Brian & Regan

I had this crazy dream (I don't know what it is that I only remember ridiculous ones). So I'm at school, I think down in Honduras, but I'm a student, not a teacher. And since I'm part of the group that gives tours of our town to people when they come in I had the opportunity to give a tour to a group that was coming in. Apparently our director Megan had some friends coming in named Brian and Regan (Could this be related to Brian Regan? Maybe...) and so she asked if anybody wanted to give a tour. Of course I didn't want to but it turned out that everybody else just stood up and left. So I decided sure, I guess I can do it. Things were going fine on our tour until I realized that instead of a pair of lame people it was actually the comedian Brian Regan, only in this dream he was split into two people, and they were both females, around 24, single, and flirting with me. So naturally when they wanted to stop at the jewelery store I said yes. I was helping one of them pick out a ring for her mom when she asked, "Can I put whipped cream on your neck?" Well of course! So I go down on my knees, head down and leaning forward so that she could put whipped cream on my neck. Then the other one came over and poured hair dye into my hair. It was a bright orange throw up type color, and permanent. I forget the reason why, I think because I wouldn't take her sky diving. They were both laughing cause this was their plan all along apparently. Then there's a fire alarm so I go outside with my friends David and Cody who are suddenly there. We get into the field with everybody else, but there is some confusion where we are supposed to go. Then we get on the bus and sit right behind Megan who seems to be staring at my hair. Come to find out that her friends aren't Brian and Regan, their actual name is the Hair Stripers...go figure. So since the fire alarm is going off we decide to all head out to the hot springs for the evening. But the alarm stops before we can leave. So back inside we go for a conference that's suddenly planned. We're switching rooms all the time but when I switch rooms I can't find my shoe! And this happens in each room over and over and over. I get to the new room and can't find my shoe. Decide that I'll track it down later, then magically am wearing my shoes when I leave. Get to the next room and I don't have my shoes, blah blah blah. Why am I so bizarre?

Repairman for a Day...or Two

I recently acquired my car from my cousin who had been taking care of her for the past year I was gone. She told me, “there are just a few problems...” One being that the drivers side window kind of goes down and kind of goes up. This was a problem when I turned the car over to her, yet the motor had managed to almost officially die. The motor, if you will, went onto hospice.
I asked my brother, “how do you fix a window motor?” “Oh simple, just pop off the door panel, take out the old one, and put in the new one!” If only it were so simple....yet I didn’t know this until many hours into the project! So early Thursday morning I embarked on a mission that would take me two trips to Shucks, countless efforts of looking for help online, and a lot of guessing/hoping/praying.
What was supposed to be a quick morning fix on Thursday was finally completed in time for lunch on Friday. I tried, I guessed, and I conquered....mostly. The monetary cost was significantly cheaper than taking it to a mechanic, but the non-monetary cost may turn out to be quite high. I busted one place intended once upon a time for a screw. So there are now two screws, not three, holding my door together. I busted a small panel on the door, but that was easily fixed with a few extra screws. And the kicker on the home repair....I tried the window when we were all done....I took a deep breath....waited....and pushed....nothing....I tried again....I pushed down on the power window button....nothing....I took another deep breath....looked at my dad....and pushed up....IT WORKED! When I pushed up on the window button it went down, and when I pushed down it went up. So in a sense, yes, the window works perfectly!

