August 8, 2012
In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed,
When the sparrows cease their singing and the sky is clear and red,
When the summer’s stopped its gleaming and the corn is past its prime,
When adventure’s lost its meaning, I’ll be homeward bound in time.
Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling, and I’ll return to you somehow.
If you find it’s me you’re missing, if you’re hoping I’ll return,
To your thoughts I’ll soon be listening; in the road, I’ll stop and turn.
Then the wind will set me racing as my journey nears its end,
And my steps I’ll be retracing. I’ll be homeward bound again.
Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the plow.
Set me free to find my calling, and I’ll return to you somehow.
(“Homeward Bound” by Marta Keen Thompson)
Our adventure has come to a close. This morning we bid farewell to Honduras. After staying up late last night to weigh our suitcases (they can’t be over 50 lbs.), redistribute the loads, and ballast the extra, we were up early this morning to finish the last couple things before we left. We were done right on time. Reiniery and Carlos Julio (another Zamorano driver) drove us to the airport, passing by the adobe houses, viveros (nurseries), pine-filled mountains, crazy re-furbished school buses, and ramshackle roadside markets for the last time. To be sure, our cars were filled with delight as we set off on the trip we have been looking forward to for weeks. There was some sense of relief to know that we finished our time here, and we were about to return to our own familiar and comfortable country.
The children have earned our respect and gratitude for their awesome attitudes toward this time in Honduras. They have been willing to try new things, to endure foreign ways, to learn a language and make new friends. Not once has anyone complained about or questioned our decision to come. And I believe they will reap what they have sown, with new goodness revealed in the coming weeks and months as they reflect on their time here.
We have had several happy times this past week or so, gathering with friends to talk and play and eat Honduran food and say good-bye. We have had the blessing of being able to recognize the friendships we have formed here and the goodness of the people we have come to love.
Last night Stuart and I stopped by the Martinez family’s home to drop off a few church books. The Martinez are the proud and happy new owners of our stove. Hermana Martinez has wanted an oven for years. She, like many people, has been cooking on a little two-burner electric counter-top range (just the burners, no oven). She plans to do a lot of baking. So we sat and talked about baking, and I gave her my recipes for bread, chocolate chip cookies, and pizza. She was excited. The five of us (Stuart, me, Hermana and Presidente Martinez, and their daughter Blanca) sat and visited for a nice long while. The conversation was easy (and, as far as I was concerned, the zenith of my Spanish skills). We joked and talked, and I understood the entire conversation—even the jokes. And, I spoke more fluently than I have ever before—even making jokes. How nice it was to feel able to sit and converse as friends. How exciting to do it in Spanish! For me, it was the completion of one of my main goals in coming to Honduras. No matter that it happened on our last night here. I feel satisfied with what I’ve been able to learn.
The young women at church planned a nice going-away party for Stuart, complete with games, a spiritual thought or two, and refreshments. It was a fitting tribute. He has tried hard to teach and share with them things of the gospel and things of life. The young women came to our nursery class on Sunday to serenade me with my favorite Spanish hymn (Oid! El Toquin del Clarin). Sunday night the branch gathered for a going-away party at the Martinez home. The party was sweet, with the adults visiting on the porch, overlooking the youth and children playing soccer in the yard. The small yard could comfortably fit a game of solitaire soccer, but that night it somehow made room for about 30 people, all playing and laughing. The goodness hung in the air. It felt like family.
We enjoyed a going-away party with the people from Stuart’s department. We enjoyed stopping by the house of Mr. Carlos the art teacher, riding in the Terceros jeep home from church on Sunday, and dropping by a family In Jicarito whose daughter was in my nursery class. And we enjoyed visiting with Arie and Namig and Oliver the past couple days. They are decent, honest, intelligent, and thoughtful people.
By far the hardest farewell to say was to Miriam. She has been such a cheerful part of our home these last months. I am wonderfully grateful for her housework. I am happy she fulfilled so well her responsibility to help me learn Spanish. I will always hold in high regard her exemplary character. I will be bound to her in friendship forever because of the project we commenced to help her learn to sew. Yesterday afternoon Stuart, Miriam, and I drove a pick-up truck crammed full of things to deliver to her house. Miriam lives out in the country in a tiny house with a sizeable back yard. I was curious to see it, and found it just as I expected: clean and orderly, basic and sufficient. But one thing I hadn’t counted on. From her back yard, all you can see are mountains all around, with one vista composed of layer after layer of mountains looming above her narrow valley. The view is inspiring.
Oh, to be able to live as Miriam does—with a tiny house without a lot to clutter it, to bathe and wash dishes and clothes outside in the back yard with the mountains and wind and that amazing view for company! Oh, to live so simply, without the distractions of too many things to do or too many extra things to take care of or too many places to go or too many options to choose from. Life here for most people is like a continuous campout.
I am thinking about that simple Honduran country life as I sit in our Embassy Suite tonight, climate-controlled and sealed off from the outside world. With curtains drawn, there is nothing even to see of the world unless it comes in on the television, edited and doctored. Here the shower is warm, the water is potable, the walls are clean, the beds are soft, and geckos, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes are unheard of. Such comfort and luxury—such sanitation and protection from harm. But no mountains. No fresh air. No gentle breeze. No inspiring landscape. Not so much quiet freedom. But then again, Miriam’s home is in danger of the thieving neighbors, disease-carrying mosquitoes, flood, and the perils of an open sewer. Life in modernity or life in the rustic campo—each is a trade-off. I know I will at times be wistful for the simplicity of life here in Honduras. (Maybe at those times I’ll go camping.)
This morning one of the last things to do was stop by our house (we’ve stayed the last two nights on Zamorano campus at the home of our friend and Stuart’s colleague Arie), where Miriam had already started washing windows and walls and floors. Stuart settled our account with the landlord and Miriam and I had our last conversation. She instructed me on how to make nacatamales (the Honduran special tamales made at Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions). She presented me with two new potholders that she must have made last night with her sewing machine (now located at her own house). Oh, that good friend! I gave her the card I had prepared for her. Miriam was overcome with tears as we parted. I was sad to leave my friend so sad.
And now we are in Miami, tomorrow we’ll arrive in San Francisco. We feel satisfied with our time in Honduras. We accomplished our goals: 1. Learn Spanish, 2. Learn about the world and its people and deepen our understanding of life and the things that are most important, and 3. Draw closer together as a family. We have traveled, seen places and things, met good people, learned how to make good food, and we have not wasted time procrastinating any of the things we wanted to do while we were in Honduras. We leave satisfied and happy to move on to the next chapter of life.
Calla and Abe were delighted to take a bath in the hotel bath tub (bath tubs are basically non-existent in Honduras). As I typed tonight, Jack talked in his dream, ““Oofmmfmd. . . Sharon. Bye—don’t forget me! N m n m mdmdng vos.” The children are happy and eager to go home tomorrow.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Caribbean Coast
We decided to take one last trip to see the large botanical garden in the tropics (Lancetilla Botanical Gardens) and to see the Caribbean coast.
I am sneaking a little post here to mention that it was awesome and we have seen lots of cool seabirds, lizards, fruits, and tropical plants. Again, this part of the country is so different from Zamorano. What a great place!
No pictures yet....
I am sneaking a little post here to mention that it was awesome and we have seen lots of cool seabirds, lizards, fruits, and tropical plants. Again, this part of the country is so different from Zamorano. What a great place!
No pictures yet....
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The story behind the fotos
Here is the text that goes with last week's mainly fotographic posting...
On Monday afternoon, Stuart dropped off Ranae and the children in a little pueblo named San Antonio de Oriente—a little town at the end of the road as it goes up the mountain to the north of us. There, they met with Hermana Tercero, who led them through the forest on a mountain hike (complete with sweeping views of the valley below, creeks with tadpoles, wildflowers, butterflies, and lots of evidence of the cows that wander the mountains, too). They arrived after about an hour at the house of the Terceros, where Ranae and Calla stayed for a couple hours before hiking back down the mountain to meet Stuart again. The older four children stayed the rest of Monday and Monday night with the Terceros, spent Tuesday, and then hiked back down on Tuesday afternoon to meet their parents. The following are the children’s accounts of their experiences at the Terceros’ rustic mountain farm.
Henry: When we first got there, we found out that they had two new dogs, one named Black and one named Princesa. They are very soft.
Monday night we went to bed after a good dinner and having Family Home Evening. At night when they turned out the light, it was pitch black. I put my hand In front of my face and I couldn’t see my hand or my palm or my fingers or anything. We woke up about 5:30 in the morning, and we opened our door and it was so light! The sunrise was beautiful. You could see the sun’s redness through the clouds, and the grass was so green and beautiful. We figured out that the Terceros had just woken up a few minutes before us and they were still in their pajamas. When we walked out our door, and went out to the front porch, and Princesa and Black came up to me and jumped on me. It was a such a great morning.
After we had breakfast (breakfast was a hot drink called oasmeal and cookies called rosquillas), we went outside and sat in the hammock. Hermano went down and started milking the cows. We got to go watch him milk. The milk came out in two streams and hit the bottom of the bucket. When he was done, he let me help him strain the milk; I got to hold the strainer. Jack and I had to go open the gate so the cows could come in. We were a little bit scared because there was a giant cow in front of us with horns, but everything was fine, and the cows came in.
After we let the cows in, we had to go cut wood for the fire to cook with. So we went down with Hermano and his horse to go get wood. Everyone rode on the horse. I rode on the horse for the longest turn down the mountain trail. When we got there, we found that someone had been stealing his wood, so we had to cut down a new tree, chop off its branches, and haul the wood up the mountain a little ways. Jack and cxI both got to cut the branches off the fallen tree with our machetes. Hermano put the wood on the horse. The horse probably had 100 pounds of wood on its back. Hermano told the horse to go. He said, “Vaya,” and the horse started walking away. It just walked through the forest along the trails up to the house. I had to open the gate for the horse. Hermano came up and straightened the load on the back of the horse. He left his machete and his jacket out in the field of cows, so after the horse was all taken in, he asked me to go back to get them. I went up through the big herd of cows for the machete and jacket.
We had to take the calves from their moms, and I had to hold the loco calf for a little bit.
When we went home, we had to herd the cows out of the field, and so we got sticks and rocks and yelled at the cows to move out of the field. I threw some rocks at the cows to get them moving because Hermano said I could.
Machetes, horses, cows, milk, and wood. . .It was a great day.
Aspen: They had two puppies, named Princesa and Black. Princesa is a girl and Black is a boy. Their mom is just a dog, and their dad was a pit bull and something else, so the babies are a cross of that. Princesa was my favorite, but I liked Black a lot, too.
When we went to go cut wood, Abe and I rode the horse, and so did Jack and Henry. The horse was brown,` and the tail and the mane were black. They had a white calf and a brown calf. The white calf was one month old and it was as tall as Abe. The brown calf was two months old and it was taller than Abe.
I woke up at like 3:00 in the morning because my sock fell off during the night. And when I woke up, the rooster was crowing really loud, so I woke up Jack and said, “Jack, we have to wake up!” and he said, “Who said so?” and the rooster crowed again, so I said, “There’s your alarm!”
The white calf was really jumpy and scared and the brown calf wasn’t. Jack was leading the brown calf, and one time Jack was holding the calf, and it got tangled with the white calf, and then the cow started to run away, and the rope gave Jack a rope burn. He stepped on the rope that he was leading the brown calf with, but it just slipped right under his shoe and the calf ran away. Everyone laughed, and then Hermano Tercero had to go get the brown calf again. And then we went back to the Terceros’.
For Family Home Evening, we said a prayer and then we sang a song and then we each read a scripture or two, and then we had cookies and then we brushed our teeth and got ready for bed and went to bed.
They had this broom kind of thing that, when it opened, it was a big huge fan like the ones they fanned the kings with in some ancient times.
THE END
It was super fun!!!!
