Neighborhood Celebrities
Our internet was out at the apartment yesterday, or else I would've posted here then. I'll fill you guys in on what we've been doing for the past few days. Yesterday, I went to the Villa in the morning and worked on a poster for the English class. It was really difficult to work on the floor of one of the new houses because they’re made of cement and although they’re flat, they’re covered in dirt and ants. In the afternoon, we did surveys and I was feeling kind of sick so I opted to either write or observe. I didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. I went to the mall to eat Pizza Hut for dinner. Never have I wanted pizza so bad and never has it tasted so good after a long day. Without internet to amuse me, I fell asleep pretty early and got a good night’s rest. The sun rises here so early that it’s kind of disorienting. I don’t have an alarm clock here and depend on others to wake me up, so when the sun’s up, I’m constantly worrying that they forgot me.
Today was a nice, fulfilling day. In the morning, I walked to the centro with Sam, Michelle, Rob, and Rodrigo. We got breakfast at a little shack near our house (“Comidas Rapidas”), a place that had breakfast baleadas for 8 lempiras (less than 50 cents.) We went to the center plaza and looked around at the little stalls. The guys bought three machetes in different sizes, and I bought a souvenir for Fiona. (Fi, if you’re reading this, you will be very pleased.) We then hopped in a cab with Nando, a trusted SHH taxi driver, and he drove us directly to Las Brisas. We spent the afternoon doing surveys and playing with kids in the streets. These kids treated us like celebrities. No gringos ever walk around their neighborhood, so they kind of idolized us. Hopefully their parents like us too.
I got to have a nice long conversation with Yolanda on the bus today. She’s about 25 years old and a single mother of 3. Earlier this week, I bought a picture frame from her as part of the La Ceiba Microfinance Program. About two years ago, we instructed the community in how to make little wallets made of scraps of trash- potato chip bags and the wrappers that go around 2 liter bottles of soda. They are weaved in a meticulous process that she showed me today, and some of them sell for as much as $20 US. At the beginning, the whole process took one week to yield one small wallet, but now she can produce one in a long day. The idea to take the same strategy and make a picture frame was her own idea. She has one glossy print of her children that she uses to advertise the frames. During the days that she doesn’t work at Villa, Yolanda works other jobs to support her children. I told her what a good mother she is.
