I haven't said anything yet about the way the country looks.... It's beautiful. Lush, many greens, hills, trees, mountains. Everywhere a person looks, the land is amazingly beautiful. I just spent the day with friends of my family. They live a short walk from the center of the town. We sat outside and ate lunch, a soup with ripe bananans, green bananas, green plaintains, coconut milk, onions and the skin of some animal. Very tasty. I just couldn't stop looking at the mountains on the horizon. I'm sad to say, one of my first thoughts was, No wonder Americans come here, buy the land out from under the poor people, and build hotels! It's the kind of thing American pay alot of money to see, and here I am. Sitting outdoors, eating this meal with family, just like I would in the summer with my family in Ohio. The sameness and difference is sort of hard to put into words.
Which leads me to the philosophical pondering of the week. How to be a good tourist.
And before I go any farther, I would like to apologize for the punctuation, or anything else that is not a letter. This key board apparently does not render the symbol imprinted on the button I press, so please excuse the lack of punctuational sophistication! Oh, I found the exclamation point.
Anyway, there seem to be two parallel cultures in this town. The first is the life of the average Honduran. Family, work, church. They don't seem to eat out or go to movies, but if they are anything like my family there are half a dozen people passing through the house to visit, eat and pass the morning or afternoon. I have heard every person in my Honduran family sing outloud, alone or together. There are many hours, however, spent playing video games. I think this must be somewhat universal in living with a houseful of boys.
Then there are the Americans/Europeans who for whatever reason have made homes here. They have coffee shops and bookstores and outdoor adventures businesses and restaurants. In short, all the things you'd find... in the United States. And I'm very drawn to these places, except that, it's not a reflection of the country. So I'm spending a good deal of time thinking about the kind of experience I want here. Afterall, who knows the next time I'll have six consecutive weeks free.
I've already made a commitment to be in one place. I'm thinking about visiting the capital because there's a L'Arche in the city, but I don't even know about that. It's a trek. I want to immerse myself in the culture and really let myself have a different experience . Not just eat french fries in a different place on the globe. I don't think this is the best way of doing things necessarily. I'm not a travel expert or an anthropologist. I guess it's a bit of an experiment with easing up on control.
So if my family eats tortillas every meal. I do too. If they eat pulverized black beans on white bread for a snack *as they did today* so will I. Now sure, I'm adapting things as I go. I did buy myself some raisins and ginger this week to put in my daily oatmeal breakfast. But, by and large, I'm trying not to be a tourist as much as a presence here.
Now for some juicy gossip for those who may be reading for this very reason. Last night I had my first experience with a man trying to pick me up *who I was willing to let try*. Very attractive and tall with these gorgeous torquoise eyes. A doctor from the Dominican Republic doing volunteer work for the week with a group from Puerto Rico where he currently lives with Honduran folks lacking medical attention *to put it mildly*. I met him when I was looking at a jewelry stand. He came up, caught my eye, and said hello. Very pleasing. We talked and walked and went at sat in a restaurant. He bought us sodas, since we're both on medication for malaria *I can't drink alcohol on the day I take the pill.* And the best part, the entire conversation was conducted in Spanish by yours truly. Anyway, we walked up to the town square and he said in Spainsh, I'm surprised, you don't have a boyfriend+, you're such a beautiful woman. *Yes, I know it's surprising. I told him. My Honduran family is currently searching through family indexes looking for single relatives. And you, you don't have a girlfriend or spouse? oh what key did I just hit to get that question mark.
AFterall, he is in his forties, attracitve and a doctor. I figured he must be divorced if he was single. But no.
Yes, he said, I have a wife in Puerto Rico. And children.
Oh. well, I think I'll go dancing, I told him.
