I Hope in Honduras: March 24, 2009

Helloooo, Ojo! That's right. Welcome to Ojojona; a colonial town of about 6,000 people, many of whom specialize in the finer crafts such as pottery, ceramics, and the like; these persons are known as artesaneos. Since we arrived on Sunday afternoon, we have all fallen in love with this rustic little town and its humble big-hearted inhabitants.

Catholic church in Ojo

Jello Ojo: Kyle, Katie, David, José, and Bryan

Let the games begin: Ashley, Liz, and Me

I personally have been placed with a lovely host family that has two sons, or varones, and one daughter. The nine-year old boy and eleven-year old girl are pretty shy but very polite. The five-year old is a bit more talkative and as curious as can be. (For example, I just had a spectator for a session with my electric toothbrush. The boy was seriously enchanted and did not leave until I had finished spitting out my last drop of mouthwash. Next time I am gonna charge him for making me awkwardly stand by the pila while I cleansed my palette.) The mother is a total sweetheart (only four years older than me...I cannot imagine myself with four kids already...I think I should start working on the other half of the kid equation before I worry about young-ins if you get my drift) and quite a trooper taking care of the family with another baby due in June. The father also seems to be quite caring of each member of the family and spends almost all of his time giving mass in the Evangelical church, in the homes of those that cannot attend, and in the outlying aldeas of Ojojona. He also owns an artesaneo shop that has been in his family for years. I am the first aspirante that the family has ever had, but even without prior experience they are treating this girl (alright, woman) right. They continue to tell me that I am part of the family and that they want me to feel at home. They are completely accommodating to my morning and afternoon exercises, to my preference for a warm water shower, and to my desire to lessen the amount of sugar, azucar, and sour cream, mantequilla, in my meals. The meals (....well) are definitely proving to be plato tipico if nothing else. My breakfast and dinners have consisted of red beans (whole or mashed), white cheese (queso or quesillo, hard to explain but I'm sure Google can), chicken eggs (scrambled, fried, or sunny-side up), meat (chorizo, sausage links, or salami), and the infamous tortillas (of course, made with harina de maíz). The lunches are a nice change normally consisting of a type of meat, rice with peppers, and a vegetable of some sort. It seems I am on my own to get all of my fruit needs filled, however. (What’s a girl gotta do for an apple!)

Bed #2

Room #2

This is where the magic happens

Training here has also been going well. We are getting into the technical side of things (finally) and working intently on improving our Spanish. About half of each day is dedicated to each type of training. I am getting to know my Biz homies better and completely loving it. We have our own characters in the group but seem to be meshing well. Already we have had volleyball and indoor soccer games, enjoyed chocolate covered bananas together, and have a sweet barbeque planned for the weekend. On that note, I am off to (hopefully) dream about the good old days of summer in the city...oh how I miss SF.