life-ful

When I lived in the US, there were a lot of things I got used to having, doing and buying on a regular basis. Moving to Honduras and living on an MCC budget has  forced me to cut back and live with a lot less, but in many healthy ways.

This is not to make you think that I am above impulse purchases--that hard find, often dreamed of chocolate bar that randomly shows up in the grocery store?? In the basket, in under 2 seconds. Nor is this meant to give the impression that I live in austerity. My life in Honduras is rich and varied, always with new things to be discovered and joy to be found in surprises along the way.

Take for instance, what used to be my morning drive to work…in my own car, with my own choice of radio station, and climate controlled interior. A wonderful luxury to have my own car, perhaps even a necessity in a place where public transportation is very limited.

Now, I walk 3 blocks to the office, assaulted by many noises, smells, and sights along the rutted cobblestone street of Santa Rosa. Talking parrots at the corner, the smell of fresh tortillas from the ladies down the block, hammering, sawing, taxi horns and reggaeton music all meld together to serenade me on my way to work.  

And when work requires leaving town to head for the campo? Even better. Fresh air, the cool fog leaving its mark on us as the moto slices through the mountain passes, dust, cattle, trucks, bicycles, bright sunshine, shady coffee plantations and rolling green hills set the backdrop for the ride.

My life here in Honduras is a lot different than my life in the States…

Can I just google a new restaurant on my iPhone and drive there for dinner? 

Nope. I have to ask 4 different people if they’ve heard of the restaurant, and where (in their opinion) it is located, then figure out where the former Copan Dry factory used to be (that was at least 15 years ago) then locate Don Mario’s house that is a block “up” from there, turn where the lady is usually selling tamales (is she today? Who knows?) and hang a left…and maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll find some kind of restaurant (probably not the one I was looking for).

Can I just go to the store and buy cottage cheese when I want cottage cheese? 

Nope. I have to check 3 different grocery stores (one requiring a taxi ride), scour the shelves for any kind of cheese or cream that resembles cottage cheese, try to describe what cottage cheese is to a Honduran store boy who has no idea what I’m talking about and finally resign myself to finding a manageable substitute.

Can I just walk down the road to clear my head and get some fresh air? 

Nope. First of all, if there is a road that doesn’t have much traffic and leads to a forested area, it’s probably not safe. And as a female, if I walk anywhere, I am bombarded by stares, cat-calls and general annoyance from most male presence.

Would I say there are a lot of things I miss about living in the U.S.? Certainly.

Are they all necessary to me living a full life? Not really.

Oh sure, there are things that would make life easier, but there are so many things I enjoy about life here.  And despite all the drama, there is a surprising amount of normalcy in my weekly routine. The ups and downs in my job that everyone experiences on some level or another; sharing with friends and co-workers the funny (and not so funny) moments in life; going to the gym, cleaning, cooking and going to the movies. But what keeps me on my toes is the never ending learning curve of living life in a culture that is not your own.

life lately

So lately I've been feeling like life is a bit crazy...but when reflecting on what exactly I've been up to the past few weeks, I can't really remember!

Ok, well, there have been some trips to visit Mennonites with other Mennonites, birthday parties, bowling, movies with friends, a quick trip to the pacific beaches of Honduras, trips to the department of transportation and licensing, chinese restaurant graduation parties, trips to the theatre, and most recently a trip to La Ceiba, a northern coast city of Honduras.
So, I mean, it's not like I haven't been doing stuff.
You might just be wondering when I work in the midst of all of this.
Don't worry.
That happens occasionally too.

But as I am counting down the days until my last day of work (13!) I am thinking of all that I have done in the last 10 months, and how different work was for me just back in September. Makes me feel like I've come a long way!

Anyway...not to bore you with too much prose about life. Mostly it's been really good. Soaking in fun times with good friends and feeling comfortable in my own skin and my surroundings here in Nueva Suyapa. It's going to be hard to say good bye, but I cannot tell a lie...I am looking forward to sweet reunions in the very near future!

Some photo essay-ing of life in the past few weeks.
Also...there are no photos of my time in La Ceiba! It's a sign I've been here way too long as I no longer like hauling around the camera :)

a day in the life...

I think I've probably said something like this before...but it's nearly impossible to capture what a typical day is like for me. Some days are pretty dull, with nothing more exciting than buying chocolate ice cream at the corner store or taking a trip downtown to have coffee.

But some days, things are just completely ridiculous. And when it's happening, nothing in and of itself seems so crazy. It's only later, when you reflect on the day, that the sum of the parts amounts to something that you just think people not familiar with Honduras might not believe!

Yesterday was my host brother, Josue's birthday. Tradition (in my host family at least) means waking up early to sing to the birthday person before they even get out of bed. My host mom woke me up and we all tried singing outside Josue's door...let's just say, we were all half asleep and it was a pretty terrible rendition. No one was singing together, and half way thru my host mom forgot the words (in her defense, it's a longer song than the English version) and we all broke down laughing when she ended with a "cha cha cha." I think Josue just turned over to sleep again because it was pretty pathetic.

