The Depths

So I bought a bike this week. I figured with the protected area being so very large having a bike to traverse it would be helpful. And in some ways it is. Those ways are when I am going downhill. Before I purchased said bike I never really considered how hard it would be to ride around here. The roads in La Botija aren´t exactly the smoothest rides. Even when the roads are flat they are still filled with rocks. So currently I´m not as much tearing through the woods with the greatest of ease as I imagined as much as I am collapsing red and drenched in sweat on the side of the road every km or so. On the plus side my bike came with a water bottle.

Seeing many Hondurans casually pass me on the road on their own bikes made me think there are many things they excel at that I do not. In my few months here I have noticed that even though Hondurans live in a developing country and I presumably am here to help them out, they can do a lot of things that frankly most Americans cannot. Here is a short list of things I have observed that Hondurans can do that I can´t:

1. Ride a bicycle up a rocky mountain road at a sixty degree incline without breaking a sweat. 

2. Ride back down that hill without touching the brakes and without wiping out.

3. Drink the water.

4. Eat anything without the aide of a utensil. They also do this without getting messy at all.

5. Find any location given only the direction of “alli no más” which roughly translates to “over yonder.”

6. Ride in the bed of a pickup truck without holdng on to anything.

7. Regularly listen to and enjoy “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams.

8. Eat nances.

9. Watch three straight hours of telenovelas (soap operas) every night from Monday to Friday.

10. Drink four cups of coffee a day. Each cup containing at least three heaping spoonfuls of sugar.

11. Effectively wash the mold out of clothing.

12. Power a tv with a car battery.

13. Charge a cell phone with a car battery.

14. Know when any bus is leaving ignoring the fact that none of them keep to a set schedule.

15. Rock a cowboy hat.

That list is just a taste of the amazing feats that the average Honduran can do. One day I hope to be culturally integrated enough to do all those things as well. Except eat nances, those things are just vile.

And maybe not the Bryan Adams thing.

As always I am doing great. I did a self-esteem workshop the other week with a few different womens groups. It sounds kind of lame but unlike in the US where we are raised to think we are all the greatest and can do anything, Hondurans just don´t get that kind of encouragement. Especially not women. So I felt pretty good about that one. And in case you were wondering if I forgot about you, no I did not. I miss all of you, especially you.

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