Politics Schmolitics...Let's talk picnics and things

Hey friends! So, I've been sorting through some pictures of our recent excursions, and thought you'd enjoy a different update than the political stuff we've been musing about. Take a breather with me.

This is a picture of our friend and temporary neighbor (he's the overseer of the architecture on the new house across from us), Manuel. He is kind and good-natured, and he enjoys teaching us Spanish. He's also rather skilled at woodwork. We've taken a couple tours of "his" house and admired his work. A few weeks ago he gave us some of the corn he pulled out of the backyard and cooked on his little stove. It wasn't quite ready, but we were happy to share it with him. That's the purpose of the corn picture below. Not that you don't know what corn looks like, but this is certified Honduran scrawny corn, folks.

A couple of weekends ago, Colin and I took a short day trip up to this lovely place named Valle de Angeles (Valley of Angels). It was a quaint town, full of Honduran goods and sweet people. We found an organic pulperia (a small family-operated store), toured their mini museum, bought a couple souvenirs, and I ended the excursion with some disastrous food poisoning. Colin was a fantastic nurse. I was out the whole next day--even fainted on him again. But 24 hours later, good as new.

  

Above you see the collection of cell phones that I found in the museum. It was a strange museum--mostly photographs, strange collections of things (like pins and key chains), and some old random pieces of equipment. Worth $2? Sure!

One of my favorite little stops in this quiet town was the cultural arts center. There I found these lovely pieces that I thought my mom would appreciate. We're always on the lookout for realistic perspectives on the female body. This Honduran artist has got the right idea. Unfortunately, they weren't for sale.

  

A few other bits and pieces of my discoveries here in Tegucigalpa. I am a big fan of a fruit known as a leychee. Leychees (and I have no idea about the spelling) have a seed inside that has the texture of a grape and the sweetness of sugarcane. The only downside of a leychee is the pulp gets all stuck in your teeth.

But let's get talking about this past weekend's picnic. The church we've been visiting, Union Christian Church, had a picnic outside of town at a beautiful park. The park was up a mountain and tucked in the woods. There was a swimming pool, horseback riding, and picnic tables. When we got there, young boys were riding horses around everywhere. Soon we learned that they were from the Micah House Project in downtown Tegus. Colin and I have been wanting to get involved with this ministry since before we moved down here. And so they had joined up with the Union crew and picnicked with us. We played a fun game of futbol Americano--I actually caught a couple of throws. It rained the entire afternoon, but it felt wonderful. At the end of things, I colored with a sweet young boy named Manuel. He is part of a triplet, and he often is left in charge of his home when his single mother leaves the kids on their own. Many of the boys we met still struggle with addictions--a common addiction is glue. We had such a wonderful time playing with these kids. We're hoping to make more time for them in the coming months.

   

This couple (Becca and John) works full-time at the Micah Project. They are wonderful people--and she just happens to be a runner. Isn't that swell? Here's the link to the Micah House Project if you'd like to know more: The Micah Project

So, there you have it. A little bit of this and that is what's been keeping us going. God is graciously supplying all our needs. He continues to deepen our love for people and demonstrate his own for us.

And on that note, I think I'll get back to my kitchen and make some dinner--I'm thinking Indian food tonight. I wish Joseph Arockia were here to school me in the art, but I'll have to make do.

An Anniversary Moment

Today is a special day. September 28th marks the end of our second month in Honduras (feels like years). Hooray!



It also marks 3 months since Mel Zelaya took a forced vacation from office. Hooray!

To commemorate our special day, Mel has called for a renewed 'insurrection' and massive 'peace marches' in protest of the de facto government. Only in the mind of a (thankfully failed) dictator could the words 'insurrection' and 'peace march' go hand in hand...

Incidentally, in some sense, Elisa and I owe a debt of gratitude to Zelaya. He made it known that our school would NOT be a target for this peaceful insurrection...his granddaughter goes to school here. Gracias, Senor.

Three cheers for September 28th!

Our Publication's First Official Retraction

Okay, okay (Caitlin)...I take back what I said about
Brett Favre a few days ago:

'With very few exceptions, they (Hondurans) want to be rid of Mel like the NFL wants to be rid of Brett Favre.'



The old guy has still got it. What can I say?

Back of the endzone with 2 seconds left. Legendary stuff. But did you see Payton Manning's performance?

Waging war against democracy

This is the most concise analysis of what's going on that you'll hear. Please watch! If you are of a liberal persuasion, then close your eyes. What's interesting to us is, not so much Newt's condemnation of the Obama administration, as his assessment of the situation here in Honduras. It's spot on.

Life Goes On

They've lifted the curfew during the day and we're back at school. It's been very nice for everyone to have something to do. I think even the kids have been relieved. But we can still hear the choppers circling overhead...

It's all very surreal (that word is so overused) but human beings are very resilient and insist upon living life whenever and however they can.