Jack: On the way to the Terceros’ house, some parts of the path were really muddy, and since I had big rubber working boots on, I stomped around in all the mud a lot just because I could. We got there and we looked for some cows that had escaped, and we didn’t find them. Then finally Hermano Tercero found them. We tied the two calves up to a tree, so the next morning they could have milk, and the calves wouldn’t drink it all. We ate dinner, and it was really good. Aspen stole my plate, which had more food on it than hers, so I got stuck eating hers. Then she ate all the super yummy rice, and she left all the burnt beans for me. (The beans burned because Hermana Tercero was showing us what was on TV, which was only Christian shows and Spanish soap operas. And we didn’t want to watch it, but while we were doing that, the beans burned.) Abe started crying because he missed Mom and Dad. Hermano picked up Abe and put him on his shoulder and they listened to reggueton/Honduran pop music radio station. Abe eventually felt better. We had Family Home Evening, and then we ate cookies.
Then we went to bed, and at night, it’s never really completely dark in California, but where we were, it was absolutely pitch black, and I held my hand up in front of my face, and I couldn’t see it at all. With your eyes closed or open, it didn’t make a difference. It almost hurt your eyes it was so black. Then we got up and the sunrise was really beautiful. We got up about 5:00. We ate this stuff called oasmeal, which is like warm milk with cinnamon and sugar and a little bit of oats. We dipped these little thingies called rosquitas in it, which were like a flat donut. It was really yummy.
Then Hermano Tercero went and milked the cows, and then everyone was hungry, for Hermana made a snack of baleadas, which were really just like crepes with beans and crema (very runny sour cream) inside. Henry and I were the only ones that ate our baleadas.
Then we went and chopped lena (wood), and we rode on a horse. We brought home about 100 pounds of wood, which will last them about 20—22 days. We came back and ate lunch. It was spaghetti and rice and sardines. I didn’t eat my sardines. Then we went and got the calves. We came back and just kind of sat around, and then we went home, and I splashed around in the mud again.
I took a shower after I got home and I felt a lot better. I thought it was nice to be a campesino (a guy who lives in the campo—country) for the day, but I wouldn’t want to be one for my whole life. It is nice to live in a house with electricity and a toilet that flushes.
Calla: We goed at the Terceros’ house and we hold the puppies and we goed home and I want to go to the Terceros’ and they were home and we drinked juice at the Terceros’. We eat dinner. We ate osmil!
Abe: Okay. There were these little puppies that were called Black and Princesa and it was fun to pick them up and sometimes when I had Black, Aspen or Henry would come and try to take him from me. But I always did not let them take him from me. And then one time in the morning he went out to milk two cows, and the first cow that he milked, it made halfway up the bucket, and then on the other cow, he filled up the other half. I used their machete, and in all the kids’ room, when I put my hand in front of my face, I could not see it. It was really pure dark. Then in the morning, we played. On our walk, it took probably one hour and then we went back home. That’s all.
[“Abe, would you like to live like the Terceros all the time?”
“No. They don’t even have a normal toilet.”]
[Aspen: “Abe, it’s a normal toilet; it just doesn’t have water in it.”]
Ranae: The children came home happy and full of stories. They were content and kind, having spent good time with good people who took good care of them. I was thankful to see them again—grateful that our prayers were answered that no one would have any accidents with the machetes, axes, and cows. I delighted to hear them talk nonstop as we hiked through the forest back to our car. The details of their stay with the Terceros tumbled out in happy sentences as we skipped along the path, over brooks, around mud, up rocks, past magically blue morpho butterflies. Muchisimas gracias to the Terceros for giving our children a great experience!
Abe: We found a grasshopper that was 6 inches long! It had red wings on the inside and on the legs it had spines. We found it on the side of the pool [at our landlord’s house].
On Monday afternoon, Stuart dropped off Ranae and the children in a little pueblo named San Antonio de Oriente—a little town at the end of the road as it goes up the mountain to the north of us. There, they met with Hermana Tercero, who led them through the forest on a mountain hike (complete with sweeping views of the valley below, creeks with tadpoles, wildflowers, butterflies, and lots of evidence of the cows that wander the mountains, too). They arrived after about an hour at the house of the Terceros, where Ranae and Calla stayed for a couple hours before hiking back down the mountain to meet Stuart again. The older four children stayed the rest of Monday and Monday night with the Terceros, spent Tuesday, and then hiked back down on Tuesday afternoon to meet their parents. The following are the children’s accounts of their experiences at the Terceros’ rustic mountain farm.
Henry: When we first got there, we found out that they had two new dogs, one named Black and one named Princesa. They are very soft.
Monday night we went to bed after a good dinner and having Family Home Evening. At night when they turned out the light, it was pitch black. I put my hand In front of my face and I couldn’t see my hand or my palm or my fingers or anything. We woke up about 5:30 in the morning, and we opened our door and it was so light! The sunrise was beautiful. You could see the sun’s redness through the clouds, and the grass was so green and beautiful. We figured out that the Terceros had just woken up a few minutes before us and they were still in their pajamas. When we walked out our door, and went out to the front porch, and Princesa and Black came up to me and jumped on me. It was a such a great morning.
After we had breakfast (breakfast was a hot drink called oasmeal and cookies called rosquillas), we went outside and sat in the hammock. Hermano went down and started milking the cows. We got to go watch him milk. The milk came out in two streams and hit the bottom of the bucket. When he was done, he let me help him strain the milk; I got to hold the strainer. Jack and I had to go open the gate so the cows could come in. We were a little bit scared because there was a giant cow in front of us with horns, but everything was fine, and the cows came in.
After we let the cows in, we had to go cut wood for the fire to cook with. So we went down with Hermano and his horse to go get wood. Everyone rode on the horse. I rode on the horse for the longest turn down the mountain trail. When we got there, we found that someone had been stealing his wood, so we had to cut down a new tree, chop off its branches, and haul the wood up the mountain a little ways. Jack and cxI both got to cut the branches off the fallen tree with our machetes. Hermano put the wood on the horse. The horse probably had 100 pounds of wood on its back. Hermano told the horse to go. He said, “Vaya,” and the horse started walking away. It just walked through the forest along the trails up to the house. I had to open the gate for the horse. Hermano came up and straightened the load on the back of the horse. He left his machete and his jacket out in the field of cows, so after the horse was all taken in, he asked me to go back to get them. I went up through the big herd of cows for the machete and jacket.
We had to take the calves from their moms, and I had to hold the loco calf for a little bit.
When we went home, we had to herd the cows out of the field, and so we got sticks and rocks and yelled at the cows to move out of the field. I threw some rocks at the cows to get them moving because Hermano said I could.
Machetes, horses, cows, milk, and wood. . .It was a great day.
Aspen: They had two puppies, named Princesa and Black. Princesa is a girl and Black is a boy. Their mom is just a dog, and their dad was a pit bull and something else, so the babies are a cross of that. Princesa was my favorite, but I liked Black a lot, too.
When we went to go cut wood, Abe and I rode the horse, and so did Jack and Henry. The horse was brown,` and the tail and the mane were black. They had a white calf and a brown calf. The white calf was one month old and it was as tall as Abe. The brown calf was two months old and it was taller than Abe.
I woke up at like 3:00 in the morning because my sock fell off during the night. And when I woke up, the rooster was crowing really loud, so I woke up Jack and said, “Jack, we have to wake up!” and he said, “Who said so?” and the rooster crowed again, so I said, “There’s your alarm!”
The white calf was really jumpy and scared and the brown calf wasn’t. Jack was leading the brown calf, and one time Jack was holding the calf, and it got tangled with the white calf, and then the cow started to run away, and the rope gave Jack a rope burn. He stepped on the rope that he was leading the brown calf with, but it just slipped right under his shoe and the calf ran away. Everyone laughed, and then Hermano Tercero had to go get the brown calf again. And then we went back to the Terceros’.
For Family Home Evening, we said a prayer and then we sang a song and then we each read a scripture or two, and then we had cookies and then we brushed our teeth and got ready for bed and went to bed.
They had this broom kind of thing that, when it opened, it was a big huge fan like the ones they fanned the kings with in some ancient times.
THE END
It was super fun!!!!
Jack: On the way to the Terceros’ house, some parts of the path were really muddy, and since I had big rubber working boots on, I stomped around in all the mud a lot just because I could. We got there and we looked for some cows that had escaped, and we didn’t find them. Then finally Hermano Tercero found them. We tied the two calves up to a tree, so the next morning they could have milk, and the calves wouldn’t drink it all. We ate dinner, and it was really good. Aspen stole my plate, which had more food on it than hers, so I got stuck eating hers. Then she ate all the super yummy rice, and she left all the burnt beans for me. (The beans burned because Hermana Tercero was showing us what was on TV, which was only Christian shows and Spanish soap operas. And we didn’t want to watch it, but while we were doing that, the beans burned.) Abe started crying because he missed Mom and Dad. Hermano picked up Abe and put him on his shoulder and they listened to reggueton/Honduran pop music radio station. Abe eventually felt better. We had Family Home Evening, and then we ate cookies.
Then we went to bed, and at night, it’s never really completely dark in California, but where we were, it was absolutely pitch black, and I held my hand up in front of my face, and I couldn’t see it at all. With your eyes closed or open, it didn’t make a difference. It almost hurt your eyes it was so black. Then we got up and the sunrise was really beautiful. We got up about 5:00. We ate this stuff called oasmeal, which is like warm milk with cinnamon and sugar and a little bit of oats. We dipped these little thingies called rosquitas in it, which were like a flat donut. It was really yummy.
Then Hermano Tercero went and milked the cows, and then everyone was hungry, for Hermana made a snack of baleadas, which were really just like crepes with beans and crema (very runny sour cream) inside. Henry and I were the only ones that ate our baleadas.
Then we went and chopped lena (wood), and we rode on a horse. We brought home about 100 pounds of wood, which will last them about 20—22 days. We came back and ate lunch. It was spaghetti and rice and sardines. I didn’t eat my sardines. Then we went and got the calves. We came back and just kind of sat around, and then we went home, and I splashed around in the mud again.
I took a shower after I got home and I felt a lot better. I thought it was nice to be a campesino (a guy who lives in the campo—country) for the day, but I wouldn’t want to be one for my whole life. It is nice to live in a house with electricity and a toilet that flushes.
Calla: We goed at the Terceros’ house and we hold the puppies and we goed home and I want to go to the Terceros’ and they were home and we drinked juice at the Terceros’. We eat dinner. We ate osmil!
Abe: Okay. There were these little puppies that were called Black and Princesa and it was fun to pick them up and sometimes when I had Black, Aspen or Henry would come and try to take him from me. But I always did not let them take him from me. And then one time in the morning he went out to milk two cows, and the first cow that he milked, it made halfway up the bucket, and then on the other cow, he filled up the other half. I used their machete, and in all the kids’ room, when I put my hand in front of my face, I could not see it. It was really pure dark. Then in the morning, we played. On our walk, it took probably one hour and then we went back home. That’s all.
[“Abe, would you like to live like the Terceros all the time?”
“No. They don’t even have a normal toilet.”]
[Aspen: “Abe, it’s a normal toilet; it just doesn’t have water in it.”]
Ranae: The children came home happy and full of stories. They were content and kind, having spent good time with good people who took good care of them. I was thankful to see them again—grateful that our prayers were answered that no one would have any accidents with the machetes, axes, and cows. I delighted to hear them talk nonstop as we hiked through the forest back to our car. The details of their stay with the Terceros tumbled out in happy sentences as we skipped along the path, over brooks, around mud, up rocks, past magically blue morpho butterflies. Muchisimas gracias to the Terceros for giving our children a great experience!
Abe: We found a grasshopper that was 6 inches long! It had red wings on the inside and on the legs it had spines. We found it on the side of the pool [at our landlord’s house].
Thursday, July 26, 2012
We had a momentous week. The children went to the Tercero's house to work on the farm and spend the night.
Here are some fotos of the main event!
What could be better than a machete!?! Abe and Henry went immediately to the machete and here is Abe pausing, and posing, while he chops branches for the stove. He is a great worker and loves to chop wood (and other things) with the machete.