Most Terrifying Moment

So these dumb dogs have this habit of waking me up at 3 or 4 in the morning in order to go outside. Other than annoyed I haven't thought much of it until tonight. Now, let me take this back just one or two days for a second....there was a news story about a dog that was attacked by a raccoon. The dog lost it's leg and was only saved when it's owner detached the raccoon. I said something jokingly like, "Maybe I'll find a raccoon in the backyard one night." Why did I have to open my mouth like that?
Ok, back to these dogs and tonight. I take them outside and immediately they go running outside barking, including Fetch dog. And the more curious part is that they don't go to the back corner, they go running to one of the bushes barking and then, suddenly, yelping. All the dogs are barking bloody murder and my mind immediately starts racing! Luckily there is a small light that I figured out how to turn on just last night so I could see a little bit of what was happening. Diaper dog comes running out of the bushes followed by a gigantic cat! That's funny, the cat is huge! Way bigger than the pug! And it has black and white stripes on it...hmmmm. I immediately freak out and start yelling at the raccoon (not about to chase after a raccoon twice the size of a pug when it's angry!). I'm clapping and yelling at it while Sausage and Diaper dog come back to me I shove them inside (without his diaper but who cares). Then I hear the dogs move towards the back corner, it's down to Water dog and Fetch dog....Water dog looks pitiful and is now just standing under a tree (what do you expect from him?), so I run over, pick him up, and shove him back inside. Fetch dog (probably the most aggressive of the four) is still in the bushes barking at something. I don't want to go back in the bushes and grab him cause who knows if the raccoon is still there or not! But then, maybe I should go back and get him for that very same reason, I might stand a better chance against a raccoon than a 20 pound (on a good day) dog. I run inside looking for a flashlight (luckily I had explored the kitchen from day one), find a small one that works and sprint back out the door. It's just powerful enough to make out something gigantic moving across the fence and now I hear Fetch dog barking (a good sign that he's still alive) but on the other side of the small fence! He's jumped a 3+ft fence in search of this guy! I quick run next door to the neighbor's house and without regard for privacy sprint around their house and through their backyard to the side Fetch dog is still barking on. I see him running up and down the fence chasing the raccoon that is running back and forth on top of the fence. I run up, grab Fetch dog, and sprint back to the house, breathing a sigh of relief as I'm safely inside with all four dogs. I examine all dogs a quick run-over and amazingly enough the only blood that I spot on any of them is on Fetch dog and without any cuts or bits on him I'm assuming it's from the raccoon...serious?* These are some bad-ass dogs! Who knew?
*Scratch that comment, I spoke too soon. Fetch dog was not putting any weight on his right leg this morning and I examined more closely. He did have a small bite, so he's at the vet now getting it cleaned and taken care of.

Potty Break

Every time I take these dogs outside it's the same thing:
1) They all go running outside barking into the back corner of the fence (minus fetch dog that drops the ball at the door and waits).
2) Sausage dog grabs her stuffed animal and shakes it for a while in her mouth, then pees on it.
3) Diaper dog goes running around the whole time barking at birds in the trees, the fence, fetch dog, airplanes, helicopters, the barbecue, and the gate.
4) Water dog (now named that way for the amount of water he drinks then spits up on the floor) just stands at my feet once he's done barking at the back corner and he does nothing.
5) Fetch dog continues to play fetch despite the barking and standing going on around him.
6) Sausage is now done with her stuffed animal and tries to have a poop but is usually constipated so she just squats for a half minute. Then drags her bottom across the grass.
7) Diaper dog is now barking at a bush.
8) Fetch dog is still bringing the ball back to me.
9) Sausage is all done now and just sits in the grass awkwardly.
10) Fetch dog gets the ball, stops by the water dish for a drink, and brings it back to me to keep playing.
11) Water dog is still standing.
12) I get bored and bring the dogs in (not before putting diaper dog's diaper back on him).

Diaper Dog

This is maybe not the most appropriate posting....but it's probably the most hilarious thing that has ever happened to me....stupid diaper dog.
So this afternoon I bring the dogs in from outside (going to the bathroom and playing fetch), give them their treats, and then go to the bathroom myself. It's weird enough that I look at the dor and there's two dogs staring at me while I pee. But then as soon as I finish the diaper dog (pug named Brutus) walks up to the toilet and LIFTS HIS LEG! I immediately kicked him and he ran out of the room....but can you believe this?! He's dumber than a brick.