The standoff continues at the Embassy. Zelaya's crazy talk grows even wackier as the days wear on. Yesterday he was insisting that the govt was pointing a radiation device at him (to be fair, there was a device...a noise machine). But my favorite one was there was a 'commando squad of Israeli mercenaries' preparing to storm the embassy and assassinate him. That, alas, had no truth to it. But at least we can dream (I shouldn't say that. Mel is one of God's precious creatures too).

Unfortunately, it doesn't look hopeful that this is winding down. Zelaya is calling for the 'resistance' to amp up its assault and Michelletti sounds like he's refusing to admit an OAS delegation. The stalemate continues. (We have learned that in Latin America, it is culturally very important to always 'save face' in any situation. Even when you come out on the losing side of things, you must save face and preserve your honor. Read between the lines.)

In spite of it all, tomorrow I'm going to watch football and go to a church picnic.

To quote the great Paul McCartney: 'O-bla-di, o-bla-da'...

If you're interested...

This article exposes some of the frustration we identify with concerning the world's response to the situation in Honduras.
Stop Bullying Honduras


This additional article is fairly balanced in its viewpoint--rare in media sources on this situation right now--which we find rather troubling...
Mel Zelaya's hurting his own cause

El Supermarcado

OH MY GOSH! I just experienced the craziest grocery run I have ever done in my life. It kind of reminded me of those game shows where you run into the grocery, grab whatever you can, and then run out! When we arrived (5 minutes after the curfew lifted..apparently the grocery store opened a little earlier because it was jammed packed), no carts or any carrying items were available. I forgot to bring bags to pack...so my arms were full of the first few vegetables I could find. I found sympathy with a couple of sweet Honduran English speaking gentlemen who let me lend their cart. Within moments, we were swamped with people pressing in, food falling all over the place, "permissio" being said everywhere, and our buggy getting trapped in aisles. And little miss "Got to try to get my list done" thought she really could do that for about 2 minutes....and then gave up. (Really, Elisa? I mean, really? Really?) I managed to grab several items of necessity, and all the while my new friends let me use their buggy. I told them I would be just a minute while I ran and found the almond supply. When I came back, I couldn't find them. However, I wasn't lost for long because "Jonathan" came and got me---they were at the front of the line PAYING! I couldn't believe it! The lines were already backed up to the back of the store...and these two guys scored front row seats in a matter of minutes. I was more than happy to join them. And by then, I got all that I could possibly get. So, in less than 20 minutes, I was through with the grocery shopping. Then, Brian (our friend from the school) helped me to the car, where we waited for another 2+ hours for the rest of our shopping crew to make it through the lines. Here are some pictures I snapped of the process. I saw lots of other folks getting their camera phones out--the whole experience was unbelievable!

 I think we have enough food to last for a good while....not fresh veggies necessarily, but at least some good stuff like almonds and tortilla chips and a couple of aquacates (avocados). Also, as a fun little note, as we waited for the gang, a SUV pulled up and an American man stepped out--he's a journalist who writes some for the BBC (Patrick Aenart?). He gave me a lift home because my caravan was still waiting for one more gal in line. He's our neighbor--and now a new friend. SO...there you have it. An unforgettable shopping experience.

 

In the middle of the aisles. People brought trash bags to pile in their groceries.

  

The line waiting outside to get into the supermarcodo. It stretched to the street. We luckily missed that line.

   You can see my sweet gentleman friend here at the counter checking to make sure my groceries were all accounted for. You can see the line all the way behind us.

Traffic was CRAZY. People parked everywhere they could find a spot. And the rest of the drivers had to find a way around them.

Toque de Queda: Day 3

The city was on lockdown for 42 hours but they've given us a short reprieve. From 10 to 4, the curfew is being lifted so that folks can go out and do their business. Our friends just came by in their SUV and picked Elisa up to make a run to the groceria. So, that was some much-needed good news. But the skeptic in me interprets that as meaning that another long haul is on the way: stock up because this could last a while...

The standoff at the Brazilian Embassy goes on. Mel and 100 of his staff, friends and family are holed up inside. President Michelletti has 'recommended' that Brazil either grant Zelaya full political refuge and fly him the heck out of the country, or they hand him over to Honduras to be tried for his crimes. Zelaya continues to wax poetic insisting that he has come back to receive 'homeland, restitution or death' and that the election in November must be 'for all the people.' Well, Mel, it is for all the people. All the people except for you...

The world media continues to botch their read on the situation. By and large, Mel has managed to cast himself as a martyr and a 'man of the people'. Of course, the democratic West eats that stuff up. I guess everyone has forgotten that power fiends from Stalin to Chavez have wielded the 'populist champion' mythology with great facility. Not many Hondurans are buying it anymore. With very few exceptions, they want to be rid of Mel like the NFL wants to be rid of Bret Favre.