Hermana Tercero walking back to the house on the hill. They live on about 250 acres of mountain paradise. Walking back to the house, you can see the banana and coffee plantation in the background, with the house rising up out of the banana trees. One of my friends who visited, mentioned that we should get some kind of ecotourism going at their house. I mentioned it to Hno. Tercero--he thought it was a great idea. With the right marketing, it could be a real money maker, I think.
This moth was just sitting and tasting something on this leaf. These brown moths are pretty common up at the Tercero's house. You can't have a Honduran blog post without some cool bugs!
Each afternoon/evening, the calves have to be separated from the cows, so that there is milk for the morning milking. This is one of the more lively of the two calves tied up in the coffee/banana plantation.
The foreground is a plant that looks like elephant ears plant, but it is called malanga and is a different genus and species in the same family. The purple streaked roots are eated like yuca (cassava) or sometimes in chips. At the store, variety chips come with pieces of malanga, sweet potato, potato, etc. It isn't as popular as other root plants (yuca, potato), but it is easy to grow and does really well.
More photos of the activity are available to see for free at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52577150@N07/sets/72157630761648316/
Ranae took nearly all of these--they are all really great!
More text to come...I just couldn't find the actual blog that everyone wrote that describes what happened.
We'll be home in two weeks!
Here are some fotos of the main event!
What could be better than a machete!?! Abe and Henry went immediately to the machete and here is Abe pausing, and posing, while he chops branches for the stove. He is a great worker and loves to chop wood (and other things) with the machete.
This moth was just sitting and tasting something on this leaf. These brown moths are pretty common up at the Tercero's house. You can't have a Honduran blog post without some cool bugs!
Each afternoon/evening, the calves have to be separated from the cows, so that there is milk for the morning milking. This is one of the more lively of the two calves tied up in the coffee/banana plantation.
More photos of the activity are available to see for free at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52577150@N07/sets/72157630761648316/
Ranae took nearly all of these--they are all really great!
More text to come...I just couldn't find the actual blog that everyone wrote that describes what happened.
We'll be home in two weeks!
Monday, July 16, 2012
El Salvador
Whatever we did the previous week was overshadowed by our recent trip to El Salvador, which was wonderful.
Here are a few pictures of where we went and what we saw.
I will just comment now that I will recommend the Arbol de Fuego hotel in Antiguo Cuscatlan as a great place to stay in San Salvador.
Here is what our breakfast was like the last day we were there. I am not sure why Calla looks so funny, and Jack commented that he really was a lot more excited about the trip than this picture shows!
We saw a lot (way more than in Honduras) of women (only) carrying loads on their heads. We saw full 5-gallon water jugs and many other loads. A friend here says they carry up to 100-lb loads, but that it doesn't hurt them, because they build-up to it and are strong. Whatever the case, it is impressive. They use a small towel twisted to make a "rope" and then lay it in a circle on their head to place the object upon it. Totally impressive and these pictures don't do any justice at all to the loads. Although the one where they are carrying loads of wood on their head, totally amazing.
We went on a tour of a mangrove (mangales) estuary at a place called Barra de Santiago. It was very cool. These mangroves are different than ones you find in the US. Much taller, different species (about 5 here) and smaller leaves, though some were as broad as Floridian mangroves. Still have the cool roots that are used to absorb water but also to provide air to the plant, since the stagnant water is pretty anerobic. They'd die otherwise. The guide (Alessandro) and his father Juan Alberto (on the right) took us into a protected area to see crocodiles (we didn't see any. We saw a lot of birds and 4-eyed fish, though. I posted a video of the trip (a la African Queen--without the danger) at the following YouTube site.
A sort of panoramic view of the beach looking towards La Libertad and towards Guatemala. The beach was outstanding and we all loved it. We saw more actual marine life here, living than at any other beach, except maybe the tidepools at Monterey, CA. The water here is WARM unlike our beloved California Pacific ocean. Swimming there will never be the same! Note the coconut palms, the shacks and fishing boats--Even some people in chest deep water and waves fishing with nets.
Here are some fellows "fishing" for shrimp and crabs. The nets are used to collect shrimp and the two young fellows in the boats put out crab traps to collect small black (more expensive) or small(er) blue crabs. They are a little larger than the palm of an adult hand. The blue ones are a bright metallic blue on the undersides of the arms and belly. Pretty neat. Water here is about 50cm deep. In some places it is only about mid-shin deep where sand bars occur. The water is salty but the estuary has 2-3 rivers that run into it. The "barra" is open at a point where sea water comes in. The tides then, fill and drain the estuary twice a day, so a lot of material moves in and out of here. The small, palm-treed city with some nice touristy hotels (allegedly a 5-star hotel) are behind us...we never did see any really touristy--nice, swanky hotels...we did see primitive housing and a pupusaria.
Lots of people rode around in these pick-up truck converted taxis. At least it is a safe way to travel quickly!
The San Salvador, El Salvador Temple was within easy driving and seeing distance from the hotel. Just to see it provided some comfort and ease for us. At night it was lit up beautifully. At least from the roof of our hotel (where this was taken), the temple does look like a stand-alone bldg in the middle of the jungle. However, what you can't see (even if the picture weren't cropped) is the huge mall next door to the temple. It is on a hill and the area is totally covered in trees, so despite the huge, bustling, traffic and city beneath the trees, the temple really stands as an oasis, in many ways. It is also a very elegant building and is certainly a gem in San Salvador. Ranae did a session at night, in Spanish, I and Jack did baptisms (for about 1 hour--I was the baptizer for a group of youth from about 1.5 hours away). It was rejuvenating, as we hadn't been since last November.
Here are a few pictures of where we went and what we saw.
I will just comment now that I will recommend the Arbol de Fuego hotel in Antiguo Cuscatlan as a great place to stay in San Salvador.
Here is what our breakfast was like the last day we were there. I am not sure why Calla looks so funny, and Jack commented that he really was a lot more excited about the trip than this picture shows!
We saw a lot (way more than in Honduras) of women (only) carrying loads on their heads. We saw full 5-gallon water jugs and many other loads. A friend here says they carry up to 100-lb loads, but that it doesn't hurt them, because they build-up to it and are strong. Whatever the case, it is impressive. They use a small towel twisted to make a "rope" and then lay it in a circle on their head to place the object upon it. Totally impressive and these pictures don't do any justice at all to the loads. Although the one where they are carrying loads of wood on their head, totally amazing.
We went on a tour of a mangrove (mangales) estuary at a place called Barra de Santiago. It was very cool. These mangroves are different than ones you find in the US. Much taller, different species (about 5 here) and smaller leaves, though some were as broad as Floridian mangroves. Still have the cool roots that are used to absorb water but also to provide air to the plant, since the stagnant water is pretty anerobic. They'd die otherwise. The guide (Alessandro) and his father Juan Alberto (on the right) took us into a protected area to see crocodiles (we didn't see any. We saw a lot of birds and 4-eyed fish, though. I posted a video of the trip (a la African Queen--without the danger) at the following YouTube site.
A sort of panoramic view of the beach looking towards La Libertad and towards Guatemala. The beach was outstanding and we all loved it. We saw more actual marine life here, living than at any other beach, except maybe the tidepools at Monterey, CA. The water here is WARM unlike our beloved California Pacific ocean. Swimming there will never be the same! Note the coconut palms, the shacks and fishing boats--Even some people in chest deep water and waves fishing with nets.
Here are some fellows "fishing" for shrimp and crabs. The nets are used to collect shrimp and the two young fellows in the boats put out crab traps to collect small black (more expensive) or small(er) blue crabs. They are a little larger than the palm of an adult hand. The blue ones are a bright metallic blue on the undersides of the arms and belly. Pretty neat. Water here is about 50cm deep. In some places it is only about mid-shin deep where sand bars occur. The water is salty but the estuary has 2-3 rivers that run into it. The "barra" is open at a point where sea water comes in. The tides then, fill and drain the estuary twice a day, so a lot of material moves in and out of here. The small, palm-treed city with some nice touristy hotels (allegedly a 5-star hotel) are behind us...we never did see any really touristy--nice, swanky hotels...we did see primitive housing and a pupusaria.
Lots of people rode around in these pick-up truck converted taxis. At least it is a safe way to travel quickly!
The San Salvador, El Salvador Temple was within easy driving and seeing distance from the hotel. Just to see it provided some comfort and ease for us. At night it was lit up beautifully. At least from the roof of our hotel (where this was taken), the temple does look like a stand-alone bldg in the middle of the jungle. However, what you can't see (even if the picture weren't cropped) is the huge mall next door to the temple. It is on a hill and the area is totally covered in trees, so despite the huge, bustling, traffic and city beneath the trees, the temple really stands as an oasis, in many ways. It is also a very elegant building and is certainly a gem in San Salvador. Ranae did a session at night, in Spanish, I and Jack did baptisms (for about 1 hour--I was the baptizer for a group of youth from about 1.5 hours away). It was rejuvenating, as we hadn't been since last November.
Monday, July 9, 2012
An American Fourth of July and Glimpsing Nicaragua
Ranae: Happy Fourth of July! 
We were invited to attend the American Independence Day celebration at the US Soto Cano Air Force base about 1 hour north of Tegucigalpa near a city called Comayagua, which was one of the old capitals of Honduras. Anticipating the event brightened the first half of our week. By Wednesday, the children were as excited as puppies with sparklers tied to their tails. They woke up eager and early on Wednesday and busied themselves to prepare for our day out. We drove to the US embassy in Teguc, parked, and boarded the bus to Soto Cano. The day was happily filled with true blue American experiences, which the children will detail below. We felt like we were really on American soil. At one point, Jack said, “I forgot I was in Honduras!” And so it was. Maybe some of the feeling came from being able to understand all the conversations around us. Maybe some of the feeling was the freedom that comes from feeling at ease to move about as we please in safety and health. Clean restrooms, familiar traditions, fantastic facilities, lots of gringos, chocolate chip cookies, fireworks—aah, America! I left the day with a deeper gratitude for my country, with some of my longing for home satisfied, with a surer sense of delight in my family and in the opportunities that are ours because of our heritage.
ABRAHAM: The fireworks at the Fourth of July made Calla cry, and they were very loud and very big. There was an army helicopter, and it was very awesome. We could go inside it in the back and in the cockpit. Click on the picture and you can see the children in better detail.
We got to put on the helmet.
There was a very big fire truck and we could get in it and in the driver’s spot. There was this thing that was probably as big as a dining table and it was called a smoke house. It had stinky smoke (I think like candle smoke; it smelled like candle smoke). It was made out of wood and we could go inside of it. And there was a train. (It wasn’t really a train, it was kind of like a tractor with a little trailer that you could sit on, and then it had a roof and it had seats in the middle of it that you could sit in.) ABRAHAM
Jack: Happy Fourth of July, everybody! We thought we were going to ride on a really nice charter bus from the embassy to the air force base. But we didn’t. We went on an old school bus and two of its window panes were missing. On the way home, we were driving on a part of the highway that was really bad, where some ladrones [robbers] could ambush us, so we drove with some Humvees escorting us. There were also some big Suburbans that drove with us all the way back to the embassy.
I liked to jump off the diving board at the awesome pool, because the pool was so deep. There was free cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones. I got three snow cones—one of blueberry, one of orange, and one of strawberry. I gave the orange one to Calla because she wanted it and I didn’t really like it. I ate two little cups of flan. Flan is a pudding thingy that tastes really good, and is squishy.
Yesterday we went to Nicaragua, and I crossed the border illegally a couple of times. I have a video, and there were a lot of big loud trucks. The border was just a little chain on the ground, and Henry moved the border between Honduras and Nicaragua by kicking the chain. On the way home, we stopped at Pizza Hut, and all of a sudden it started to rain really hard. The pizza was really good.
Henry: At the base there was a Blackhawk helicopter. They let you go into the cockpit and put on the helmet, and there were a lot of buttons. One of the gadgets was a little blue circle, and it showed you all the aircrafts in the sky. We also got to go in the back, where there were a bunch of seats and a machine that you can pull people out of the ocean or the jungle with. The helicopter had giant propellers. It was awesome!