Dog Sitting

I got a call from the neighbor of a friend who wanted me to dog sit and I agreed to help out. Now I'm about half way through day one of about nine and these dogs are crazy! There's three terriers of some kind and one pug who thinks he's a terrier. Terrier one likes to play fetch non-stop! The family suggested to play just for 20 minutes three times per day (but we've already played four times). Then terrier two and three have yet to leave their cage. They just stay in there all day because they're depressed I suppose. One of them has kidney problems and so the owner left me the vets number "just in case" he goes into kidney failure. He drinks a lot and has to go to the bathroom a lot "but that's good for him." Oh, and he sleeps with me....yay. Then there's the pug who apparently has bladder issues. So there are some "diapers" that they put on him....they are actually maxi-pads stuck to a cloth and strung around his backside. I get to change that....woo.
And how could I forget about the cat! There's a cat who comes and goes apparently. I haven't seen him all day but his food is sitting here in case he ever comes home. It's no skin off my back if he doesn't, I hate cats. But the owners might see this as a bad thing (who knows why). Well, I suppose it's time to take the dogs out once again...maybe those two mutts will come out of their cage this time...or not. And the pug keeps making growling noises randomly all day, do all pugs do this?

Striking Realization

I just had a terrible realization...I'm lonely. I've been back in the States now for almost four weeks and I'm lonely. In Copan I was surrounded by friends day and night and interacted with hundreds of people every day (albeit the majority under age 12).:) Since coming back to my parents place my life has seemed fairly flat and lacking something and I couldn't place a finger on it...Then sitting here in bed tonight it struck me like an epiphany (learned that word in church...), I'm lonely!
There's no real blame to go around on this issue, I haven't sought out friendships around here as I view the Seattle are as a very temporary place to be...so who needs close friends here? Now, no offense in the least bit to my parents (sorry to say this mom), but when I spend the majority of my time alone at home or with my parents at home my social life feels like a vacuum...only I'm the only one hanging out inside the vacuum bag. I need to get out there and make friends my age around here...that's scary...how do you even do that? I don't even remember what it's like here in the States to try and make friends outside of school. Don't all the people my age just go dancing and get drunk? I don't even know what people do around here for fun? Do lots of people in their twenties think cards are one of the greatest inventions ever or is it just me? Do lots of people my age prefer to just stay home and chill with a few friends on the weekend instead of "hit the town?" Do lots of people enjoy sitting and people watching? What if I'm hanging out with somebody and I have nothing to say? Are people ok with that around here? I don't know if I've ever had a bigger feeling of seclusion...I guess I do take after my dad on the extrovert scale more than I thought.

They Have a Word for that already...

I took a break from a medical brigade in town this afternoon to hit up a free lunch offer. Who could ever turn one of those down?:) While I was hanging out with a handful of other foreign teachers at Marisol's house (Honduran director-type) we started talking about all sorts of different Copan things. We got onto the topic of drug lords and drug trafficking in the area. One of the ironic things that we got to talking about is how they refer to their trading of drugs. You see....they don't "sell" drugs. What they do is that they exchange the drugs for money. I started thinking....I think that there's a name for exchanging an object for money. It's called selling. Does it make it sound any better to say that you exchange drugs for money instead of saying that you sell them? I'm not really too sure about this one...maybe it's like a public image sort of thing. Don't want people to think that you're doing anything shady, right?

¡Me Va a Sacar los Frijoles!