To be fair, there were around 2,500 protestors out on the boulevard yesterday. Hardly, the 'thousands' that are being reported around the world by our media outlets, unfailing paragons of truth that they are. Another side of the story that isn't being told is that most of those folks know or care very little about the machinations of international realpolitik. They just know that they're poor and they're pissed off about it. Many of the stores and fast food places along the city's main arteries have been completely gutted by these Zelayistas. Their activities have very little to do with political passion. This has just become another opportunity to clean out the grocery store.

Maybe, I'm sounding cynical to you. I don't know. Maybe a bit of cabin fever is setting in. But I can tell you that Mel Zelaya's return is about one thing: Mel Zelaya. It's not about sovereignty or liberty or the populist will or the democratic process. It's all about Mel. And millions of people are getting sick of it.

It is, at once, an eerie and peaceful sensation to listen and look out over a silent city of almost 2 million people. We're ready to go back to the noisy pollution of a busy day. Today is the tenth unscheduled day of school that we've missed. But, we're getting ready to hunker down some more and see if we can outlast Zelaya in this game of chicken.

In the meantime, we'll try to get in a game of ultimate frisbee on the school soccer field...if we can by 4 o'clock.

Mel Is Back

Zelaya has returned. By crossing 'mountains and rivers' and 'overcoming 1000 obstacles', the former president somehow managed to sneak across from the Guatemalan border and slide into Tegucigalpa early this morning. He has taken refuge with his friends at the Brazilian Embassy and is now launching his campaign to return to power.

I think everyone was caught off guard. Rumors began circulating around lunchtime but no one believed them--not even current President Michelletti. None of us know very much right now. We are watching television and trolling the net but info is slow in coming.

The city is uncannily quiet. A four o'clock curfew has been put into effect. So far, school has only been pushed back to a late start tomorrow. We'll see.

All that probably sounds alarming to you but no one here seems to be too worried. We don't expect widespread violence of any kind. Probably just minor episodes. Elisa and I are very safe. We live in an almost serene neighborhood where we can see the whole city. She is cooking dinner for us right now and we expect to see normalcy return soon. So not to worry.

Do pray for peace in the city and country at large and pray for justice to be done.

I figured it would be best to let you guys know what we know, because there's no telling what will go out over the wires and pop up online. We'll get back to you soon.

My Itchy Finger

This is probably an inappropriate picture to post, but I thought a little dose of my reality right now would put some things in perspective. Amidst these past adventuresome months that we've been in Tegus, one thing has remained a part of my daily life that I've yet to mention: my itchy finger. It's a dermatitis problem that accompanies my Celiac disease, but it's been tamed in the past. Sometimes it dies down a bit for a while, but still remains a little red (promising reoccurence). I thought once our packages arrived I'd be able to douse my finger with the steroid cream I packed and all would be well. Unfortunately, I packed expired cream...and since I've used it, my finger has had its own volcano eruption (I've checked at the local pharmacy for a replacement and they didn't have the same cream---I'm working through an "allergy cream" made in Honduras at the moment). Why do I share this with you? Well, other than a bit of pity, I'm seeking itch therapies. Got any suggestions? I'm open for trying anything....I mean anything (short of chopping my finger off).

Rollin' Nica Style Part 1

Our adventure during the impromptu vacation time the school gave us was spent exploring the beautiful country of Nicaragua. We began in the capital city, Managua, where we got a friendly cab driver, Pedro, to take us through the crowded city towards the quaint town of Granada. From there, we met up with our traveling buddies and co-teachers, Mike and Mavis. We spent a couple of days in Granada at a hospedaje. For $15 a night, it was perfect! I took a picture of the lobby as we entered because I found the two pieces of art quite interesting--Jesus and Che Guevara....The town was full of life and culture. And the sunsets over the cathedrals added beauty to its charm.


From Granada, we took a 4 hour ferry ride to the much-acclaimed, but rugged island of Ometepe. This island was made from two different volcanoes exploding from the sea and developing a shallow valley in between them. We stayed at another hospedaje, Buena Vista, and enjoyed being "lulled to sleep by the waves lapping up against the shore" (as the Lonely Planet guide says). The island sits beside Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake (it seems like an ocean) in the country. There are even fresh water sharks that dwell in these waters--although we didn't see any! (whew!) We hiked through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall, La Cascada San Ramon, and found an amazing place to delight in a bit of paradise on earth. And it found us in perfect time because we were swimming in our own sweat. We've become accustomed to the nice temperatures of Tegus, and so these hot and humid days revealed our wimpy sides. 