We also saw a lot of Humvees. Some were camouflaged, and some were just brown. We got to go inside a fire truck that they use to put out the airplane fires.
Does this look familar, Eng. Jones?
The driver’s seat was in the middle of the cab, and it was giant, and the front was slanted up. I got dressed up in all the fireman’s gear, with the helmet and pants and jacket and axe.
The swimming pool was very deep. When I jumped in from the diving board, I didn’t touch the bottom. I only touched the bottom of the pool once or twice (and I jumped off the diving board at least 15 times). Then it started raining, and the lifeguard blew his whistle and we all had to get out. We made little dressing rooms out of our towels to change back into our clothes, because all the normal dressing rooms were full. After swimming we got free popcorn.
There were these stilt walkers who were at least 8 ½ feet tall.
They were dancing and running alongside of the “train.” There were also four bounce houses. One was giant and the other three were small. There was this DJ dude, and he totally took requests. We listened to “Fireflies,” “The Scientist,” and “Waka Waka.”
We also played pool and foosball. I beat Jack in pool. [This detail is contested. Supposedly the game was truncated prematurely.] On the way home from the Fourth of July, in the escort Humvee, there were soldiers with machine guns. If bad guys did come, they would have jumped out and started fighting and called for back-up. They were right behind us, and there were turrets on the top of the Humvees (but there were no guys at the turrets). Once we got out of the bad part of the road, they pulled off the side of the road with their flashing lights and went back to the base, and we were left alone.
On Saturday, we didn’t know what to do, so all of the sudden my mom came up with the idea to go to a different country! That day we went to Nicaragua, and I crossed the border of Nicaragua illegally! I thought it was cool that I moved the border between two countries by moving a chain. On our trip, we saw a giant tree with a bunch of nests of oropendula birds.
They weave nests that are like bags, which hang down from the branches of the trees. They have a really weird song. Also, on the way home we stopped by Pizza Hut, and there was a “Play Place,” and it was actually a good play place. I really liked that. (But some of the parts stunk really bad.) Also on the way back, Abe, Aspen, and I had to get out and walk 100 yards down the highway because we were being bad in the car.
Aspen: When I went in the helicopter, I put on the survival vest and the bullet-proof vest at the same time, and it was super heavy. It weighed about 26 pounds.
It was really cold on the bus ride home. The army Humvees followed us as an escort because the highways were really bumpy and dangerous. I thought the Humvees were really cool. At the embassy, Jack and Henry had to go to the bathroom, and a guard escorted them there.
We also went Nicaragua, but we didn’t really go in. The border was just a chain, and I stepped over it. On the way back we saw a nanny (goat) and her kid.
Ranae: At the end of our week, we found ourselves with an empty Saturday. We decided to go get our passports stamped in Nicaragua and do a quick trip down into the country, since the border is only about an hour and a half away.
Today we invited Reiniery and his family to join us for dinner. When we have Honduran friends come for dinner, we like to make homemade wheat bread, chicken, sautéed vegetables, and avocados. We set out peanut butter and jam, too, and everyone makes his own sandwich. Sometimes they put together unexpected combinations. Today we all giggled when Reiniery’s son Cesar combined chicken salad with mustard and quesillo (a salty white cheese) and orange marmalade.
Stuart: The Fourth of July fest was great. Though I do not work for the State Dept. because the Fulbright award is administered though them, we have gotten to participate in a few things that "normal" expats don't get to do. That has been a great aspect of this trip. The connection to the US has been reassuring in a country where security is something I constantly think about.
The bus ride was authentic and very bumpy. I had contracted (I think) a parasite which wasn't easy on the bowels. However, on the 2-hour ride up and 2-hour ride back there were no problems, for which I felt very blessed. The issues returned just right after we got back to the house.
I took some antiparasite medicine (2 pills in the AM) on Saturday and seem to be much better now. I am hoping that situation is resolved!
We have been wanting to go to some of the other countries of Cen. Am. but since we don't own our vehicle, we have to get permission from the University and others (lots of paperwork). Well, we finally got permission. So we are trying to figure out how to go places in the limited time we have left. We'll see if we can actually get somewhere!
Passing from Zamorano to Nicaragua, we pass through the main large town, Danli.
A good friend of ours spent time as a missionary in Danli more than 30 years ago. We spent some time there remembering him and wondering if he bought mangos at that fruit market.
When we arrived at the boarder of Honduras and Nicaragua, the immigration offical from Honduras, for some reason, couldn't understand what I wanted to do: Just cross over, get a Nicaragua stamp in my passport and come back. I explained it a few times. I have even explained it, in Spanish to others, they understood fine. So clearly, it wasn't my Spanish. In any case, "if I helped him, he would help me" and we could have gone through the border, no problem. I decided I didn't want to "help" him and didn't really need him to help me, after all. So we walked up and the Nicaraguan Homeland Security detail (1 guy in a polo shirt and ball-cap,) at the border let us cross over the small chain to be in Nicaragua. He was very pleasant and talked with us for a while about the US and why we were in Honduras. The border is certainly porous and had we been really motivated, we could have just hiked over through the coffee plantations surrounding the border crossing.
I have found that doing one's duty, even when you don't want to very much or you are reluctant to do it, still brings blessings. E. Eyring talks about doing things now (when you're young) that are hard, so you can strengthen your faith. Then, when you are older, you will have greater ability to do things that are hard for you because you are old and more decrepit. He has noticed that things are harder for him now, that he is in his late 70s, than before.
We were invited to attend the American Independence Day celebration at the US Soto Cano Air Force base about 1 hour north of Tegucigalpa near a city called Comayagua, which was one of the old capitals of Honduras. Anticipating the event brightened the first half of our week. By Wednesday, the children were as excited as puppies with sparklers tied to their tails. They woke up eager and early on Wednesday and busied themselves to prepare for our day out. We drove to the US embassy in Teguc, parked, and boarded the bus to Soto Cano. The day was happily filled with true blue American experiences, which the children will detail below. We felt like we were really on American soil. At one point, Jack said, “I forgot I was in Honduras!” And so it was. Maybe some of the feeling came from being able to understand all the conversations around us. Maybe some of the feeling was the freedom that comes from feeling at ease to move about as we please in safety and health. Clean restrooms, familiar traditions, fantastic facilities, lots of gringos, chocolate chip cookies, fireworks—aah, America! I left the day with a deeper gratitude for my country, with some of my longing for home satisfied, with a surer sense of delight in my family and in the opportunities that are ours because of our heritage.
ABRAHAM: The fireworks at the Fourth of July made Calla cry, and they were very loud and very big. There was an army helicopter, and it was very awesome. We could go inside it in the back and in the cockpit. Click on the picture and you can see the children in better detail.
There was a very big fire truck and we could get in it and in the driver’s spot. There was this thing that was probably as big as a dining table and it was called a smoke house. It had stinky smoke (I think like candle smoke; it smelled like candle smoke). It was made out of wood and we could go inside of it. And there was a train. (It wasn’t really a train, it was kind of like a tractor with a little trailer that you could sit on, and then it had a roof and it had seats in the middle of it that you could sit in.) ABRAHAM
Jack: Happy Fourth of July, everybody! We thought we were going to ride on a really nice charter bus from the embassy to the air force base. But we didn’t. We went on an old school bus and two of its window panes were missing. On the way home, we were driving on a part of the highway that was really bad, where some ladrones [robbers] could ambush us, so we drove with some Humvees escorting us. There were also some big Suburbans that drove with us all the way back to the embassy.
I liked to jump off the diving board at the awesome pool, because the pool was so deep. There was free cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones. I got three snow cones—one of blueberry, one of orange, and one of strawberry. I gave the orange one to Calla because she wanted it and I didn’t really like it. I ate two little cups of flan. Flan is a pudding thingy that tastes really good, and is squishy.
Yesterday we went to Nicaragua, and I crossed the border illegally a couple of times. I have a video, and there were a lot of big loud trucks. The border was just a little chain on the ground, and Henry moved the border between Honduras and Nicaragua by kicking the chain. On the way home, we stopped at Pizza Hut, and all of a sudden it started to rain really hard. The pizza was really good.
Henry: At the base there was a Blackhawk helicopter. They let you go into the cockpit and put on the helmet, and there were a lot of buttons. One of the gadgets was a little blue circle, and it showed you all the aircrafts in the sky. We also got to go in the back, where there were a bunch of seats and a machine that you can pull people out of the ocean or the jungle with. The helicopter had giant propellers. It was awesome!
We also saw a lot of Humvees. Some were camouflaged, and some were just brown. We got to go inside a fire truck that they use to put out the airplane fires.
The driver’s seat was in the middle of the cab, and it was giant, and the front was slanted up. I got dressed up in all the fireman’s gear, with the helmet and pants and jacket and axe.
The swimming pool was very deep. When I jumped in from the diving board, I didn’t touch the bottom. I only touched the bottom of the pool once or twice (and I jumped off the diving board at least 15 times). Then it started raining, and the lifeguard blew his whistle and we all had to get out. We made little dressing rooms out of our towels to change back into our clothes, because all the normal dressing rooms were full. After swimming we got free popcorn.
There were these stilt walkers who were at least 8 ½ feet tall.
We also played pool and foosball. I beat Jack in pool. [This detail is contested. Supposedly the game was truncated prematurely.] On the way home from the Fourth of July, in the escort Humvee, there were soldiers with machine guns. If bad guys did come, they would have jumped out and started fighting and called for back-up. They were right behind us, and there were turrets on the top of the Humvees (but there were no guys at the turrets). Once we got out of the bad part of the road, they pulled off the side of the road with their flashing lights and went back to the base, and we were left alone.
On Saturday, we didn’t know what to do, so all of the sudden my mom came up with the idea to go to a different country! That day we went to Nicaragua, and I crossed the border of Nicaragua illegally! I thought it was cool that I moved the border between two countries by moving a chain. On our trip, we saw a giant tree with a bunch of nests of oropendula birds.
Aspen: When I went in the helicopter, I put on the survival vest and the bullet-proof vest at the same time, and it was super heavy. It weighed about 26 pounds.
It was really cold on the bus ride home. The army Humvees followed us as an escort because the highways were really bumpy and dangerous. I thought the Humvees were really cool. At the embassy, Jack and Henry had to go to the bathroom, and a guard escorted them there.
We also went Nicaragua, but we didn’t really go in. The border was just a chain, and I stepped over it. On the way back we saw a nanny (goat) and her kid.
Ranae: At the end of our week, we found ourselves with an empty Saturday. We decided to go get our passports stamped in Nicaragua and do a quick trip down into the country, since the border is only about an hour and a half away.
Today we invited Reiniery and his family to join us for dinner. When we have Honduran friends come for dinner, we like to make homemade wheat bread, chicken, sautéed vegetables, and avocados. We set out peanut butter and jam, too, and everyone makes his own sandwich. Sometimes they put together unexpected combinations. Today we all giggled when Reiniery’s son Cesar combined chicken salad with mustard and quesillo (a salty white cheese) and orange marmalade.
Stuart: The Fourth of July fest was great. Though I do not work for the State Dept. because the Fulbright award is administered though them, we have gotten to participate in a few things that "normal" expats don't get to do. That has been a great aspect of this trip. The connection to the US has been reassuring in a country where security is something I constantly think about.
The bus ride was authentic and very bumpy. I had contracted (I think) a parasite which wasn't easy on the bowels. However, on the 2-hour ride up and 2-hour ride back there were no problems, for which I felt very blessed. The issues returned just right after we got back to the house.
I took some antiparasite medicine (2 pills in the AM) on Saturday and seem to be much better now. I am hoping that situation is resolved!
We have been wanting to go to some of the other countries of Cen. Am. but since we don't own our vehicle, we have to get permission from the University and others (lots of paperwork). Well, we finally got permission. So we are trying to figure out how to go places in the limited time we have left. We'll see if we can actually get somewhere!
Passing from Zamorano to Nicaragua, we pass through the main large town, Danli.
A good friend of ours spent time as a missionary in Danli more than 30 years ago. We spent some time there remembering him and wondering if he bought mangos at that fruit market.
