March 6, 2011
Sunday
At the beginning of the year I made a goal to get out of the
Casco Urbano (main part of town) more.
So, today I took off to La Manzanilla, an aldea about an hour outside of
town (walking), or 20 minutes outside of town (biking). There’s a great little family there that I
have become friends with on my runs and bike rides and I haven’t seen them for
a while. I strapped on my safety helmet,
which I think is cool, but everyone else in Honduras just makes fun of, and set
off for my bike ride through the mountains.
Once I landed in La Manzanilla, lots of little children were soon
running up to me shouting “Jenifer, Jenifer!”
As soon as I pulled up, the whole village was rushing out to meet me and
the family welcomed me into their casa with hugs and kisses.
 |
| What is a PEZ exactly? |
The house is very small; in fact, I’m sure that most people
back in the states would be shocked at the size and probably have bathrooms or garages bigger than their house, which is
home to five people, a cat and lots of chickens running around. But, it is such a loving house and I am so
happy to spend the day with them. In the
corner is one of the stoves I am working to change, so the smoke billows all
around as the mom makes a big batch of tortillas. The little girl, Mariella, jumps up and down
with excitement to see me, but her mom says that she must run the tortilla mix
down to another house before visiting.
It will be an hour before she heads there and back (she ends up running
all the way there and back with a big pailla of tortilla mix in 30
minutes). So, I sit down and start
visiting with everyone until then. When
Mariella makes it back I share some games with them that Aunt Donna sent me….a
puzzle and some Pez candy. They think it
is so cool that the candy shoots out of the snowman’s mouth (yet find my
Android not the slightly bit fascinating), then we work on what is the world’s
most challenging puzzle for two hours.
There are at least seven kids all with one square trying to mix flying
pigs together on a dirt floor, while shouting “No esta correcto!” As the mom continues to make tortillas she
looks pleased that I have kept them occupied and out of her hair for so
long. Then, I pull another card trick
(literally) out of my bag as I brought a “matching” game with me; the kind
where they have to match apples, boats, butterflies with the other cards, you
get the idea. So, half the kids leave
the flying pigs and take over to make apples to apples and ice cream to ice
cream. But, they don’t exactly have the
patience for me to flip the cards over and end up tackling each other and
chickens fly past me so that they can find the matching card first. Smart children they are; imagine if I had
prizes.
 |
| The world's most difici "Rompecabezas!" (that means puzzle!) |
A few hours later I am handed a plate full of tortillas,
eggs and tomatoes. The mom apologizes to
me that they have no beans or rice, only eggs.
I tell her that this is bastante.
I feel bad, because I know someone is going without food and they
searched for eggs to give me. It is a
welcoming feel to be in their house. As
I eat, Carlito (the brother) continues to work on the puzzle. He tells me he will find the end to it. I read the instructions and it actually says
“the world’s most challenging puzzle.”
We do have two years to find the solution.
 |
| The "waterfalls" in the background and the cocodrilo is to the left of the boys (before we discovered it) |
Next, the kids tell me they want to show me the river. Every time I see them they tell me about
“their” river, which is in fact the Choluteca River. The one that killed 14,000 people during
Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and the one that I fear will kill more people during
the next big disaster. My friends live
less than 200 feet from the river so any flood will no doubt take out their
little house. The girls lead me down a
dirt path, past cows and dogs and to the rocks of the riverbed. They strip down to their panties, just like
my cousins and I did when we were little.
I didn’t bring my bathing suit today, so it’s just my yoga pants and
sports bra, then the girls toss me in the river…I have no idea how deep it is,
but the current is pretty strong, even for a strong swimmer like myself. I hurry back to the side and ask “Are there
snakes in here?” I need to know. The kids tell me no, but I’m not so
sure. The kids beg me to swim to the
other side and I’m scared as hell. I’m
still pretty sure there are snakes waiting to get me, plus what is on the other
side? The boys take off and the girls
cheer me on. The gringa can not be
scared, so off I go. I’m pretty sure I am
going to die today, but I make it across and then they say “Come back, come
back!” I didn’t know I was in a race
today! I make it back across and they
grab my arm to take me down to the “waterfalls.” The kids run on the rocks like it’s sand on
Del Mar Beach and I slip and slide like I might break my ankle. “Come Jenifer, come” they shout! Finally, I make it, and it is beautiful and
they push me….soon I am flying down the waterfall and the rocks and hitting
them here and there and figure out just going down on your butt is the best
device before I’m floating along and enjoying the ride.
When all of the sudden….Mariella yells “Jenifer, Jenifer…es
un cocodrilo!” In case your Spanish
sucks, this means “Jen, it’s a crocodile!”
WTF, I asked if there were snakes in here, that means you also tell me
if there are crocodiles! I halt my
swimming ASAP, as do the boys and I say “What!!!!” Then, we swim to the side where my heart
attack subsides and I reaffirm what a cocodrilo is; the kids make little hissing
noises with their fingers coiled, so I think maybe it’s a large boa and I’ve
heard them wrong. Whatever, I take off
walking on the rocks, which are now like hot coals, until we jump in 30 feet
down the river because the kids say “It is safe.” I hate to break their hearts, but I’ve seen
Animal Planet and crocs can swim 30 feet and still kill you. I jump in, swim as fast as I’ve ever done,
jump out, put on my Chaco’s and tell them time is up at the river for today. They want to know when I’m coming back; will
I come back next Sunday? For some reason
I say yes. I just haven’t had enough
crazy in my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment