General news and random anecdotes
This entry is more than anything an accumulated list of interesting/funny/ridiculous things that have happened in the past few weeks.
Beach! I went to the north coast last weekend for a Peace Corps meeting/chance to go to the beach. We were in Tela, a town of about 30,000 right on the edge of the Caribbean. After our little meeting, I and the other volunteers (about 9 of us in all, two of whom live in Tela) went to the beach, hung out in a sweet hotel and marveled at the sights of a developed beach town. Coming from San José, I was simply awestruck at the amenities of Tela: high-speed internet cafés, coffee shops, pizzerias, trash cans, hot showers, fruit, vegetables, AND the beach a mere two blocks from the center of town. A great trip overall.
Illnesses! I have been sick with about a million different diseases in the past month: bacterial infections, viral infections, intestinal infections, random allergies, colds and fevers and more. None of them are really serious enough to have actual diagnoses like dengue or malaria or rickets or the plague. I almost wish they were, so at least I’d know what’s wrong with me. On the plus side I, being a Peace Corps Volunteer, enjoy the most amazing health benefits on the planet. Thank you American taxpayers!
Operation Fix my House:
My house has been flooding and leaking since I moved in, and I haven’t been happy about it. This is the problem: there is a drain tube in the backyard that connects to two places, the outdoor shower and the dirt road alongside the house. Ideally the rain travels from the backyard out to the street. However, that outlet is apparently clogged, and instead the rain comes out through the outdoor shower, and then into my house. Add to that the half-dozen leaks in the kitchen and living room, and the house is an unpleasant place when it rains.
About two weeks ago I finally got fed up and decided to see my landlady/ex-host mom once or twice every day until the problem was fixed. First she brought a man to fix the roof tiles to stop the leaks. The man she brought, who came barefoot and reeking of alcohol, did a terrible job at fixing the roof and ended up worsening the problem. Then she sent her 12-year-old son to clean the backyard. He cut all the weeds and spruced up the backyard very nicely… only to come back the next day and move this huge sand pile from one side of the yard to another. So now the yard is covered in grass clippings and sand. FINALLY she sent her brother to cover the roof tiles with nylon, fix the leaks and “fix” the tubes. This is how he fixed the tubes: he cut a tree branch and stuck it down the outdoor shower drain. So theoretically the rain won’t come up through this drain anymore. So now there’s a little plant flowering up from my shower drain, and an apparently “fixed” problem. Oh Honduras.
Speaking of my house:
My house has been a hub of activity these past few weeks. First was my friend’s piñata party. Later, a girl in the sixth grade class I teach (which is not going well by the way) turned 13 this week, so we had a little party for her too. She and 4 friends and I made chicken sandwiches and did yoga exercises (their idea, not mine!) and danced around and had a grand old time. Then the other day Doña María, the near-blind little lady that lives up the hill, came all the way down to my house to pay a visit. I showed her around and made her soup, and she commented on how nice everything looked and then cut about a million branches from my trees in the backyard to decorate the Catholic Church. It was just a delight to see her leave the house with an entire bush’s worth of branches over her shoulders. I was so glad she came.
Then the other day my friend (ex-host sister, piñata party friend) came by on her own to visit, which is a rare occurrence since she’s normally at home and isn’t allowed out much. I was happy to see her, but wondered exactly why she came. It turned out a boy wanted to talk to her and she asked me if they could talk at my house. At that moment I was reminded of the challenges of being a teenager in small town Honduras: i.e. NO privacy, and NO tolerance for teenage dating. So I said sure, went in my room to take a nap and let the kids talk at my house… I’m not sure if this makes my house a permanent go-to spot for teenage couples, but at least my friend can talk here whenever she wants. Because they’re not asking for a place to make out, snuggle, etc.—they just want to TALK in peace!!!
Other than that: I saw, and killed, my first Honduran scorpion the other day; my birthday´s coming up and I think a few girls are planning a party for me; my neighbor told me I looked really fat, meaning it as a compliment but nearly making me cry as a result; not only the mayor´s 12-year-old son, but now his TWO-year-old son gives me piropos (screaming “Marina mi amor!” from his stroller).
