Little House in the Tropics
Sup everyone,
I´ve gotten all my crapola safely transferred to my house, with the exception of my big black duffel bag with wheels that is so filled with papers and books I couldn´t haul it up the cuesta to my place. (Cuesta means hill, but I love this word because it refers more to a grand effort required to climb the hill).
I´ve been staying once again at Isaí´s house, where I expect I´ll have to be for a few more days at least while we repair some termite-bitten windows and one door; also I need to buy things such as cookware, food, toilet paper, shampoo, a bed, chairs, and most importantly, a sombrero. It´s really not been as hot as I expected in Central America, but man is the sun ever strong. It burnsss ussss! :) I´m anxious to get moved into my own house, but for now staying with his family has been fun and very helpful. Their two little girls make me think so much of the children from the Little House on the Prairie series; it´s surreal. (hence the title of this entry) They bounce around the house helping out and doing chores with these big thick braids and cotton dresses, and they even call their mom and dad ¨ma¨ and ¨pa¨ occasionally. Crazy! There is definitely a lost-in-time feel out there in the forested valley of Despoblado. But you only have to walk 2o minutes into Agua Fría and things start feeling much more modern.
I still don´t have a telephone, and I gotta tell you guys (mom and dad), don´t expect to be able to just call me. If you want to arrange a time to talk on the phone, leave me a message here or via email and I will try to be at the local phone at that time, or I´ll just call you... in which case you also have to tell me a time when you´re going to be home. The good news is, I just purchased a post office box so you can send mail directly to me in Choluteca now and I´ll pick it up when I go to the city, which should be every week or two. The address is:
Gabriel Hensold
Apartado Postal 42
Choluteca, Honduras
America Central
Put a number sign in front of that 42 also. I just can´t figure out how to do it on this keyboard. I gotta get moving so I have time to meet with my ¨emergency zone coordinator¨ (another volunteer that I have to contact anytime I leave my site so the peace corps can keep track of where I am). The last bus up to my aldea leaves at like 1:00 pm so I when I come to choluteca I only have, at the very most, 4.5 hours to do stuff.
Hope you are all well!
posted by pineconeboy @ 9:44 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Gabe,
Thanks for doing such an excellent job posting in the last week. It has been great to be able to follow you through this transition. I too would like to read your speech given at the swearing in. POst it, by all means, along with any phots you can get.
While in Chicago I went to a travel shop and scored a semi-decent map of Honduras and also picked up Honduras guide put out by Moon Handbooks. I read it nonstop over the flight home yesterday and thought it was a fantastic book. Gabe, I imagine you have seen this and maybe read it, but I mention this here for the benefit of anyone who is interested in getting more info on the country. This is especially recommended for anyone remotely considering a visit to El Boog - it has increased my excitement about making a trip down there by 2 orders of magnitude (that's 100 times). But even if you think you are unlikely to go, it includes all kinds of fascinating information about Honduras ie. history, government, Honduran dialect, social peculiarities & on & on. Not to mention detailed info on the various geographic areas, the vegetation, wildlife, etc. It has really helped me create an environmental and social picture to put Gabe in. Well worth the price.
That use of the word "cuesta" is new to me. I like it.
Thanks for keeping this up. Do you think you will continue to post on a regular basis now that you are at a site?
Pap
Neato like your blog. Added it to my bookmarks to check for updates.
I have a child activity site/blog.
It pretty much covers child activity related stuff.
Come and check it out if you get time.
Get Out Your Agendas
Your source of information and conversation about education in Georgia and the nation.
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Hola Gabo,
Lo mas que yo leo, lo mas celos que tengo (aunque es muy probable que esa frase no tiene sentido).
Hace mas de un an(y)o que asisti a una clase de espanol y ya se me olvido mucho.
Sounds like you have plenty of fun stuff to keep you busy - what an experience!
Pues, te cuidas. Charlamos mas tarde!
-Amber
Gee, Gabe, you actually get junk mail if open to anonymous writers, eh? What a bummer! If we could figure out how to get all of us going with a blogger id it'd work, but I sure didn't have any luck. Thanks for writing! I just received this on Tuesday night, almost a day and a half after you posted it. Hmmm...Seems my new computer has some glitches, as I finally tried Maya's and found your note waiting for us tonight. Sounds like all is going well. Have you tried to e-mail me yet? I haven't gotten anything if you did. I love the analogy to the Little House series. I know what you mean about the utter innocence of kids out in the boonies (sp?) in a third world country like that. Life is so simple, isn't it? What are the girls' names again? Good luck getting your stuff up the hill. I can't wait to visit. Have you considered when might seem a good time for you?
We are doing well. Maya and I are looking for a Little House in the big city. It couldn't be more apart from your present life! The cheapest places are right next to the freeway, and that may be where she ends up living. Did you read about my developing the lot out back? Won't be able to retire, but better than before.
Pues, muy buena suerte con empezar tu proyecto, Gabriel. Espero que vamos a oir buenas noticias de come te vas entre un ratito, verdad? Hey, de cuantas frases puedes pensar para llamar alguien en tu familia?
Mi querido, mi amor, mi carino, mi hijo, mi vida, y ...????
Con Carino,
Tu mama
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