community that I will be living in) on Wednesday, then travel to my site to visit from Thursday - Sunday. After Sunday I again return to Santa Lucia for one more week of language/technical training, and I swear in as an "official" volunteer next Thursday, September 8th! The next day, Friday, I pack up and head out to my site for the next to years of my life! So I´m two weeks away, and getting am certainly anxious/excited/nervous!
Thanks again for all your emails, letters, and comments guys, it´s really encouraging! I miss you all very much, and think daily about what you all could be doing. ¡Hasta luego!
Adios,
David
P.S. Laura, no goats blood yet, but I have had cow tongue (with the tastebuds still very apparent), and a soup that includes cow intestines. The soup is called Sopa de Mondongo, and it´s deliciuous! Don´t worry, there is a three day process that goes into cleaning the cow intestine, and it also has tons of veggies to compliment.
P.P.S. I wrote this message very fast, please excuse any typos/spelling errors!
P.P.P.S. I just realized I didn´t explain the crazy title of my post. Voy a escribir mas tarde.
Sorry for not updating in quite some time, despite what you may have heard about the slow lifestyle in third world countries, I´ve been extremely busy! Training is suppose to be preparing us for life in our sites, but I think we (the trainees) are all going to have some initial culture shock when we arrive at our sites and find out that it´s not nearly as busy as training.
I´ve been learning bastante (lots)! How to build latrines, wood efficient stoves, chicken coops, etc. How to write grants, and manage life as a gringo volunteer. How to farm; organic methods, soil conservation, livestock management, etc. And TONS of español!
My friend Erin sent me a letter in which she asked me to give her a few details about what makes Honduras Honduras, and I had such a good time making a list of details I thought I would share a few with everyone...
- Hondurans use warm milk for cereal in the morning. My family thought I was crazy when I requested to pour cold milk over a bowl of dry cereal.
- You don´t throw the TP in the toilet bowl (if there is a toilet bowl!) you put it in the small waste basket next to the toilet.
- All the dogs have genetalia, and needless to say there is a plethora of canines in the streets.
- Sugar comes in coffee ...always. Kinda like in the south with our tea.
- There´s no Kroger or Publix. There´s a market where you buy meat, veggies, and fruit. And for everything else, you ask around to find out who sells what out of their home. There´s also lots of "Pulperias" which are small little shops run out of the front of peoples houses that sell soda, chips, sugar, cookies, bread, soap, coffee, etc.
- Diswashers - ha!
- People throw trash down on the street always, it´s just what they do.
- When it rains, sleep is delicious! You can hear it on the tile roof, and it puts you to sleep like sirens (the kind from ocean, not the police kind).
- You can buy 1/2 liter bags of water from the Pulperia, a perfect post-futbol refreshment.
- Honduran Hospitality puts "Southern Hospitality" to shame. It's extremely difficult to visit a house and not wind up spending 30-40 minutes talking, sipping coffee, and eating a small cookie or something. Every home that I have visited has been extremely warm and welcoming. Hondurans certainly understand that relationships take time, and they max out every opportunity, it's great.
There´s a few details for you guys. Hope that gives you a little glimpse of what Honduras is like. I think it´s important to record my initial observations before it all becomes normal for me. And as always, you´re all invited to come and taste Honduras for yourself!
Okay, what´s next... I head back to Santa Lucia (I´m in Catacamas right now for Field Based Training) on Friday. I officially find out where my site will be for the next two years on Tuesday, meet my counterpart (a member of the community that I will be living in) on Wednesday, then travel to my site to visit from Thursday - Sunday. After Sunday I again return to Santa Lucia for one more week of language/technical training, and I swear in as an "official" volunteer next Thursday, September 8th! The next day, Friday, I pack up and head out to my site for the next to years of my life! So I´m two weeks away, and getting am certainly anxious/excited/nervous!
Thanks again for all your emails, letters, and comments guys, it´s really encouraging! I miss you all very much, and think daily about what you all could be doing. ¡Hasta luego!
Adios,
David
P.S. Laura, no goats blood yet, but I have had cow tongue (with the tastebuds still very apparent), and a soup that includes cow intestines. The soup is called Sopa de Mondongo, and it´s deliciuous! Don´t worry, there is a three day process that goes into cleaning the cow intestine, and it also has tons of veggies to compliment.
P.P.S. I wrote this message very fast, please excuse any typos/spelling errors!
P.P.P.S. I just realized I didn´t explain the crazy title of my post. Voy a escribir mas tarde.
posted by David at 12:33 PM
8 comments