He's so excited!
Originally uploaded by zassink

Yesterday was one of those days of extremely mixed emotions. My neighbor, Carlos José, had his sixth grade graduation, which is a really big deal here. It’s kind of like a high school graduation in the States, just cheesier (at least here in Copán). We went to one of the nicest hotels in Copán, Hotel Posada Real, in order to have the ceremony and dinner. Apparently the hotel is famous for not good food....and I’d say that it lived up to that. We had a super expensive dinner that I probably could have made better, and that’s saying something!:) The ceremony was alright, I really don’t see the big deal about graduating from sixth grade, because you’re only about half way through school in my opinion...never-the-less I played along and enjoyed the ceremony.
When we got home around 9:30 I was hanging out with my neighbors realizing that I might not see some of them for a really long time. They were planning on leaving early this morning (5:15am) for Tegucigalpa and the graduation of the oldest of the kids from high school. They don’t get back until after I leave for the States on the 27th. Only about half of them were planning on going, but they were all considering going (still last night they weren’t sure!). So as I said my “see you laters” last night I started to get really nostalgic thinking about all the things that we’ve done together. They have all been like brothers, sisters, and of course a mom to me. We’ve taken trips together, eaten dinner together on a regular basis, I’ve studied with Carlos José constantly, had our Sunday morning coffee hang outs, watched Caso Cerrado (it’s like a good version of Judge Judy), sat outside the house commenting on all the tourists passing by, they’ve even tried to get me a girlfriend here in Copán (unsuccessfully).:) So I’m saying goodbye at the time to María Beatris and her four year old son right before I go to bed. María and I are talking about all sorts of different memories and thanking each other for putting up with each other. Then I bend down to give Norman Roman (the four year old) a hug; I lift him up and give him a strong hug. As I set him back down he says (giggling), “Mister.... ¡me va a sacar los frijoles!” In other words, “Mister...You’re going to squeeze the beans out of me!” I got up this morning and found a note on my kitchen stove....all my neighbors left this morning! I’m left to fend for myself here in my house for the last week. I no longer have anybody to joke around with, to make fun of each other with, to comment about tourists with...nothing! This will be kind of a boring week I think...the good news is that there is a medical brigade that should keep me busy. I’m going to miss my neighbors though, beans and all.

My New Che

I used to think that Che Guevara was my favorite Latin American revolutionary but with the conclusion of the Confessions book and now looking into Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa things have changed. I've come to see Correa as one of the most unique revolutionaries in Latin America in the modern era. I ran across an interview with him shortly after he won the preliminary elections in April with over 50% of the vote (meaning that for the first time in 30 years there was no run-off election) in which he talks about his vision for Ecuador and South America in general. Here's my favorite quote from the interview. The whole interview can be found at:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1915/68/

"Competition is a concept that is already very debatable at the level of economic agents, but at the level of countries – fraternal countries – are you going to compete? It’s a complete absurdity. And how have they competed? Whoever mistreats the labor force most, whoever puts it in the most precarious position, because that is the only way to gain competitiveness. And we deteriorate the standard of living of our population and, above all, our working class. And the ones that most benefit from the cheapest products are the First World."

