One Month

October 1st 2009 10:15am

September has come and gone, and I have now spent a month in Tegucigalpa. Let´s be honest, it´s been a little crazy at times.

Yesterday, Freddy and I were really late getting to work, again due to construction. When we got there, the office was already filled to the brim with our visitors from around Latin America. I spent my morning catching up on emails, before getting a chance to sit in on another one of the meetings. For some reason there were a lot of people from the church there yesterday. They didn´t talk or share, they just seemed to be another reinforcing presence of the beliefs held by the CCD.

Around lunch time, the people from the office went back down to the kitchen in the Seminary to eat, as we had the day before. Yesterday was very different though. There were more people from the office eating there, and because Freddy, Freddy, and Elmer joined us, the men sat at one table and were served by the women before they went to another room to go eat.

I didn´t like it, but recognized it as an aspect of the machismo society that is a part of life here in Honduras. I felt very weird throughout the meal, but afterwards, I went to the other room with the women and talked with them for a while. I had brought some food up to our guests earlier, and used some of my bussing skills that I had aquired from Magianno´s. This sparked a conversation on how I knew how to carry several plates on one arm, which quickly turned into a conversation about our Mexican cooks, which then turned into a conversation on problems with immigration in America.

Patty, Heidy, and Cristian drifted off back to work one by one, but Betzabe and I talked for the better part of an hour about education, healthcare, immigration, America´s impact on the rest of the world, and several other topics. To my surprise, I was able to understand everything that she was saying. I wasn´t always able to communicate exactly what I wanted to say, but it was a good talk. I was happy to learn more about Betzabe and her passion for social justice.

I had decided yesterday to take a picture of myself with everyone in the office, but before I had the chance to, Freddy, Elmer, and Marisela left with our visitors to tour more areas around the country. I was able to get a picture with everyone who was still at the office, which I think everyone enjoyed.

The prayer for Global Ministries was harder to work on than I had originally thought it would be, and it took me most of the rest of the afternoon to finish working on it. Because our normal drivers were gone, Nancy drove us back in her pick up truck, with Edgardo and I riding in the back. Driving slowly down the streets of Tegucigalpa, I was reminded of riding in the back of T-Ruck, and I missed camp.

The apartment dull when I got back, so I decided to go up to the roof and spend some time working out. Another resident from the apartment was up there, and I talked with her for a little while. Peggy is in her mid 30´s and is teaching Mandarin Chinese at a local school. Apparently, there is a high demand to learn Chinese, so she doesn´t work every day, and there isn´t a lot for her to do around the city, given the recent situation.

After talking with Peggy for a while, I went back down to my apartment, and made some hot dogs to eat for dinner. I relaxed infront of the TV for a litle bit before continuing my struggles through the Old Man and the Sea and retiring for the night. My fishing vocabulary is going to be outstanding.