Of course, you can't be around all these volcanoes without hiking one, right? So....we did! One of the two is active. We of course hiked the active one. The one pictured is actually not on the island, but outside of Granada. It's called Masaya. When we got to the top, we were speechless. The smoke from the volcano could be seen the whole way up. And the damage the volcano has caused was eye-opening. The mouth was covered in smoke, black pumus, and a sandy type soil. Then, we took a tour in an underground cave (is that an oxymoron?) formed by the volcano, home to many bats. It was the only time I saw my friend Mavis look a little ruffled. But anyway, at this cave, we were told that many people from the past had used it--from wars to idol worship. One historical fact we learned was that when the Spaniards came to conquer, they would use the indigenous people to go down in the volcano to bring back the gold--because the rocks formed by the volcano glinted in the sun, giving the appearance of these precious metals. Of course, hundreds if not thousands of the natives died. So, sometime later, a cross was erected atop this volcano to remember the lost due to the Spaniards greed and ignorance.


(The green reveals that this volcano is inactive)


(The lack of green or maybe the smoke reveals that this volcano is quite active)

 
There's nothing like a little warning about man-eating snakes before you go on a hike.


Mike and Mavis cheezing it up for the camera--by the way, the whole meal cost the four of us a total of $14.


'

When we returned from one of our day hikes, we found this incredible spring fed pool, Ojo de Agua. There, we swam, relaxed, ate banana chips and peanuts, and relished this small oasis. The picture reveals the aqua blue waters, which you can see to the very bottom without any problem. Colin is enjoying a refreshing dip.
We have more pictures coming...but this is an appetite-whetter I hope! We went further south from here (about 10 miles from Costa Rica--should have just jumped the border for a stamp the passport at least, but there's time for that I suppose) to the surfer beaches of San Juan del Sur. Our camera battery ran out (and I forgot the charger), so Mike will copy their pictures for me to share. We're back at home now, with a few more days of vacation to get our school work completed. It's nice to be back in our own bed...I'm getting soft in my old age. And it's nice to have only dogs to listen to at night, not roosters (those birds start practicing their "cock-a-doodle-doo" at one in the morning). Air conditioner rocks as well. So does having my own kitchen...but vacations are nice.

--Elisa (on Colin's account, since he had the wonderful patience to post all the pictures!)

first a coup, then the flu...

so, we knew that something was going to go down when they showed up wearing lab gloves and face masks.

yesterday an entourage of WHO and Ministry of Health officials descended upon our campus. we weren't too surprised because we knew that there had been a confirmed case of swine flu somewhere in the school (here they call it 'la gripe porcine'). rumors were flying, of course, and we did not take it as a good sign that the door to the principal's office stayed closed for 2 hours with the entourage on the other side. at the end of the day, it was announced that we were shutting down for ten days and, as we had a regularly scheduled long weekend coming up anyway, we wouldn't be back in school for 2 weeks.

as a concerned teacher, i am slightly distressed. how am i going to get my seniors prepared for their IB exams? when are we going to make this up? are we going to be in school until next July?

but as a concerned human being, i am borderline ecstatic. we have 2 weeks of vacation! so Elisa and I are hopping on a coachline tomorrow morning with a couple of our world-traveling Canadian buddies and heading to beautiful Nicaragua (and beyond?). 

apparently Nicaragua has volcanic lakes and black sand beaches and fresh-water tiger sharks and other exotic things of that nature. i'm sure it will be a highly edifying experience. perhaps, we'll amble on to Costa Rica. who knows?

so, this might be our last post for a week or so. no doubt we will have many beautiful pictures and madcap tales to share with you when we return...

three cheers for swine flu!

Christmas in September

Three months ago we sent 8 boxes of our housing goodies to Honduras...We just received them yesterday! It was a SUPER exciting day! I now have all my kitchen necessities (a whole real set of silverware, my salad spinner, good knives, and of course my Indian spice collection from our dear friend Joseph Arockia). Not to mention WAY too many clothes and shoes (but there was a certain homey smell that accompanied them). Our friend, Eric, organized a brigade of about 7 maintenance men from the school to bring our load of rough looking boxes to our apartments. We rushed home yesterday to greet our dearly desired stuff. Of course, now we have a few doubles of things, but hey! Our stuff is HERE! And besides baking powder (why did I think they wouldn't have that down here?) coating all of our stuff in one box, nothing was broken (happy sigh). We packed a few things too many--and so we're having a party at our place this weekend where all the newbies on staff will bring an "white elephant" gift from their boxes to share. I'm sure someone's going to enjoy receiving a few magnets and our Big Lebowski costers. :) However, I wish I'd packed hangers. I threw away so many when we were moving from St. Louis...not to mention the other things we got rid of that I'd like to have about now. But hey...it's takes time to make a home, right? And in just a week and a half we're heading on our first vacation--to La Ceiba! I actually reserved our hotel rooms in Spanish two nights ago. That was quite an experience. I'm enjoying using the necessary phrase: "Despacio, por favor!" (slower, please!). So...here are the pictures of our Christmas! "God bless us, everyone..."