Princesa

There is a new addition to our family. She is small and loud and she arrived last week.   Yes, we have a new pet—a chicken named Princesa.  She is not a particularly special or cute chicken…  she looks to me like any of the ones on the street.  Somebody apparently gave the chicken to Allison (who is 7 months old) as a gift.  I have never heard of someone giving a baby a pet chicken as a gift before, but then again there are a lot of things that happen here that I would never expect.  Like going a month without getting new water, eating cow intestine soup, or having kids come to the library begging for me to let them do math.  When we first got Princesa, I was not her biggest fan.  All she did was walk around the house, poop on the floor, and scare me periodically.  The other day I was walking upstairs to my room, in the dark, and she must have been perched on the railing of the stairs because she flew practically into my face.  Of course I screamed, which made my whole family run over and start laughing, and my little brother Paolo (who is 6) announced, “Women are like birds: they scare really easily.”  I still don’t know where he got that line.  I am slowly warming up to her though, and she seems to be making an effort to be nicer to me.  If there’s one thing I have come to expect here, it’s that my days will not be predictable. 

On a sadder note, two of my Danish friends are going home today.  Marie and Anne have lived here since around the time I got here, and I am thankful to have gotten to know them over the past few months.  I don’t have a whole lot of friends in Honduras, and now I will have two less.  I am happy for them to be able to go home to “the happiest people on earth” though. :)   And I know that more volunteers will always come, so I have that to look forward to. 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who has been sending me snail mail!!  It’s always such a good feeling to know that people are thinking of and praying for me, and to hear an update on your lives.   So THANK YOU, I really appreciate it!

Two weeks ago I was in Guatemala for a Central American MCC retreat.  I had an amazing time there, seeing old friends and making new ones, as well as learning a little about the Guatemalan culture.   At the end of the week we had a talent show, and our Honduras team sang two songs—one was a song about Honduras by Polache.  The other was a rendition of My Favorite Things, where we made the words fit to our lives in Honduras.   Here are the lyrics we came up with, if you are interested:

Mountains and beaches and Copan Ruinas

ceramica Lenca, aves y leechas

gente amable que nos da amor,

this is what I came to Honduras for.

Pineapple, mango and fresh avocados

frijoles, chuletas y ricos licuados

baleadas abundan a diez lempiras

estas son mis cosas favoritas

Se fue la luz-- no viene el agua

vienen ladrones ya!

I simply remember my favorite things

and they I don't feel "tan mal"

¿Que onda loco?  -- Todo masizo!

Que barbaridad que no tengo pisto.

Pucha, que basura, vaya pues, cheke leke,

these are a few things catrachos say.

MCM y Proyecto MAMA

donde trabajo cada mañana 

ASJ, CODESO, ACDIM…

partners are some of my favorite things.

Huracanes,  inundaciones

team Giardia,

I simply remember my favorite things 

and then I don't feel "tan mal"