When we arrived at the boarder of Honduras and Nicaragua, the immigration offical from Honduras, for some reason, couldn't understand what I wanted to do: Just cross over, get a Nicaragua stamp in my passport and come back. I explained it a few times. I have even explained it, in Spanish to others, they understood fine. So clearly, it wasn't my Spanish. In any case, "if I helped him, he would help me" and we could have gone through the border, no problem. I decided I didn't want to "help" him and didn't really need him to help me, after all. So we walked up and the Nicaraguan Homeland Security detail (1 guy in a polo shirt and ball-cap,) at the border let us cross over the small chain to be in Nicaragua. He was very pleasant and talked with us for a while about the US and why we were in Honduras. The border is certainly porous and had we been really motivated, we could have just hiked over through the coffee plantations surrounding the border crossing.
I have found that doing one's duty, even when you don't want to very much or you are reluctant to do it, still brings blessings. E. Eyring talks about doing things now (when you're young) that are hard, so you can strengthen your faith. Then, when you are older, you will have greater ability to do things that are hard for you because you are old and more decrepit. He has noticed that things are harder for him now, that he is in his late 70s, than before.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Happy Fourth of July--a little early
Stuart here....I just got back from a 4th of July party at the residence of the American Ambassador to Honduras, Lisa Kubiske.
This is Mattias Mitteman (sic) who is the Director of the Mission. I think that means he runs the embassy somehow. I got the picture becuase I love the suit (blue and white pinstripe, cotton suit!!!) and hope to get one someday.
I don't usually run around in the circles of the people who attended the party....politicos like, The Honduran President (speaking here), Supreme Court (of Honduras) justices, the mayor of Tegucigalpa, different ministers of the country, lots of embassy people, US and Honduran Military, press people, etc.
It was a good experience. Plus the food was great. They also had a really interesting presentation with the breads in actual bread bowls,
and bread cornucopias.
What I heard there, combined with the announcement of President Obama last week to not deport people brought illegally as children, esp. those studying in college, has really made me think and be a little conflicted.
From what I have gathered from my limited exposure to the news is that the Executive Branch won't deport people that are under 30, but have been in the US for a long time, and are in college or are studying and were brought here as children.
At first glance, that seems OK, until you realize it is an end-run around the 2-times Congress has rejected the DREAM Act, which would do the same thing. In short, it is another example of the President assuming Congressional power through executive order or through lassaiz-faire--non-enforcement of Federal laws. Either way, I think the acquisition of more power in the Executive is not good and was astonished at the way Pres. Bush used his power. Unfortunately, it continues and I am sure under a Romney Presidency (or Obama) more power will be concentrated in the executive, which doesn't seem to bode well for the Constitutionally explicit checks and balances.
On the other hand, after hearing the speech of Ambassador Kubiske and then that of President Lobos Sosa, President of Honduras, I was intrigued. He was very pleased with the announcement. He praised the US policy and was glad. Last Saturday the main headline in the paper in about 60-font was the announcement. It should affect about 8 million people in the US.
People in Latin America want to come to the US. While they aren't the fastest growing ethnic group (Asians are now), the opportunities in the US are huge. After living in Honduras and working closely local Hondurans, I have found that there are many that would LOVE to come to the US. As such, I am torn about what to think about the new US immigration policies. Ranae has written a little about how difficult it is to get ahead here, since it is really scramble competition--some get a lot, some get little and some get none.
But the opportunities there in the US, the peace that is there, the customer service, the comparative lack of government corruption, the clean water everywhere, pretty, clean farms, few razor wire fences on houses in town, etc. all make it a real paradise, despite the wonderful things that are also here in Honduras.
In any case, I am again reminded about how great it is to live in the US and the blessing it is to be from there. I am thankful to Congress for appropriating the money for the Fulbright Program that has and will forever change my family--improving their skills and outlook on US life. I am thankful for what the 4th of July represents. We do live in a great country that has in many ways influenced the world very positively. Happy 4th of July next week!
It was a good experience. Plus the food was great. They also had a really interesting presentation with the breads in actual bread bowls,
What I heard there, combined with the announcement of President Obama last week to not deport people brought illegally as children, esp. those studying in college, has really made me think and be a little conflicted.
From what I have gathered from my limited exposure to the news is that the Executive Branch won't deport people that are under 30, but have been in the US for a long time, and are in college or are studying and were brought here as children.
At first glance, that seems OK, until you realize it is an end-run around the 2-times Congress has rejected the DREAM Act, which would do the same thing. In short, it is another example of the President assuming Congressional power through executive order or through lassaiz-faire--non-enforcement of Federal laws. Either way, I think the acquisition of more power in the Executive is not good and was astonished at the way Pres. Bush used his power. Unfortunately, it continues and I am sure under a Romney Presidency (or Obama) more power will be concentrated in the executive, which doesn't seem to bode well for the Constitutionally explicit checks and balances.
On the other hand, after hearing the speech of Ambassador Kubiske and then that of President Lobos Sosa, President of Honduras, I was intrigued. He was very pleased with the announcement. He praised the US policy and was glad. Last Saturday the main headline in the paper in about 60-font was the announcement. It should affect about 8 million people in the US.
People in Latin America want to come to the US. While they aren't the fastest growing ethnic group (Asians are now), the opportunities in the US are huge. After living in Honduras and working closely local Hondurans, I have found that there are many that would LOVE to come to the US. As such, I am torn about what to think about the new US immigration policies. Ranae has written a little about how difficult it is to get ahead here, since it is really scramble competition--some get a lot, some get little and some get none.
In any case, I am again reminded about how great it is to live in the US and the blessing it is to be from there. I am thankful to Congress for appropriating the money for the Fulbright Program that has and will forever change my family--improving their skills and outlook on US life. I am thankful for what the 4th of July represents. We do live in a great country that has in many ways influenced the world very positively. Happy 4th of July next week!
I put a bunch of pictures of Copan at this link at Flickr for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52577150@N07/sets/72157630320160380/
I hope you like them. I will try to put up more there and also two or three videos of the place. It really is a wonderfully, peaceful, strange, place.
I think of the Ammonihahites when I think of this place and how the trees have taken over.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52577150@N07/sets/72157630320160380/
I hope you like them. I will try to put up more there and also two or three videos of the place. It really is a wonderfully, peaceful, strange, place.
I think of the Ammonihahites when I think of this place and how the trees have taken over.
Monday, June 25, 2012
June 25, 2012
A bit of “fleshing out” of our entry about Copan:
Abe: There was a game that they [the ancient Mayans] played, and whoever got the most points had to die. There were rock heads, one in the middle, and one on the side, and one on the other side. They had a ball made out of milk and rubber. They either had to bonk it with their shoulder, hip, or head. If they hit one of the rock heads with the ball, they would get a point.
Jack: The Mayans were short. The average was about as tall as me. They had a god called Chak, but it sounds like “Jack.” He was the god of rain. He rained out his nose. There was a king called 18 Rabbit. There was a pyramid that, if you yelled off the top, your voice could be heard all around the plaza. [The Mayans were skilled engineers.]
Henry: The Mayan city, Copan, was awesome. We saw ancient temples, altars, a game court, and old rock carvings. We went in a tunnel underneath a big temple. Some friends and I went on a zipline over the forest. It was fast, fun, and awesome. I got stuck 2 or 3 times.
There was an ancient king whose name was 18 Bunny. [In Mayan writing,] each line represents the number 5, and each dot represents 1. So to write his name, you make a stack of 3 lines [for 5—10—15] and then 3 dots on top of the stack of lines [for 16—17—18]. Then, next to the number, the Mayans carved a little picture of a rabbit.
My birthday was fun. We went to some friends who live in the mountains. Me, Jack, and my dad and Hermano all cut wood with machetes.
Aspen: We went to Copan, and what I thought was interesting was that the biggest Mayans were no bigger than 5 feet tall.
Ranae: For me, our day in Copan was satisfying and intriguing. I very much enjoyed walking amongst and on and through the ruins, seeing those great stone structures rising formidably from the jungle floor. All was quiet and amazingly serene. Once, this was a bustling city with cheering crowds, grotesque religious rites, artistry, slavery, and science. Today, it was quiet, the sounds of scarlet macaws and the wind muffled by the silent green grass carpeting the empty plaza. Great trees stretched toward heaven, anchored by gnarly roots to the ancient stone walls and steps. Certainly there is a feeling that even the greatest of human creation will someday by overgrown and slowly worn away by the unforgiving and innocent encroachment of nature. The trees don’t care which great kings carved their histories here; they simply grow silently and strong, slowly crumbling the carefully constructed stones, slowly crumbling the walls made with slaves’ life effort. I add Copan to my list of enriching experiences—my “wonders of the world” that have delighted my heart and filled my mind with awe.
We loved hosting our friends Hannah and Edwin for a week (and we are serious about letting them return the favor some day!). Their visit was full of energy and gave us the opportunity to share our Honduras. We walked through campus, swam, had coconut water, bought fruit at the fruit stands and water at the mercadito, played soccer, ate lots of beans, cleaned our little chapel, traveled to Copan, visited the Terceros, bought souvenirs at Valle de Angeles, got stuck in Tegucigalpa traffic, went to church, celebrated Henry's birthday, and watched a few movies.
Edwin was a roommate of Stuart's from BYU. They share the same birth date and several (astrologically influenced?) intriguing similarities. Their conversation never seemed to stop. It was nice to talk shop, American style--politics, mission memories, book reviews, current events. Edwin brings a breadth of experience from the "other side" of life--as in, non-academia. Through our conversations, Stuart and I got a crash course in economics, business, and real estate. He is good at recognizing the good in others and pointing it out to his daughter. He is good at time management, delegating, and gobbling up opportunities. He gave us new things to think about, which is something to be grateful for. And Hannah certainly wins a gold star for being a good sport--not only did she make a long road trip in an overstuffed car, she did it with a family of strangers! She weathered the experience well, cheerfully encouraging the others and venturing into our car games. Our children were happy for her fresh and pleasant company. I was happy for her offer to help in the kitchen. Maybe her experience here will convince her that some bananas are worth eating!
Henry’s was the fourth and final birthday we will celebrate here in Honduras. How do you turn 11 in Honduras? Spend the day with your family and friends at a rustic adobe-house farm, then come home for ham and cheese sandwiches and Grandma Waisath’s Chocolate Cookies. We played “Pin the Guy on the Zipline,” “Murder in the Dark,” and “List As Many Things As You Can Think of to Do with a Package of Ramen.” A great time was had by all. I love it when all the family is gathered in laughter and joy.
Summer vacation has started in earnest, and we have been busy with the openness of no schedule. The children and I go every morning to the pool for “family swim team.” Even Calla jumps in and swims laps back and forth across the pool. (I hold on to her, but she is a little powerhouse of a swimmer.) She swims and smiles and laughs all the while. Today she said, as she left off from the kickboard and started using her arms, “I’m like a mom!” After swim team, and with the exception of the soccer and horse riding lessons that happen on Mondays and Tuesdays, we spend the day mostly at home with ourselves. We don’t really have a car that we (I, myself) can drive around, and we don’t have many places that we can go. The children were impressively industrious and creative last week, making birthday gifts for a friend, playing soccer, playing Frisbee, swimming, drawing on paper and computer, talking with Miriam, and helping to make cookies. Last week was the kind of week you long for when you are caught in the hustle of life during May. However, I expect the slow schedule will become burdensome soon. We will have to find other things to do, places to go, people to see in the remaining weeks of vacation we have here.
Today Miriam finished the dress she was sewing for Calla. When we were in Kansas, I told some women at church about Miriam learning to sew and trying to start a little sewing business. A handful of women generously donated some fabric they didn’t need any more. Using one of the pretty sheets I (an American) brought back from a German ice skater living in Kansas, here in Honduras Miriam has learned to sew a dress—how to use a pattern, cut out the pieces, put them together, and follow the instructions from the pattern. What an amazing mix of resources from around the world! What a cool accomplishment for Miriam! What a cute dress for Calla, who had outgrown the two dresses we brought for her from California! How fantastic is that?
