The Word

There always seems to be a word in a language that is hard for foreigners to say, but the locals relentlessly persuade you to attempt it over and over. They all seem to know the word, and all act like it’s the easiest thing to say in the language. In Spanish the word is otorrinolaringólogo. Yes, that is a word- it means nose doctor. I can now do a simi- decent attempt on the word but still far from perfect. I have racked my mind for a while now but finally come up with a word that seems about as difficult for them to say (I am kinda of proud of myself ) The word? Worcestershire sauce. Yeah, yeah I know technically two words but it is hard to compete with a language where electrodomesticos (domestic electronics) is one word. So next time someone prods me on to say otorrinolaringólogo, I will- and then ask them to say Worcestershire sauce.

My Food Obsessions

With every country comes food obsessions, these are mine.

Tajaditas -- Fried plantains, covered with shredded cabbage, a bit of feta like cheese on top, and a spicy red sauce poured on top.
Balladas -- A flour tortilla with refried red beans, a slab of a cream cheese like butter, and a sprinkle of white salty cheese.
Papusas – Two thick tortillas with cheese melted inside of them with a side of pickled onion, cabbage, jalapeño, and carrots.
Catrachas – A hard flat corn tortilla with a scoop of refried red beans on top a sprinkling of salty white cheese and a piece of avocado.

The Neighbor

Across the street from the store there is a plethora of little stores. English has no names for these stores, in Spanish there are pulperías, or bodeguitas, in Nepali they are pasals. No matter the language they are a sort of hole in the wall, or a tin roof with supports to hold it up and the size of a closet store. These stores are the economy, how people make money, and where most people spend their money.
In one of these stores there in an older man that likes to drink, the time of the day is no factor to when he drinks, because he drinks all day. Another thing this man likes is singing, and ´lucky´ for us he has a microphone and a speaker to make his singing heard for all those passing by. While I am sure that you can figure out from me writing this that his voice is painful awful he also has a few assets to contribute to this awfulness. One- he only has one CD for his karaoke singing and this CD has four songs on it, and he sing for hours. Two- he likes to drink, and as the day progress he drinks more and with that he forgets the words of the songs and ends up humming along. Third- and final, his store is directly across the street from the store and the speaker is consequently directly facing the entrance of the store, call it a free live concert.
So on Saturday afternoon when you think, man I wish I could be somewhere else in the world, I have a few easy steps to make you feel like you are, right in your house!
1. Turn on your heater I would say to 95
2. Have a friend that sings awful put on some ranchero music, and sing along as loud as they can. (it´s okay if they don’t speak Spanish, just pretend)
4. Invite of a few friends tell them just to stare at you and if you are female have one or two of them hit on you, if you are male have a few female friends dress as sluty as possible (think no shirt is too small and more cleavage is ALWAYS better) have these girls smile at you and you can pick and choose which one to pick up.
5. To be fair, have one friend sell mangos for a few cents for a sliced mango.

Enjoy for as long as you need.

Hot Dog

It´s hot now, I mean the tropical too much humidity sit and you sweat hot. This hotness somehow also correlates with no electricity at night which is really, well , awful. It comes down to two options at night- one open the window and get bit by hungry mosquito's or two- have the window shut and attempt to sleep in a puddle of sweat. I might note that option one only helps a wee wee fraction. I now however have the highest respect for the inventor of the air conditioner, but have a high level of destine for the electric company here.

Even our dog Castro is miserable at night as the photo shows all he wants to do it sleep, because he is tired from not being able to sleep because its too hot!

I may need to break out my bike soon..

Today is the first time I have witnessed a fuel shortage. It seems Honduras does not have diesel, and seeing how the majority of the car and trucks run on diesel it is pretty big problem. My mother-in-law´s husband stood in line for three hours to get diesel today, and this was in Juticalpa... I cant imagine the capital. The kinda funny part about this is that Honduras had a law about three weeks ago that made all cars and trucks with more than two doors to have a rest day one day a week, and if caught driving on that day you would get a ticket
This law was voted down after they had already sent out the stickers to put in your car to show which day you were not drive on- and was in place for a day or so. Go figure, a law that could have helped the shortage was voted down.
While the prices of gas and diesel might be high elsewhere in the world, at least you have it.

Mangos

I think perhaps because I grew up in Oregon I never really had a mango. I mean sure, I had those dried sweetened beyond belief mangos, or the grocery variety pick green and therefor rather pine tasting, but not a real mango. Not until of course until I traveled, where tropical fruits became well, just fruits. Esposo's grandpa brings me one everyday picked right from the tree, front door service. Rather amazing really, the odd part of this though is that most people here seem to prefer other fruits to mangos, or unripe mangos with chili. None the less I am enjoying my mango days even though I think I am allergic to them (oh well).

My karma

They tell me in happiness, they tell me in wish fullness, they tell me of the past, and they tell me of the future. They tell me about the USA. Its an odd feeling, they tell me they are going to the States, and by going I mean to live. How should I feel? They are going there to work and have a better life. Many will come back, some will stay. With the money they will build a house in Honduras, they will start a buisness and live a better life. Should I feel upset? They will be paid under the table if they are only there for a few years not paying taxes, they will be living in fear that they will be deported they whole time. They will be robbed, and they wont report it, they will be sick and work, they will do anything for that money. Do they deserve it? They go because there country is poor, they work Monday through Saturday from seven thirty in the morning to seven at night and get paid $200.00 a month, if they are lucky.
They are going to my country illegally through Mexico or by flying with a tourist with no plans on returning after that 6 month. How do you decided who is deserving? Is they family that flew there because the Dad stole large sums of money from the back deserving? Is the family with two kids and a working mom deserving? or perhaps is the Mom who has a job, an infant daughter, and a husband that is willing to leave it all? Who decidides? I dont want to.
By karma or their parents choices or what ever you happen to belive they where born at a time when there country was at its lowest economic state, and by good karma, or my parents decisions I was born into a country which happened to be economiclly powerful. Should I hold this against them, or should they hold it against me?