Confessions of an EHM

I just got finished reading one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. It’s called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and presents a very different look upon the world. I highly recommend it for anybody interested in globalization, world politics, corporations, economics, etc. Now...time for a little background:
When I came to Honduras two years ago I started to get a little different twist on all the news articles that I was reading here in Honduras. I started to form a truly unique perspective on world leaders hailed by the US press or shamed by them. Latin America has a recent upswing of leftist leaders throughout the region including Chávez in Venezuela, Morales in Bolivia, Correa in Ecuador, Noriega in Nicaragua, Zelaya in Honduras, Funes in El Salvador, etc. I started to ask myself over the past two years, is it possible that in the US we are missing something? Why is there a sudden swing to the left here and is it a bad thing? All these figures are certainly painted in a bad light in the US. True, Chávez might be slightly crazy, and Morales has made some bizarre moves. None-the-less, there must be something to these leaders who keep getting elected (maybe it’s just corruption and I’m outta line here). Then I read in a Spanish paper several months back that Correa decided to stop paying back the national debt. About half the national income was put towards paying off past debts incurred through the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc. and he decided that they were mostly illegal and refused to pay them back. Correa was a man educated in Belgium and the US, fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Quechua (indigenous language in Ecuador), he has his PHD in economics from University of Illinois! This man is not crazy or dumb or even out of touch with reality a little bit. So why does he make this claim? Well, recent articles I read said that the country was forced into default on their loans in 2000 and large corporations and oil companies quickly swooped in buying bonds and taking control of the country. So Correa said that since they were forced into default the move was illegal and he’s paying back 35 cents on the dollar for all bonds bought after they went default. What is going on?!
So this is my state of mind when my friend Ty (who has been here 2 years with me) tells me that I should read Confessions of an EHM as it ties into a lot of Latin America, especially Ecuador. I was itching to read the book and as soon as he gave it to me I began to eat it up. The author, John Perkins, talks about his work as an EHM. In short he would go into a country and proclaim that with the economic growth that they will experience on a certain project they will be able to pay back the debt incurred from the loan to build it. They would help with the expectation that they would use US corporations to build the projects. His statistics would all be inflated. For example, instead of a consistent 6-8 percent increase in electrical use he might predict a 17-20 percent increase per year because the economy is prime for a boom! Of course this wasn’t true, but the country would buy into it and take the loan, use US corporations to complete the project, and then be in debt to the World Bank, IMF, etc. Since the growth would not be what was predicted (surprise) the country would not be able to pay back it’s loans. Thus the country would be in debt still, but would now owe more than just money to the corporations...they’d owe loyalty to the US. Granted, this is 250 pages summarized in a paragraph, so it’s ok if you don’t follow all this.
I got to thinking about Ecuador in all this. Is it possible that Correa is not so off his rocker? Is it possible that the government was taken advantage of and used in order for monetary value but also for a personal interest? A simple look at statistics can help take a look at this. From 1970 to 2000 Ecuador experienced some dramatic shifts. The “official” poverty level grew from 50 to 70 percent. The under or unemployed grew from 15 to 70 percent. Public debt increased from $240 million to $16 billion. National resources devoted to the poorest declined from 20 percent to 6 percent. So think about it, is Ecuador in a better position today than it was 30 years ago? Oh sure, the country has some vast oil reserves and is becoming an exporter of oil, but at what cost? Most of the oil is located under the Amazon and is only harvested at the expense of local tribes who are either exploited or ousted.
So as I sit here in my last two weeks in Honduras I ask myself what this all means. Is what I just read really true? Is this really happening? I can’t fully grasp my mind around all that is running through my head. There is so much corruption in the world and I don’t exclude the US in any of this. I wish that there were some way to wave a magical wand and just make socialism work across the globe. Instill in all of us a greater sense of altruism and selflessness that would lead to the elimination of poverty and hunger. For now I just sit here thinking....where do we even begin?

Pulhapanzak and Yojoa

Pulhapanzak
Originally uploaded by zassink

This weekend David, Cody, and myself decided to get out for one last weekend adventure. We had heard all sorts of good things about a local Honduran lake and waterfall. On Saturday we left for Lake Yojoa with plans to check out all the spots around the lake (caves, national park, cloud forest, waterfall, etc.). We spent the morning on Saturday traveling to Parque Nacional Cerro Azul (Blue Mountain National Park). We got there late afternoon and decided to take a little walk to a viewpoint that looks out over the lake. When we got to the viewpoint (hiking from about 750 meters up to 1100 meters) we decided to just go ahead and finish the loop of 7 or so kilometers instead of going back the way we came cause that would just be boring. So we hiked up another 100 meters or so before reaching a bend that went around the mountain and we went down the other side past another waterfall and hiked all over the place. We were hungry, tired, and exhausted by the time we got to the end and were all severely disillusioned to find out dinner would not be ready for another 45 minutes. We survived though....then we spent the better part of Sunday just working on changing hotels, looking for a new one, and then getting settled in. Sunday was basically a wasted day in which we ended up at the D & D Brewery/Bed and Breakfast, which we’d heard lots of good things about. It turned out to be a big dud. Apparently the wife (Honduran) ran off the husband (American/owner) and now the hotel doesn’t really have a good owner. The owner is known for his homemade beer and soda, neither of which they had of course. The food was marginal and expensive, and to top it all off the beds were the most uncomfortable ones in all of Honduras I think.
Then today we decided to hit up Pulhapanzak (Poo-lah-pawn-sock) on our way back to San Pedro and then Copan. The waterfall was a smash hit! It’s 44 meters tall and is extremely impressive. We paid for a guide to take us down behind the waterfall and do some cliff jumping as well off to the side. I had a lot of fun at the waterfall and would highly recommend it to anybody in the area...if you ever come to Honduras.:) The only down side of today was when we hiked behind the waterfall they told us to wear shoes for the safety of our feet. Of course I only took one pair of shoes, which means that I made the whole bus ride back to Copan in soaking wet shoes. Not the most exciting part of the trip (being on the bus for four hours with wet shoes), but well worth it.

Three Things I Learned Today

Hi-Yah!
Originally uploaded by zassink

We took a bus this morning to El Sapote, a place about 13 kilometers from Copan. We got off the bus in the middle of nowhere, hiked across a valley, over a stream, and up a mountain. Soon we were looking out over the whole valley. It was a great exploration...not so much a hike. We went about 3 miles on our hike, but the majority of that was finding a way into the jungle. Once inside the going was so slow we covered about a mile or 2 at the most in a couple hours of hacking, climbing, and slipping. I learned a lot of things today while on the hike....Here are three of the things that I learned:
1) Tall grass makes the going tough....but not impossible. With a little bit of ingenuity you can get through any grassy situation. I just took out the machete and sliced a path through the tall grass.
2) Rainforests have no paths....we were exploring and exploring and kept thinking, "follow that path up the hill!" Then as David so astutely would point out..."I don't think that's a path, I think it's a runoff for rain water." He was always right about that as we tried following a stream but found no path in the jungle.
3) Few things dry in the rainforest...the bottom of my pant legs got wet at the start of the hike when trying to get into the jungle through the grass...and they never dried out. I think that the majority of uncovered forest floor was just mud. I don't think that very many things ever dry out fully in the rainforest.

Hiking in Copan

The Stela Group
Originally uploaded by zassink

I recently realized that with less than a month left in Copan I really need to take advantage of the time that I have here on the weekends without school. Last weekend some teachers were hiking up to a waterfall and invited me along. We first went to the waterfall, then to the ancient Mayan stela "nearby." I heard it was nearby, it was another hour or so of strenuous hiking. Never-the-less...we made it! Then we read the sign and one part jumped out at us quickly, "nearby caves." So we made a plan (as we were all out of water almost), come back next week with lots of water and food to find the caves.
This morning we left the central park at 7am in search of the caves and a far away peak to conquer. We quickly got passed the stela on a short cut we had discovered and then plotted on towards where we thought the caves might be....the side of a big cliff. We ran into one person that pointed us up the hill so up we went. After scrambling up the loose rocks and dirt to the top we were still no closer to the caves. We asked some more farmers we ran into and they pointed us in a direction even further away from Copan. We'd now been hiking almost 3 hours and had climbed more than 1400 feet of elevation! We were tired but saw the village of Cabañas on the far side (which has bus service to Copan). It was never our intention to hike there, but we started talking about it in a semi-serious manner. After running into a third person that "pointed us" in the direction of the caves we set out confidently. Soon we were staring at the side of a cliff where obviously a cave should be but there was no cave in sight. We searched all over and eventually realized the caves were a mystery to us. We kept walking on our way to Cabañas and looking for the caves but never ended up finding them. In total it was a five hour hike covering over 6 miles climbing from 2000 ft up to 3400 ft then back down to 2200ft. We were disappointed to not conquer the caves, but we did conquer a big rock hill and many barbed wire fences that we hopped over. All in all...this was a successful day.:)