For all interested blog readers, thank-you for keeping up with us. We are so thankful for this opportunity to be here. We feel the closeness of the end of this experience, which makes us both anxious to return home and determined to finish up the goals we have made for ourselves here. I know the next six weeks will go quickly. I pray they will bring continued safety and health and learning.
A bit of “fleshing out” of our entry about Copan:
Abe: There was a game that they [the ancient Mayans] played, and whoever got the most points had to die. There were rock heads, one in the middle, and one on the side, and one on the other side. They had a ball made out of milk and rubber. They either had to bonk it with their shoulder, hip, or head. If they hit one of the rock heads with the ball, they would get a point.
Jack: The Mayans were short. The average was about as tall as me. They had a god called Chak, but it sounds like “Jack.” He was the god of rain. He rained out his nose. There was a king called 18 Rabbit. There was a pyramid that, if you yelled off the top, your voice could be heard all around the plaza. [The Mayans were skilled engineers.]
Henry: The Mayan city, Copan, was awesome. We saw ancient temples, altars, a game court, and old rock carvings. We went in a tunnel underneath a big temple. Some friends and I went on a zipline over the forest. It was fast, fun, and awesome. I got stuck 2 or 3 times.
There was an ancient king whose name was 18 Bunny. [In Mayan writing,] each line represents the number 5, and each dot represents 1. So to write his name, you make a stack of 3 lines [for 5—10—15] and then 3 dots on top of the stack of lines [for 16—17—18]. Then, next to the number, the Mayans carved a little picture of a rabbit.
My birthday was fun. We went to some friends who live in the mountains. Me, Jack, and my dad and Hermano all cut wood with machetes.
Aspen: We went to Copan, and what I thought was interesting was that the biggest Mayans were no bigger than 5 feet tall.
Ranae: For me, our day in Copan was satisfying and intriguing. I very much enjoyed walking amongst and on and through the ruins, seeing those great stone structures rising formidably from the jungle floor. All was quiet and amazingly serene. Once, this was a bustling city with cheering crowds, grotesque religious rites, artistry, slavery, and science. Today, it was quiet, the sounds of scarlet macaws and the wind muffled by the silent green grass carpeting the empty plaza. Great trees stretched toward heaven, anchored by gnarly roots to the ancient stone walls and steps. Certainly there is a feeling that even the greatest of human creation will someday by overgrown and slowly worn away by the unforgiving and innocent encroachment of nature. The trees don’t care which great kings carved their histories here; they simply grow silently and strong, slowly crumbling the carefully constructed stones, slowly crumbling the walls made with slaves’ life effort. I add Copan to my list of enriching experiences—my “wonders of the world” that have delighted my heart and filled my mind with awe.
We loved hosting our friends Hannah and Edwin for a week (and we are serious about letting them return the favor some day!). Their visit was full of energy and gave us the opportunity to share our Honduras. We walked through campus, swam, had coconut water, bought fruit at the fruit stands and water at the mercadito, played soccer, ate lots of beans, cleaned our little chapel, traveled to Copan, visited the Terceros, bought souvenirs at Valle de Angeles, got stuck in Tegucigalpa traffic, went to church, celebrated Henry's birthday, and watched a few movies.
Edwin was a roommate of Stuart's from BYU. They share the same birth date and several (astrologically influenced?) intriguing similarities. Their conversation never seemed to stop. It was nice to talk shop, American style--politics, mission memories, book reviews, current events. Edwin brings a breadth of experience from the "other side" of life--as in, non-academia. Through our conversations, Stuart and I got a crash course in economics, business, and real estate. He is good at recognizing the good in others and pointing it out to his daughter. He is good at time management, delegating, and gobbling up opportunities. He gave us new things to think about, which is something to be grateful for. And Hannah certainly wins a gold star for being a good sport--not only did she make a long road trip in an overstuffed car, she did it with a family of strangers! She weathered the experience well, cheerfully encouraging the others and venturing into our car games. Our children were happy for her fresh and pleasant company. I was happy for her offer to help in the kitchen. Maybe her experience here will convince her that some bananas are worth eating!
Henry’s was the fourth and final birthday we will celebrate here in Honduras. How do you turn 11 in Honduras? Spend the day with your family and friends at a rustic adobe-house farm, then come home for ham and cheese sandwiches and Grandma Waisath’s Chocolate Cookies. We played “Pin the Guy on the Zipline,” “Murder in the Dark,” and “List As Many Things As You Can Think of to Do with a Package of Ramen.” A great time was had by all. I love it when all the family is gathered in laughter and joy.
Summer vacation has started in earnest, and we have been busy with the openness of no schedule. The children and I go every morning to the pool for “family swim team.” Even Calla jumps in and swims laps back and forth across the pool. (I hold on to her, but she is a little powerhouse of a swimmer.) She swims and smiles and laughs all the while. Today she said, as she left off from the kickboard and started using her arms, “I’m like a mom!” After swim team, and with the exception of the soccer and horse riding lessons that happen on Mondays and Tuesdays, we spend the day mostly at home with ourselves. We don’t really have a car that we (I, myself) can drive around, and we don’t have many places that we can go. The children were impressively industrious and creative last week, making birthday gifts for a friend, playing soccer, playing Frisbee, swimming, drawing on paper and computer, talking with Miriam, and helping to make cookies. Last week was the kind of week you long for when you are caught in the hustle of life during May. However, I expect the slow schedule will become burdensome soon. We will have to find other things to do, places to go, people to see in the remaining weeks of vacation we have here.
Today Miriam finished the dress she was sewing for Calla. When we were in Kansas, I told some women at church about Miriam learning to sew and trying to start a little sewing business. A handful of women generously donated some fabric they didn’t need any more. Using one of the pretty sheets I (an American) brought back from a German ice skater living in Kansas, here in Honduras Miriam has learned to sew a dress—how to use a pattern, cut out the pieces, put them together, and follow the instructions from the pattern. What an amazing mix of resources from around the world! What a cool accomplishment for Miriam! What a cute dress for Calla, who had outgrown the two dresses we brought for her from California! How fantastic is that?
For all interested blog readers, thank-you for keeping up with us. We are so thankful for this opportunity to be here. We feel the closeness of the end of this experience, which makes us both anxious to return home and determined to finish up the goals we have made for ourselves here. I know the next six weeks will go quickly. I pray they will bring continued safety and health and learning.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Returning slowly
We made it back from Copan. Edwin and his daughter Hannah came to visit and for the last week we have traveled around Honduras. It was great!
We will post some things of that trip.
Some highlights include:
Free-flying scarlet macaws--that was amazing!
18 Rabbit or dieciocho Conejo
the Mayan ball court
the cool mayan king names, like shell smoke and the Jaguar King
A tigger sculpture (stand by for the pictures of that one!)
School ended and Jack is a Renaissance Man
Tunnels carved underneath the main top part of the pyramids
Liquados at Comedor y Pupusaria Mary (licuados are water or milk shakes made with fresh fruit and ice). A comedor is an 'eatery' and a pupusaria is a 'pupusa store'.
Making it safely through 4 police checkpoints and navigating 7 hours across the Honduran countryside and getting lost (a little) in San Pedro Sula.
Ranae, Stuart, Calla and Abraham all got sick--some upper respiratory disease and a fever and rash.
Oropendula birds and nests.
We thought we'd save some money and not get a guide but we decided to get a guide (Armando) and it was great and the whole place really made sense after that!
Henry's 11th Birthday celebration with Grandma Waisath's famous chocolate-coconut cookies and his hour-long ride on a zipline through the "rainforest" (technically, secondary or tertiary forest)
Giant cedar (Cedro or Cedrela species), ficus, and Ceiba trees growing in the Mayan Copan Plaza and also on the Pyramids.
Riding 14 hours in the car, sometimes with out seatbelts!
Buying a giant banana cluster for $1.50 and eating it for 3 days.
Buying freshly picked pinas and then eating the sweetest, best tasting pineapples later on.
We saw a group of men plowing with 2 oxen and then planting beans or corn right behind the plow.
Good conversation with Edwin.
Watching Soccer (Honduras vs. Canada and Brazil vs. Argentina) in the hotel in the qualifiers for the Copa Mundial
Swimming in the hotel pool that had a nice shallow end.
Learning about the rain god Chak (or Jack as it sounded to us) who rains by sending water out his nose. That was a huge hit with one of our party. Maybe it will become his mascot from now on!
And more things we can't think of right now.
We are happy to be back into the groove, a little bit and looking forward to the next 54 days we have left!
We will post some things of that trip.
Some highlights include:
Free-flying scarlet macaws--that was amazing!
18 Rabbit or dieciocho Conejo
the Mayan ball court
the cool mayan king names, like shell smoke and the Jaguar King
A tigger sculpture (stand by for the pictures of that one!)
School ended and Jack is a Renaissance Man
Tunnels carved underneath the main top part of the pyramids
Liquados at Comedor y Pupusaria Mary (licuados are water or milk shakes made with fresh fruit and ice). A comedor is an 'eatery' and a pupusaria is a 'pupusa store'.
Making it safely through 4 police checkpoints and navigating 7 hours across the Honduran countryside and getting lost (a little) in San Pedro Sula.
Ranae, Stuart, Calla and Abraham all got sick--some upper respiratory disease and a fever and rash.
Oropendula birds and nests.
We thought we'd save some money and not get a guide but we decided to get a guide (Armando) and it was great and the whole place really made sense after that!
Henry's 11th Birthday celebration with Grandma Waisath's famous chocolate-coconut cookies and his hour-long ride on a zipline through the "rainforest" (technically, secondary or tertiary forest)
Giant cedar (Cedro or Cedrela species), ficus, and Ceiba trees growing in the Mayan Copan Plaza and also on the Pyramids.
Riding 14 hours in the car, sometimes with out seatbelts!
Buying a giant banana cluster for $1.50 and eating it for 3 days.
Buying freshly picked pinas and then eating the sweetest, best tasting pineapples later on.
We saw a group of men plowing with 2 oxen and then planting beans or corn right behind the plow.
Good conversation with Edwin.
Watching Soccer (Honduras vs. Canada and Brazil vs. Argentina) in the hotel in the qualifiers for the Copa Mundial
Swimming in the hotel pool that had a nice shallow end.
Learning about the rain god Chak (or Jack as it sounded to us) who rains by sending water out his nose. That was a huge hit with one of our party. Maybe it will become his mascot from now on!
And more things we can't think of right now.
We are happy to be back into the groove, a little bit and looking forward to the next 54 days we have left!
Monday, June 4, 2012
....We've been away from "home"
We haven't posted in a while...as you may have guessed.
We have been in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas attending the funeral of my Father, Dan Wooley. He died on May 23, after 60 (on May 10) years of marriage to my mom.
As with all people, we expected he would die someday. He was progressively sicker as this year went along and suffered from a number of ailments. His death brought him relief he had been seeking for a long time.
On a happy note, we were able to see a lot of cousins and siblings
at the funeral and events. We decided to stay for a while (about 9 days total travel time) to take advantage of being in the US, since it cost us so much to come here.
I spent a few days with my mom, post-funeral, trying to take care of the myriad issues that need to be taken care of when older people die. Credit card charges, pension disbursements, notifying federal (bureaucracy) agencies and trying to resolve basic issues, like internet access in the assisted living place for my mom. That only took two days of repeated meetings. More meetings are necessary to complete other issues, but I had to return and leave them undone.
We are grateful for and believe in the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As such, death, while a negative, is also not fearful. Indeed, we are comforted to know that good folks like my Dad, that die enter into "a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."
The service was great and it has been fun to be staying with my sister in Kansas. Two of her children are the same ages as our two boys. They are fun-loving guys and are really good Wii players and are a hoot. So everyone has been having a good time. Plus they have a big house ad so we've been able to spread out a little bit, which has been good. While I was with my mother, everyone else went to Liberty Jail and have had that experience.
We'll be heading back in a few hours after watching Phineas and Ferb...one of the better cartoons on TV. Then, back "home" to Honduras, mangos, good bananas, Miriam, good pinto beans, platanos and teaching English class.