Monday mornings usually start out with a rousing office meeting of the Income Generation Program. At the beginning of my time here I understood maybe 40% of what was going on. Now that I am more accustomed to the terminology of the bank program, the speed at which Hondurans talk, and the joking nature of the men I work with, I think I understand 86-93% of what goes on :)

Today's meeting did not lack for drama. One coworker confronted the rest on their lack of respect for personal property. Mostly, this is not a very Honduran concept, but I was glad she spoke up. People do not respect anyone's desk or personal things and are continually fighting over lost items, whether it's calculators, staplers, printers, helmets, or keys to the moto. It gets a little out of control. And so did the discussion in the meeting!

After the meeting I did some more work til lunch. Lunch was pretty normal, at home, watching a family-favorite dating show while we eat. The show is out of control, as it's called "12 hearts" and tries to make matches of couples, loosely based on zodiac signs and physical preferences. Awesome.

In the afternoon I was quietly working in my office. Allison, my fellow gringa friend who works at the ministries calls me and says "are you bored? if so, come to my office, now." So, of course intrigued, I ran upstairs for a break. I found 2 children who we know from the school, plus their mom (a teacher) holding a mangy looking pigeon. The basic rundown was they pigeon fell from the ledge outside of Allison's window and they wanted to put it back on the ledge. Since I was the tallest (and by default must have the longest arms) I was elected to stand on the chair, reach out of the window with the pigeon in a dust pan, and deposit said pigeon on the window ledge. So I did. No big deal :) We watched him for awhile but he didn't do too much. You know, rescuing pigeons, all in a day's work.

pigeon in the dust pan, about to go out the window.

The evening was a typically Honduran birthday celebration. There wasn't ever a plan, and earlier in the day no one knew if we would actually have cake, but somehow, everyone in the family knew when and where to show up, my host mom made tacos for all, and we shared a cake for Josue's 24th birthday.

family chaos + cake

I have come to love family birthday parties with my host family, all of the craziness and awkwardness. Last night did not let me down :) Not only did we have 20 some people in the house, but we had our usual photo-taking frenzy. One of the cousins, who will remain nameless, is rather obsessed with taking photos of the gringa (yep, that's me). But not just when I know it's happening. Like also when I'm not looking, he's taking shots with his cell phone. Then he supposedly wanted a photo with the birthday boy, but at the last minute was like "no, with the gringa too!" So...I posed for about 15 photos with the cousin and my host brother. It was rather embarrassing. Then I was reassured by their uncle that I am more than welcome to take his son to the US...just as long as he gets some US dollars in return.

I still haven't figured out a good response to these innuendos. Thankfully there are some other cousins who look out for me and tell me not to pay attention to their crazy uncle. But I know the matchmaking is never over!

By the time all the pictures and cake and family stuff was done, we were pretty tired. We still had to watch the Honduras vs. Guatemala match on TV...and, though I didn't know it, I had to help a kid from church with 9 pages of English homework!! So...I did. It didn't take me too long, and I had a good time berating Axel for never practicing his English and talking with Lucia (my host mom) about everything under the sun and her childhood growing up in Olancho.

Overall, it was a good night of memories with the host family...just nothing that will ever be easy to capture in photos or words. But...here was my attempt!

plato tipico

In fitting in with the last post about mangoes, I thought it might be appropriate to write about what I eat on a regular basis in Honduras. I have tried to take photos of some food, but realize I lack photos of the day-to-day stuff. Mostly because I forget to take them, but also because my family would think it weird. Here's a rundown, to give you an idea:

Breakfast: Always coffee...made with WAY too much sugar. I was almost able to drink coffee w/o sugar before I came, but that has gone out the window. Coffee is made by boiling water on the stove and filtering it through a cloth sieve thingy. Not great coffee...apparently Honduras exports all the quality stuff and sells the overpriced crappy stuff to Hondurans. But let's not get into that now.

Most days I eat tortilla con quesillo which is 2 tortillas with melty, salty cheese in the middle, fried til crispy. Some days its just sweet bread and rosquillas (salty, hard bread) with coffee. Randomly we have pancakes (or panqueques in Spanish) or occasionally "plato tipico" for breakfast, which will be explained in the dinner section.

mini watermelons!

Lunch: This is the main meal of the day. I am lucky I live close to my office and I go home for lunch every day. We usually have some kind of meat, rice, a side of veggies or potatoes and tortillas. Some days, my host mom will make tacos or enchiladas, which are my favorites. On the not so lucky days (and always the hottest days) we have soup. Sometimes with beans and eggs, sometimes with large pieces of meat and lots of startchy add-ins: yucca, potato, green banana, rice...yes, all 4 at the same time.

kitchen stove with tajaditas and pork

Dinner: Our dinners are pretty standard at my house, so it's called plato tipico (rough translation: typical plate). We usually have scrambled eggs, beans (red, of course :), queso seco (salty, dry cheese) and tortillas. Most Hondurans will eat all of this with "mantequilla" which is basically runny sour cream. I'm not such a fan, so I usually leave it for the rest. Occasionally we'll have fried plantains or fried green banana...or some variation on the beans/cheese/eggs theme. I really love it and have gotten used to having this almost every night. When I am away for a few nights, I really miss my plato tipico.