The Earth Shake

I woke up at 2:24am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning and noticed that my bathroom door was swinging funny. Having lived in LA for 10 years (although it was a long time ago) I remember a lot about earthquakes. I quickly realized that I was in an earthquake so I rolled out of bed and then....I just sat there on my hands and knees thinking, “I’m in Honduras. If this is a strong earthquake there are no building codes here and I’m sure I’m in deep trouble. If this isn’t strong, then why am I jumping out of my bed?” About the time that it took for this to go through my head the quake had settled a little then gotten a second wind and was now winding down when I decided to sit on the floor a bit longer cause it was hot that night and the tile was nice and cool.:) The power lines outside my window were going crazy the whole time and I was thinking, “I’m glad my house isn’t made of rubber.” By far the worst part of the whole experience were my neighbors. They all went outside and starting yelling and shouting. “The ground was shaking!” “I was thrown out of my bed!” “I went this way! Then I went that way! What was that?!” And there they sat for another 30 minutes or so just talking in loud voices as if the earthquake happened while nobody was sleeping. The next day they were all asking me if I had been too scared to come outside? Had I freaked out about the quake? Had I felt one before? I just kinda laughed and told them...”I’ve felt a couple...”

Through Painted Deserts

I remember my brother, Jonathan, read the book Blue Like Jazz a couple years back and had an immediate author crush on Donald Miller. Can you blame him? I equally had a major crush on him after reading that book. My brother went on to read Through Painted Deserts, also by Donald Miller. At the time he read it he would tell me constantly, “This book is amazing! It is so fitting to my life. I wish our parents could read this to know what I’m going through, etc.” At the time I chalked it up to transitional stress as he was a recent tenant of California...perhaps it’s my outlook of my less than six weeks I have of being a resident of Copan....but I started reading the book this afternoon on my free time while subbing in second grade and fell in love all over again. It’s like finding a cd of a long lost musician while cleaning out a closet and deciding to give it a listen. The whole premise is about leaving what we know, going somewhere and changing. I hope that my changing in life is not complete but as I come to a close of this “two year evolution” in my life I am struck by this passage of the book:
“I could not have known then that everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like seasons...Everybody has to change, or they expire. Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons...I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently. Only the good stories have characters different at the end than they were at the beginning. And the closest thing I can liken life to is a book, the way it stretches out on paper, page after page, as if to trick the mind into thinking it isn’t all happening at once...Everything we were is no more, and what we will become, will become what was.” – Donald Miller

My Grandpa

There’s an amazing story that I’ve held onto for the past 4 years since I’ve studied in Spain that I have read and reread a million times. I come back to it whenever I’m going through a transition in my life with the departure of a friend or when I up and move to a different country.:) My teachers in Spain gave me the story and therefore the story has been in Spanish. However, on my recent journey back to the States for my grandpa’s funeral I decided to translate the story into English and share it with all of you. Through the many agonies (as a recent friend put it) my grandpa truly had a beautiful heart...
Once upon a time there was a young man that went around the world saying that he had the most beautiful heart in the world. He went from town to town betting with the people that his heart was the most beautiful of all, and he demonstrated it. In fact, his heart was precious, young, and strong. But one day the young man found himself with an old man that insisted that his heart was much more beautiful than the young mans’. The young man laughed, thinking to himself that the old man was crazy but to give him the pleasure of competing agreed to bet with the old man. The two men took out their hearts in order to compare them. The heart of the old man was full of patches, holes, and scars. The young man asked, “How can you possibly say that your heart is more beautiful than mine? Look at it. It’s ugly, full of scars and holes. Mine is strong, perfect, and young.” The old man responded: “Every hole that you see is a piece of my heart that I have given to somebody. And each patch and scar is a piece that somebody has given to me. My heart is full of the marks of everyone who has passed through my life and meant anything significant to me. I have shared my heart with them and them with me.” The young man realized in this moment that the old man was right. He conceded to the old man the right to say he had the most beautiful heart in the world and he asked him to exchange a piece of his heart, so young and perfect. In this manner the young man began to make his heart more beautiful.