We'll get back with other posts later. We're excited to have some visitors coming this weekend and will other adventures next week to write about!
We have been in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas attending the funeral of my Father, Dan Wooley. He died on May 23, after 60 (on May 10) years of marriage to my mom.
As with all people, we expected he would die someday. He was progressively sicker as this year went along and suffered from a number of ailments. His death brought him relief he had been seeking for a long time.
On a happy note, we were able to see a lot of cousins and siblings
at the funeral and events. We decided to stay for a while (about 9 days total travel time) to take advantage of being in the US, since it cost us so much to come here.
I spent a few days with my mom, post-funeral, trying to take care of the myriad issues that need to be taken care of when older people die. Credit card charges, pension disbursements, notifying federal (bureaucracy) agencies and trying to resolve basic issues, like internet access in the assisted living place for my mom. That only took two days of repeated meetings. More meetings are necessary to complete other issues, but I had to return and leave them undone.
We are grateful for and believe in the effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As such, death, while a negative, is also not fearful. Indeed, we are comforted to know that good folks like my Dad, that die enter into "a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."
The service was great and it has been fun to be staying with my sister in Kansas. Two of her children are the same ages as our two boys. They are fun-loving guys and are really good Wii players and are a hoot. So everyone has been having a good time. Plus they have a big house ad so we've been able to spread out a little bit, which has been good. While I was with my mother, everyone else went to Liberty Jail and have had that experience.
We'll be heading back in a few hours after watching Phineas and Ferb...one of the better cartoons on TV. Then, back "home" to Honduras, mangos, good bananas, Miriam, good pinto beans, platanos and teaching English class.
We'll get back with other posts later. We're excited to have some visitors coming this weekend and will other adventures next week to write about!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Good news and bad news (about a tree)
May 20, 2012
Aspen has been taking horseback riding lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays--$10/lesson or $70/month—one on one. It is pretty cool and she loves it. She was a little sore at the beginning, but that little young body is strong and she is not sore now! The boys also played a soccer game on Tuesday and won, finally, against a team that usually beats them.
Jack: On Friday a bird pooped on me. [surely it was a cool tropical bird with neat plumage!]
Ranae: We hung up mosquito nets around each of the children’s beds, as much for the plague of ants as for the mosquitoes. (The ants and termites are in their season of dispersal—winged members of their colonies are emerging and flying away to start new colonies. The colony of ants that lives in our living room wall has sent forth hundreds of winged ants into our home. The other afternoon the air outside was filled with thousands of termites.) This is a shot of the light during the onslaught of ants.
The next day (this morning, the light fixture had a ring about 3" wide of dead winged ants.
The bad news is that on Wednesday, upon returning home with Stuart (after a morning of collecting data on his mahogany trees), we found a handful of strangers sitting around the outside of our gate. They were indeed simply sitting on the grass, a few on either side of the entrance to our yard and driveway. Driving up to them and between the two groups of them gave me a nervous feeling in my belly. Who were these men? Why were they hanging out around our house? We found the kitchen door closed (we always leave it open). Miriam met us at the door, likewise uneasy. She said the men had been there most of the morning. When she had asked them what they were doing, they would not give her any response. She had shut herself and Calla up in the house, hoping all was well.
Stuart went out to talk to them and then to our landlord’s son, Fernando, who lives next door. The men’s story unfolded, and that’s where the good news comes in.
The good news is that these men were from a little village down the highway called Maraita, and they were at our house for an exciting project. Their town has no electricity. The townspeople struck a deal with the energy company, that if the town would supply the labor to put up poles and string up the wires, the energy company would start service to their town. These men were trying to prepare the way for some of those electricity wires. They needed to trim some branches from the magnificent Guanacaste tree in our yard. They had machetes and a bottle of soda; they were waiting for someone who was going to bring a chain saw, and the soda helped the hours pass more enjoyably.
But then there is more bad news. The men stayed for much of the day, still waiting for a chain saw that never showed up. The next morning they returned, and the chain saw arrived. A young man (maybe 16 years old or so) climbed up in the tree, barefoot, and started hacking with the chain saw. He was not a skilled arborist. The glorious Guanacaste tree was badly injured. The young man cut each branch near its base, and the weight of the entire branch as it separated from the tree ripped off long jagged sections of wood. The branches dropped on the existing power and communication lines, dragging them to the ground. The branches dropped on the rock wall that surrounds our yard, bringing down a section of it. The slope outside our yard was full of Guanacaste branches. It was a mess. Fernando talked to the men and told them they needed to repair some of their cuts on the tree and clean up the branches. Though they did spend the afternoon hacking the branches into stackable pieces with their machetes, we are still waiting for them to come back to finish the job and repair their damage. I fear our landlord, who is traveling in South America, will not be happy to see the state of the yard and tree. Even the fact that the cuts were made for a good cause does not excuse the manner in which the job was done.
Which leads me to another thought: Living here gives us the opportunity to experience life in a more “wild west” or Montana sort of way. The structure of society is more primitive, with fewer laws than in the U.S. (particularly California) and less enforcement of the laws that do exist. There is less imposition of the needs of the society as a whole on the life of the individual. There is some greater freedom, in that we can make more of our own choices without government making them for us. But there is also some loss of freedom, in that the more primitive society offers fewer opportunities to choose from. Each person is left to act for himself and demonstrate what kind of person he is.
And we have met so many wonderful people, who are trying their best to do good and who live happily and simply and generously.
(A plumeria blossom--it is about the size of those old Kennedy 50 cent pieces or an Eisenhower dollar coin).
The day of the Guanacaste slaughter was the day Miriam brought some leaves from her platano (banana) tree so we could make tamales. They were easy and delicious. When Abe came home from school that day, he started visiting with Jorge, the groundskeeper/maintenance man in our little compound. Abe did not want to leave Jorge and come in for lunch, so we invited Jorge to come join us for lunch, too. Jorge, Miriam, Stuart, Abe, Calla, and I had a pleasant lunch of fresh tamales and fresh mangoes from our tree. We enjoy these friends.
Abe: Mom says, “Abe what did you talk about in [your class ] at Church today?” Abe said, sort of indignantly and matter-of-factly, responded, “I don’t know. I didn’t understand anything. They were speaking Spanish the whole time!”
Stuart: This week I didn’t write down as much but there were a lot of neat things that happened, I just can’t remember them all. Jack and I have gone to Teguc twice this week. One time was Tuesday for the commemoration of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist on May 15, 1829. We went to the site of the new Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple, which looks great, but you can see it is still clearly under construction. I wasn’t sure the neighborhood we’d be going through and being in, so I left my camera home. But if you images.google.com the Tegucigalpa Temple, you can see pictures of it. It is always a sight to see that lifts your spirits and great good will come to Honduras once the temple is here and the people begin to go there and become a temple-going people.
On the way back from the temple, along the highway from Teguc, we cross some pretty high elevation, just nearby the cloud forest. As such, it can get really foggy. Tuesday night, it was really foggy. Compounding the driving problem is lots of curves, no good white line on the right, and the tint on the window is VERY dark—making driving at night while looking through the tint impossible. So, I slowed down very slow and we followed a moto.
Like Ranae mentioned last week, the highway from Teguc to Zamorano has 3 major breaks in it where the road is dirt/bolders/gravel. These are areas where there have either been landslides (2) and the road hasn’t been repaired, or it is place with regular running water, so the asphalt disintegrates (1 place). Each section is about the same length—about 150’ or so. That night, practically in the center of one of them, a truck about the length of a mid-size U-haul truck was stranded. Its cargo space was made of slatted metal sheets, and it has an open top, though mostly covered by an olive-colored canvas tarp. It had broken down…literally. The cargo space, fully loaded with sandia (watermelon) somehow (the weight maybe?) had broken off of the truck chassis and was leaning precariously to the side, as if it were going to tip over. Think of a large, sandia-filled box, tipping off to the side. The clever drivers had shored-up the container with four large poles that were keeping the entire load from slipping off the truck chassis. The poles extended from the truck into the opposite lane essentially, making the area a single, narrow-lane passage. At night, in the fog, with the tint, I was a little nervous passing by the truck, as the single lane fell away about 40’ down and then a long steep slope going down a long way into the trees. Needless to say, we made it by the sandia truck and a few days later, when we passed by that spot again, there was no sign of it. The situation with the sandia truck did remind me of the sandia truck in Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go book—a sandia truck overturns on icy roads and the animal drivers are scurrying around to pick up the watermelons that are rolling down the road.
henry is ready for anything, even in bed!
We had another YM/YW activity at the Stake Center in Teguc on Saturday. It was for training for the youth to get them to do Family History work. One thing about these meetings here in the Stake, is we often have a visiting Seventy there. One way to think of a Seventy is a person who is asked to serve in the region as a liaison between the local folks and the Church HQ in Salt Lake City. In the US, it is rare that a Seventy attends these kinds of meetings and usually much of the work there between local folks and a Seventy is done via telephone, email or by letter. Here Seventies are present at a lot of the stake-level meetings we attend. I told Jack he has probably been to more meetings with General Authorities in the time we have been here than I have been in the last 10 years. That might be an exaggeration, but the general authorities and Area Presidency play a more visible role in the Church here than in the US.
One more note….mango season has arrived in the Yeguare Valley! Yeee Haw!! I am pretty happy about that. We began harvesting real, ripe, tasty mangos from our tree in the backyard this past week. They are coming on pretty fast, so we have to be diligent and eat them as they come in…what a shame. This year has been a down year for mangos here so there actually aren’t a lot of trees with mangos, which is the real travesty. Last year people were up to their ears in mangos. So maybe in a few years, mango season will be huge again—too bad it wasn’t this year!
Aspen has been taking horseback riding lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays--$10/lesson or $70/month—one on one. It is pretty cool and she loves it. She was a little sore at the beginning, but that little young body is strong and she is not sore now! The boys also played a soccer game on Tuesday and won, finally, against a team that usually beats them.
Jack: On Friday a bird pooped on me. [surely it was a cool tropical bird with neat plumage!]
Ranae: We hung up mosquito nets around each of the children’s beds, as much for the plague of ants as for the mosquitoes. (The ants and termites are in their season of dispersal—winged members of their colonies are emerging and flying away to start new colonies. The colony of ants that lives in our living room wall has sent forth hundreds of winged ants into our home. The other afternoon the air outside was filled with thousands of termites.) This is a shot of the light during the onslaught of ants.
The bad news is that on Wednesday, upon returning home with Stuart (after a morning of collecting data on his mahogany trees), we found a handful of strangers sitting around the outside of our gate. They were indeed simply sitting on the grass, a few on either side of the entrance to our yard and driveway. Driving up to them and between the two groups of them gave me a nervous feeling in my belly. Who were these men? Why were they hanging out around our house? We found the kitchen door closed (we always leave it open). Miriam met us at the door, likewise uneasy. She said the men had been there most of the morning. When she had asked them what they were doing, they would not give her any response. She had shut herself and Calla up in the house, hoping all was well.
Stuart went out to talk to them and then to our landlord’s son, Fernando, who lives next door. The men’s story unfolded, and that’s where the good news comes in.
The good news is that these men were from a little village down the highway called Maraita, and they were at our house for an exciting project. Their town has no electricity. The townspeople struck a deal with the energy company, that if the town would supply the labor to put up poles and string up the wires, the energy company would start service to their town. These men were trying to prepare the way for some of those electricity wires. They needed to trim some branches from the magnificent Guanacaste tree in our yard. They had machetes and a bottle of soda; they were waiting for someone who was going to bring a chain saw, and the soda helped the hours pass more enjoyably.
