Day #3

Good Morning, (I started this in the AM)

I am sitting here with a strong cup of Mayan coffee (Yummm!) without cream and it's delicious. There is a cool breeze and I can hear children laughing in the distance. (Always~ And I am struck by how healthy they look. . . energetic, clean, well-groomed (hair) connected to each other, and smiling.)

My first two days have been very full. I have so much I want to share. I have several stories. . . I have the airport story, but I have to be in the right mood to write that one. It's a really good one! There is the Baby Crystal story, Road Repair, City Dump, Vera and Liz, Discomforts story and more. Oh, and most important, there is the Treisi, my godchild who I just met story. That's the most important one.

There are a few other visitors here and that has been perfect; the mom of a volunteer, a photographer from LifeTouch who is taking school pictures which has been interesting and last but not least, Christine, who is a legend here. She is an agricultural specialist that is currently interested in, among other things, cheese-making. She actually helped with starting the farm 25 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer and considers this area her second home. She is close friends with some Hondurans in a nearby village and knows this place and culture like the back of her hand. I am extremely fortunate to have met these other visitors at this time.

Cristine took us sightseeing in the city after getting literally trapped in total chaotic traffic jam near Tegucigalpa. (She just laughed while the rest of us feared for our lives.) After visiting a beautiful cathedral and buying a few souvineers, we were invited to her friend's family home for dinner. That is another story. Wow. Most of the volunteers have the weekend off so I am extremely happy to be hanging out with them while getting my bearings straight. Speaking of bearings, being one of the only non-Spanish speakers around is really disorienting for an extrovert. What a valuable insight. It makes me think about my Somali immigrant students. . . Crossing cultural norms, especially when a different language is involved is enormous. And rich.

Putting these stories into words will be a challenge because I don't want to minimize them. I will do my best, but I am counting on my photos to carry more of the sharing when I come home.

Thank you for reading this blog! XO Latin American style