Proverbios/Proverbs

I’ve been collecting some proverbs that I’ve enjoyed over the past however much time and thought that I should put them together for a little post here…

-El que hoy se cae, se levanta mañana.
-He who today falls down, rises up tomorrow.

-En boca cerrada no entran moscas.
-Flies don’t enter into a closed mouth.

-Es más rico el rico cuando empobrece que el pobre cuando enriquece.
-The rich man who becomes poor is richer than the poor man who becomes rich.

-Darle una pelota a un niño es suficiente para sellar relaciones internacionales.
-Giving a ball to a kid is enough to seal international relations.

-Díme con quien andas y te digo quien eres.
-Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are.

-La muerte se esconde en lo más cotidiano. Nunca hay ceremonias y discursos en el momento de la muerte.
-Death is hidden in the most daily things. There are never ceremonies and speeches in the moment of death.

- Más ondo el río, hace menos ruido.
-The deeper the river, the less noise it makes.

Woody-Whoppers

I have had the joy of yet another batch of visitors here in Copan recently. This time my Spanish prof from college (Viki) and my communications prof (Clella) are both down here with a group of students from George Fox University. I haven’t really been hanging out with the group at all but I see them around town, talk to them a little, and I’ve gotten to hang out a bit with both professors. The other night we went to dinner at a local restaurant (Via Via) and got to talking about the local moto-taxis. Those that have come down here have seen them, they’re also called tuk-tuks or something like that. The whole group went up to La Pintada (a local village) the other day and my professors went up in a moto-taxi. As Clella is telling the story she says, “We went up there in one of those woody-whoppers.” I just kind of stared at her...”what?” I knew what she was talking about but I’d never heard it called a woody-whopper. I just started laughing as I recalled all the times in class that she made up words and talked about “wanging it out there” when talking about a new subject. Her rationale was something along the lines of, “I don’t really know where it came from. Just somewhere down in the depths, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything called that before.” Oh communications professors. What are we ever going to do with them?
In other news, I’m heading back to the US this weekend for a couple days. Those that haven’t heard from me yet, my grandpa passed away about 3 weeks ago. I’m going back to the funeral service which won’t be until Tuesday the 12th of this month. So if you feel so interested as to call my state-side phone Sunday through Tuesday I’ll be there.:) Oh wow....rain storm just started. I’ve heard thunder and seen lightening for the past half hour or so. I was starting to think that it wasn’t going to actually rain....but wow....it’s really raining like crazy...and with this rambling we’re now done....have a good rest of your day/night!

Mi Brigada Favorita

The medical brigade that I have been waiting for nearly a year now has arrived! There's a group from New York University that came down here last year with about 30 dental students and faculty with a few community health/nurse people to tag along for research and record keeping purposes. This brigade is super well organized (at least compared to others) and has a great goal in mind. They are trying to target kids in first and second grade in order to save their permanent teeth that come in. Their vision is really to impact an entire generation of Hondurans and improve their oral health. They have people keeping track of how many children have cavities, decay, etc. on their teeth. They're training local teachers in the school system to apply fluoride to kids in kindergarten through 6th grade and promote tooth brushing, etc.
I got the privilege of being the token translator for them today and I will get another opportunity tomorrow and Sunday as well. Unfortunately I have to teach all of next week and will only get one chance to go to the brigade from Monday to Friday; so I have to take advantage of the opportunity now on the weekend.
In other words...no, I'm not going to become a dentist, a public health specialist person perhaps....or maybe an EMT....or maybe an interpreter...or maybe something different. I always thought when I was younger that by the time I was old and out of college I would have a permanent career path. Here I am two years out of college with very little clue still. I promise that by the time I retire I will have a concrete idea of where my life is headed.:)