But then there is more bad news. The men stayed for much of the day, still waiting for a chain saw that never showed up. The next morning they returned, and the chain saw arrived. A young man (maybe 16 years old or so) climbed up in the tree, barefoot, and started hacking with the chain saw. He was not a skilled arborist. The glorious Guanacaste tree was badly injured. The young man cut each branch near its base, and the weight of the entire branch as it separated from the tree ripped off long jagged sections of wood. The branches dropped on the existing power and communication lines, dragging them to the ground. The branches dropped on the rock wall that surrounds our yard, bringing down a section of it. The slope outside our yard was full of Guanacaste branches. It was a mess. Fernando talked to the men and told them they needed to repair some of their cuts on the tree and clean up the branches. Though they did spend the afternoon hacking the branches into stackable pieces with their machetes, we are still waiting for them to come back to finish the job and repair their damage. I fear our landlord, who is traveling in South America, will not be happy to see the state of the yard and tree. Even the fact that the cuts were made for a good cause does not excuse the manner in which the job was done.
Which leads me to another thought: Living here gives us the opportunity to experience life in a more “wild west” or Montana sort of way. The structure of society is more primitive, with fewer laws than in the U.S. (particularly California) and less enforcement of the laws that do exist. There is less imposition of the needs of the society as a whole on the life of the individual. There is some greater freedom, in that we can make more of our own choices without government making them for us. But there is also some loss of freedom, in that the more primitive society offers fewer opportunities to choose from. Each person is left to act for himself and demonstrate what kind of person he is.
And we have met so many wonderful people, who are trying their best to do good and who live happily and simply and generously.
The day of the Guanacaste slaughter was the day Miriam brought some leaves from her platano (banana) tree so we could make tamales. They were easy and delicious. When Abe came home from school that day, he started visiting with Jorge, the groundskeeper/maintenance man in our little compound. Abe did not want to leave Jorge and come in for lunch, so we invited Jorge to come join us for lunch, too. Jorge, Miriam, Stuart, Abe, Calla, and I had a pleasant lunch of fresh tamales and fresh mangoes from our tree. We enjoy these friends.
Abe: Mom says, “Abe what did you talk about in [your class ] at Church today?” Abe said, sort of indignantly and matter-of-factly, responded, “I don’t know. I didn’t understand anything. They were speaking Spanish the whole time!”
Stuart: This week I didn’t write down as much but there were a lot of neat things that happened, I just can’t remember them all. Jack and I have gone to Teguc twice this week. One time was Tuesday for the commemoration of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist on May 15, 1829. We went to the site of the new Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple, which looks great, but you can see it is still clearly under construction. I wasn’t sure the neighborhood we’d be going through and being in, so I left my camera home. But if you images.google.com the Tegucigalpa Temple, you can see pictures of it. It is always a sight to see that lifts your spirits and great good will come to Honduras once the temple is here and the people begin to go there and become a temple-going people.
On the way back from the temple, along the highway from Teguc, we cross some pretty high elevation, just nearby the cloud forest. As such, it can get really foggy. Tuesday night, it was really foggy. Compounding the driving problem is lots of curves, no good white line on the right, and the tint on the window is VERY dark—making driving at night while looking through the tint impossible. So, I slowed down very slow and we followed a moto.
Like Ranae mentioned last week, the highway from Teguc to Zamorano has 3 major breaks in it where the road is dirt/bolders/gravel. These are areas where there have either been landslides (2) and the road hasn’t been repaired, or it is place with regular running water, so the asphalt disintegrates (1 place). Each section is about the same length—about 150’ or so. That night, practically in the center of one of them, a truck about the length of a mid-size U-haul truck was stranded. Its cargo space was made of slatted metal sheets, and it has an open top, though mostly covered by an olive-colored canvas tarp. It had broken down…literally. The cargo space, fully loaded with sandia (watermelon) somehow (the weight maybe?) had broken off of the truck chassis and was leaning precariously to the side, as if it were going to tip over. Think of a large, sandia-filled box, tipping off to the side. The clever drivers had shored-up the container with four large poles that were keeping the entire load from slipping off the truck chassis. The poles extended from the truck into the opposite lane essentially, making the area a single, narrow-lane passage. At night, in the fog, with the tint, I was a little nervous passing by the truck, as the single lane fell away about 40’ down and then a long steep slope going down a long way into the trees. Needless to say, we made it by the sandia truck and a few days later, when we passed by that spot again, there was no sign of it. The situation with the sandia truck did remind me of the sandia truck in Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go book—a sandia truck overturns on icy roads and the animal drivers are scurrying around to pick up the watermelons that are rolling down the road.
We had another YM/YW activity at the Stake Center in Teguc on Saturday. It was for training for the youth to get them to do Family History work. One thing about these meetings here in the Stake, is we often have a visiting Seventy there. One way to think of a Seventy is a person who is asked to serve in the region as a liaison between the local folks and the Church HQ in Salt Lake City. In the US, it is rare that a Seventy attends these kinds of meetings and usually much of the work there between local folks and a Seventy is done via telephone, email or by letter. Here Seventies are present at a lot of the stake-level meetings we attend. I told Jack he has probably been to more meetings with General Authorities in the time we have been here than I have been in the last 10 years. That might be an exaggeration, but the general authorities and Area Presidency play a more visible role in the Church here than in the US.
One more note….mango season has arrived in the Yeguare Valley! Yeee Haw!! I am pretty happy about that. We began harvesting real, ripe, tasty mangos from our tree in the backyard this past week. They are coming on pretty fast, so we have to be diligent and eat them as they come in…what a shame. This year has been a down year for mangos here so there actually aren’t a lot of trees with mangos, which is the real travesty. Last year people were up to their ears in mangos. So maybe in a few years, mango season will be huge again—too bad it wasn’t this year!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Possum, Mother's Day, Gualaco, Pupusas
This week has been a good week full of interesting adventures! A few highlights include, swimming with the Mujeres Jovenes who came for swim lessons, chasing and catching fireflies at night, seeing amazing cloud-ground lightning very near the house, a possum, making crepes for Mother’s Day celebrations, Mother’s Day beginning on Friday at the school and ending Sunday, Stuart drove the 5 hours to Gualaco, Olancho and back, and rain nearly every day.
Stuart: The exciting thing for me was going to Olancho on Thursday and seeing many interesting things along the road going/coming.
Work progresses and I have been teaching 2 online classes from here. They are ending this week and I have to finish up grading and finalize the grades. I will be teaching one more in the Summer term which begins around the 2nd week of June until mid-July.
The fireflies were so abundant and active, the whole yard was filled with little greenish-yellow lights.
I was asked to teach English to the third-year students. These are students that have passed the TOEFL and need help with conversation and refining their English to the level they really need to speak to people. I have never taught English so I have to come up with something for 1 hour/day for 3-days a week every even week from June to August. If you have any good ideas of cool English things to share with the students, let me know!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Aspen: On Thursday we heard a dog barking in the front yard. And it was shaking something around in its mouth. So we went to go see what it was and it was a possum mother and then the dog ran away. So we went outside and the mother possum was laying down and had big blood patches on her back and by its ear. By it we saw something moving around by it that looked like a snake. When we got closer, we saw it was a baby possum that had its eyes still shut. We picked up the baby possums with a palm leaf and put them with their mom. The mommy possum kind of stood up and pretended she was limping. Then she walked up to her hole in the rock wall. Then we got some old food scraps, because they eat whatever a pig eats. In the morning I went out to see if the food was still there. It was still there. That means that the possum wasn’t there, because if it were there, it would have eaten the food. I think the food is still out there right now.
Henry: On Wednesday night, our family went out in the yard, and the whole yard was sparkling with little lights; sparkling with fireflies. We went out and caught some fireflies.
On Thursday, we heard a dog barking in our front yard. When we went out to see what it was, the dog was gone. Once the dog left, we saw that it had been shaking a mom possum in its mouth. It has blood spots all over it. Since the dog was shaking it so much, the little babies got shaken out of its pouch. Some were so young, their eyes weren’t even open. We collected the babies and put them on the mom. The babies held on to the mom. She got up and limped off into the rock wall [that surrounds our house].
On Friday, we celebrated Mother’s day. Jack and I got up at 4:45 am to make breakfast for our mom. We made an omelet, crackers, Crystal Light® and star fruit (albaricoque). We took it to our mom at 5:25 because she usually wakes up at 5:30. For lunch at school, most of the moms came. We played Bingo with them and I won all the 3-6th graders, I won one of the rounds. I won a snickers candy bar.
On Saturday, we went to Teguc. When we came home the young women (YW) came over so we could teach them how to swim. But when they came, a storm was starting with lightning and so we taught them how to make crepes. Then when the storm stopped, we went swimming and taught them how to swim.
One time at the pool, my dad was throwing up Abe out of the water. All the YW were watching to see how high Abe would go, and when Abe came up out of the water, his swim trunks fell all the way down to his ankles.
On Sunday I made crepes before for breakfast. After Church, I made a triple batch of crepes with Jack and Dad. Crepes are very yummy [though it does depend on what the filling is]. Moist rodent.
Abe: I can’t remember anything. We had two parties this week. I got candy and soda. Seeing the possum was a little scary. One time it blinked its eyes and it did its teeth like this [it bared its teeth]. I am done.
Jack:,
Mother’s Day here is the same [date] as in the US. Me and Henry got up at 4:45am to make breakfast in bed for my mom. We made an omelet, crackers, Crystal Light® and star fruit. I shredded my fingernail in the cheese shredder.
There was a lightning storm and the power went out about 6 and came back on the next day about noon. That night we caught fireflies in the backyard.
Yesterday the mujeres Jovenes came over so we could teach them how to swim. We had about 10-15 minutes to play around at the end. Dad was throwing Abe up into the air and Abe’s swim trunks fell all the way off as he shot into the air from the water. I was just diving in when he did it and I came up out of the water and I was laughing so hard, I had to go over to side so I could breathe.
There are some kids in my class who went to Tegucigalpa Friday for some athletic thingy, and they won a lot [of events] and 4 qualified from my class. One from 5th grade and one from 4th grade. On June 3rd they are going to El Salvador for the Jr. Olympics for little guys.
We have been making crepes. We made a lot today. They are very yummy and some are purple (but we ate all of those). We are filling them with green pineapple sauce that looks like snot, kind of. But it tastes way better. We put in 1 drop of blue food coloring [into the pineapple puree].
We heard a dog barking and after dinner we went to see what was happening. We came out and looked and a dog was shaking something around. It was a possum and then after the dog left, we saw something that looked like a snake, but it was a baby possum. We scooped up a total of 4 babies and put them on their mom. Then their mom got up and walked away, even though she was totally hammered [by the dog shaking her].
Mom: This week (in a role reversal) I showed Miriam how to make pupusas, based on my experience of watching them being made at the school’s carnival last week and at a street-side stand in Valle de Angeles. (Pupusas are like stuffed corn tortillas, filled with cheese or beans or meat mixes. They are a Central American food, especially typical in El Salvador. Nowadays, they are available for North American consumers at Costco!) (But authentic, freshly made pupusas are even better than the Costco type.) Our pupusas were delicious. We’ll have to try again to perfect them.
The main highway to Teguc has a few sections that have been badly damaged by landslides—more precisely, have been ripped off by landslides. Apparently the damage occurred years ago, but the sections have yet to be repaired. In some sections, the paved road gives way to dirt road for a few dozen meters. In one place, the pavement on the edge threatens to give way to the cliff below; if you drove too close to the edge (with no guard rails or good lighting) you would careen off into the abyss. Sometimes there are men who stand in the road, shoveling dirt into the holes to fill them in, signaling for drivers to pay them tips. This is one example of resourceful people trying to make work for themselves to earn a lempira or twenty.
As we drive, I like to look at the adobe houses, plastered white with brightly colored wooden doors and square windows cut into the walls without glass or screens. The red tile roofs and banana trees, the laundry on the line outside and a sampling of family members somewhere outside in the yard and maybe a horse or cow or donkey tied up outside—all these things are the typical things we see as we drive to Teguc.
The children were thoughtful and generous in their Mothers’ Day tributes. I love being their mother. I enjoyed very much the program at school on Friday—I got to go eat lunch or morning snack with each child and then play a few rounds of Bingo. We were serenaded by Mr. Carlos, the music teacher at the school, whose singing was highly acclaimed and did not disappoint. The teachers handed out cake and tres leches (a kind of pound cake with milk poured over and a caramel sauce on top). The time with the children this weekend has been sweet and happy and satisfying. They are fine people.
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