Then there are Honduran specialties and snacks...

Baleadas: These are one of my favorite things...a flour tortilla (freshly made!) with liquified beans (think refried, but better), cheese, mantequilla and occasionally scrambled egg. These are eaten any time of day...breakfast, mid-morning snack, dinner, late evening snack...you get the picture.

Pupusas: These are also popular. More for when you go out to eat or for a special event. It's dough with melted cheese in the middle, some times with beans or a bit of sausage added in. Also delicious. I helped make these to raise funds for our church (see previous post about pupusas).

Tajaditas: Fried green banana. Sounds weird, but kinda turns out like a potato chip. Can be thin and crispy or thicker and more like potato wedges. Often served with a tomato sauce and cabbage salad. The downside is, when not made at home, they come with chicken feet!!! It totally grosses me out. I pick those out for my brothers and then eat the rest :)

 <--yes, thats a fried chicken foot on top of my snack. g-ross.

sushi boat!

My Honduran diet is also made complete by other random treats now and again...this could be a sushi splurge with my girlfriends, pizza out with the family (they love Little Caesars!), frozen yogurt at the mall, or bumming a meal from MCC friends who have their own kitchen and can decide what to eat.

Let's just say, I do not lack for good food...but I am looking forward to some home cooking when I get back.

things i think i think...but haven't figured out.

I really want to have a post about a 'typical day' here in my Nueva Suyapa life...but as I tried to piece together an outline, I realized no two days are the same. I mean, there are routines and things that happen pretty much in the same manner every day...the shower routine at my house, meal routine 3 times a day, the walking to work routine, the staring at the gringa and cat-calling routine...

But really, each day there are new adventures, experiences you never could have expected. I've taken on the philosophy of always going along for the ride. If someone invites me to go do something, whether it be a simple errand, a trip 'abajo' (down the hill to the city) or even a walk to the corner pulperia (store)--I just go! Ok, partly because I usually am looking for something to break up the time in the office (!) but also because I am certain it will undoubtedly be a good story...at minimum, a good way to get to know people.

Example: There is a lady who sells newspapers in the colonia every day. She usually stops by the office to chat, and she knows the 3 people who will always buy the daily issue. This woman has been very pregnant ever since I got here...they assure me she's worked like this before, and she will be selling papers until the day she has the baby.  So my coworker put together a baby gift for her, as the woman is pretty poor and she doesn't really have any clothes for the baby. Oh, another cultural moment--someone buys a gift and you are told how much to contribute so that its covered...not asked, just told to give 50 Lempiras. awesome.
So, then one day the woman (oh, another cultural thing, we don't know her name! she's just the woman who sells newspapers) doesn't show up. This means we must go find her house and give her the gift. But wait- no one knows where she lives! Here is a rough transcription in English...
Karina: "So, you're going to go with us to give her the gift, right Charissa?"
Me: "Um...sure. Are we walking there?"
K: "well, we have to walk around and see who knows where she lives. but we'll find it"
Me: "yeah, but how? Does Marvin know where she lives?"
K: "no, but we're going now to find her."
Me: "Ok, but like, how will we know?"
K: "marvin will drive us there."
(At this point I stop asking questions. Just go, Charissa. Its bound to be an adventure.)

Ok...I am also leaving out some details about transport...but I need to you to get the flavor of these exchanges. We spent 20 minutes before lunch debating if we could take a moto...but no, 3 people was too many for the moto. So then we waited til after lunch, argued with Marvin for about 1 hour to go get his truck. Then we thought it wasn't happening...then he randomly shows up and is like "lets go lets go! get in the truck right now!"...so we went! immediately.

So we drive down the hill to the newspaper stand...ask the lady there if she knows the pregnant newspaper seller...turns out the one we are looking for is her sister-in-law! I have no idea how this happened...but it worked out, and we left the gift with her. We are turned around, about to go back up the hill, when my coworkers realize that our boss is out for the day...so this means we need to "tomar un cafecito" (like, have a little coffee). We turn around to go further down the hill and head to Dunkin' Donuts. It was a crazy time at the restaurant with 2 of my favorite coworkers, who were paranoid the entire time that our boss was right around the corner. But it was really fun...felt like we were in college and skipping class! We also had a generally hilarious time in the truck, singing songs in English (oh wait, that was mostly me) and getting to know each other better.

All in a day's work, as I like to say.
There are also other stories...the day of my boss' birthday, where we left for about an hour to take a taxi to buy a last minute cake...how I get in on farewell parties the banks have for their out-going loan officers and I wait for an hour for people to show up to the party...how I come back from lunch and they are fumigating the office because of Dengue and I can't be in the office for 2 hours...I mean, lots of stuff like this that make me laugh continually and give me good journal entries. I love it. And I'm hoping that was coherent enough that you get some insight into my life here and can appreciate the humor too.