More interesting/funny/ridiculous moments to come.
Beach! I went to the north coast last weekend for a Peace Corps meeting/chance to go to the beach. We were in Tela, a town of about 30,000 right on the edge of the Caribbean. After our little meeting, I and the other volunteers (about 9 of us in all, two of whom live in Tela) went to the beach, hung out in a sweet hotel and marveled at the sights of a developed beach town. Coming from San José, I was simply awestruck at the amenities of Tela: high-speed internet cafés, coffee shops, pizzerias, trash cans, hot showers, fruit, vegetables, AND the beach a mere two blocks from the center of town. A great trip overall.
Illnesses! I have been sick with about a million different diseases in the past month: bacterial infections, viral infections, intestinal infections, random allergies, colds and fevers and more. None of them are really serious enough to have actual diagnoses like dengue or malaria or rickets or the plague. I almost wish they were, so at least I’d know what’s wrong with me. On the plus side I, being a Peace Corps Volunteer, enjoy the most amazing health benefits on the planet. Thank you American taxpayers!
Operation Fix my House:
My house has been flooding and leaking since I moved in, and I haven’t been happy about it. This is the problem: there is a drain tube in the backyard that connects to two places, the outdoor shower and the dirt road alongside the house. Ideally the rain travels from the backyard out to the street. However, that outlet is apparently clogged, and instead the rain comes out through the outdoor shower, and then into my house. Add to that the half-dozen leaks in the kitchen and living room, and the house is an unpleasant place when it rains.
About two weeks ago I finally got fed up and decided to see my landlady/ex-host mom once or twice every day until the problem was fixed. First she brought a man to fix the roof tiles to stop the leaks. The man she brought, who came barefoot and reeking of alcohol, did a terrible job at fixing the roof and ended up worsening the problem. Then she sent her 12-year-old son to clean the backyard. He cut all the weeds and spruced up the backyard very nicely… only to come back the next day and move this huge sand pile from one side of the yard to another. So now the yard is covered in grass clippings and sand. FINALLY she sent her brother to cover the roof tiles with nylon, fix the leaks and “fix” the tubes. This is how he fixed the tubes: he cut a tree branch and stuck it down the outdoor shower drain. So theoretically the rain won’t come up through this drain anymore. So now there’s a little plant flowering up from my shower drain, and an apparently “fixed” problem. Oh Honduras.
Speaking of my house:
My house has been a hub of activity these past few weeks. First was my friend’s piñata party. Later, a girl in the sixth grade class I teach (which is not going well by the way) turned 13 this week, so we had a little party for her too. She and 4 friends and I made chicken sandwiches and did yoga exercises (their idea, not mine!) and danced around and had a grand old time. Then the other day Doña María, the near-blind little lady that lives up the hill, came all the way down to my house to pay a visit. I showed her around and made her soup, and she commented on how nice everything looked and then cut about a million branches from my trees in the backyard to decorate the Catholic Church. It was just a delight to see her leave the house with an entire bush’s worth of branches over her shoulders. I was so glad she came.
Then the other day my friend (ex-host sister, piñata party friend) came by on her own to visit, which is a rare occurrence since she’s normally at home and isn’t allowed out much. I was happy to see her, but wondered exactly why she came. It turned out a boy wanted to talk to her and she asked me if they could talk at my house. At that moment I was reminded of the challenges of being a teenager in small town Honduras: i.e. NO privacy, and NO tolerance for teenage dating. So I said sure, went in my room to take a nap and let the kids talk at my house… I’m not sure if this makes my house a permanent go-to spot for teenage couples, but at least my friend can talk here whenever she wants. Because they’re not asking for a place to make out, snuggle, etc.—they just want to TALK in peace!!!
Other than that: I saw, and killed, my first Honduran scorpion the other day; my birthday´s coming up and I think a few girls are planning a party for me; my neighbor told me I looked really fat, meaning it as a compliment but nearly making me cry as a result; not only the mayor´s 12-year-old son, but now his TWO-year-old son gives me piropos (screaming “Marina mi amor!” from his stroller).
More interesting/funny/ridiculous moments to come.
posted by Maureen at 12:03 PM
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