Another New Perspective of Honduras
Every time I take a new mode of transportation in Honduras, I see life here through a new perspective. Normally, when we ride in one of the SHH vehicles, travel goes relatively smooth. When we take the chicken bus, we're incredibly attentive so we don't miss our stop or have any of our belongings misplaced. When riding in the back of the pickup, I see people selling fruit, walking here and there, and the sunset much more vividly than through the tinted windows of our vehicles. Today, however, we walked to the Centro to meet up with the new group of volunteers that is here, and as we did, I saw another view of Honduras.
In most parts of Latin America, Sunday is a day of rest and all of the shops are closed, but not in Honduras. Sunday is the day for going to church, grocery shopping, driving around pickups with loud speakers in the bed of the truck, playing meringue music in the central park, and selling food all along the streets of Progreso. As we began our 10 minute walk from our apartment to the Centro/market we had to avoid huge mud puddles from the previous night’s rain, dodge the oncoming cars and bicyclists, ignore the numerous "gringo calls," and run across the streets so as not to get hit by the crazy taxi drivers. What a rush of adrenaline, almost as good as a cup of Honduran coffee. Once we were in the Centro we split into teams to go grocery shopping for the families of Siete de Abril. I tagged along to translate as our new team learned how to ask for arroz (rice), frijoles (beans), and cuanto cuesta? (how much is it?). It was so interesting for me to observe my group’s enthusiasm and curiosity with their new surroundings. It was also refreshing because it reminded me of my thoughts the first time I visited the Centro/market in Progreso.
After making our purchases and trying some interesting fruit (liches from a nearby stand, we regrouped, and headed to lunch at Pollo y Mas restaurant. Evidently, this restaurant is one of Progreso’s best because the president of Honduras ate there yesterday. Once we finished eating, we went to Siete de Abril to pass out the groceries we had purchased. While in Siete, the group, members learned how to make tortillas by hand. I took notes once more as I still have not perfected this art. The ones I make are nice and flat, but always seem to break when I put them on the stove top. I feel as though today’s view of Honduras via walking the streets of Progreso, the market, and Siete have added to the meaning I have for being here and the opportunities I have been blessed to experience.
