Ya Gotta Have Friends....

Every once in a while, a person comes briefly into your life and they change your whole outlook on life. This woman inspires me to laugh and love.

Here is her latest email from Honduras where she works in the Peace Corps. Quite a gal. Interesting read.

Hey Guys,

Hmm. Let’s see here. Last month, we were “in feria.” To be “in feria,” one must embrace the oddities and bizarre rituals that the San Marcos fair has to offer. This includes but is not limited to: watching bulls gore soccer players in an attempt to be the last man standing (read: alive), betting on cock fights with tio Olman (Olman's uncle), riding the extremely questionable fair rides (imagine all of the ones from the States that were banned in the 70s and then add 40 years of wear and tear without proper maintenance), and, of course, bumping and grinding your way through the streets during “carnaval” the “dancing extravaganza” that is San Marcos. . .

My favorite, by far, was watching fellow volunteer, Gabe, attempt to get his “groove thing on” during carnaval. I think that Olman and I have never laughed so hard before in our lives. You see, Gabe is a gangly gringo that has absolutely NO rhythm whatsoever (fact). In this very “macho” Honduran culture, Gabe is frequently seen sporting a women's, over-sized straw gardening hat. . . ENuf said. Anyway, Olman’s sister Silgian took pity upon Gabe and danced with him for nearly 20 minutes. (She later tells me that he confessed that he only knows how to dance to (brace yourself here) rap music!?!) After that, Gabe braved the streets in search of new dance partners. It was fabulous because most of the girls took one look at him and thought “oooohhhhh, he‚s got dollar$!!!” Poor Gabe only lasted one song max with each of his Honduran partners. . . Thank goodness money isn’t everything!

Right. This month's theme is “Stupid Things To Do When Bored.”
1. Hitch Hike. On the whole, flagging down a ride with someone is not so dim-witted in my area it's actually quite economic and MUCH faster than the bus (sure nearly every driver has a can of beer wedged in between his crotch alongside his .22 but who's to judge?). It's just when they stop to give you a lift and FAIL to mention the vital little piece of information that they're going to be filling the truckbed with firewood that irks me.
Now, instead of being the cream filling of an “Annie Oreo” in the cabin (drunk Honduran male + Annie + drunk Honduran male), I decide to take my chances on the tailgate. Can we say “stupid?!” Needless to say, I STILL have bruises in VERY unfortunate places (making it extremely difficult to sit down without wincing) and falling from a moving vehicle definitely puts me in that “clumsy” category that borders on “crazy.”
2. Vaccinate Rabid Dogs. This month was “vaccinate your mangy mutt” here in San Marcos and the surrounding communities. I have been lending my highly unqualified and somewhat sketchy services to the cause and, thus far, have miraculously managed to remain “bite-free” despite the fact that my partner in crime “Tigre” had a substantial junk of meat taken off his calf just the other day. . .

3. Collect random things. Yuki and I have a new pet - his name is “Sal” (Salt) and he's a 6‚" long black slug that lives in our kitchen making frequent excursions to the pila and living room. Every day is a new adventure with Sal because you never know where you‚re going to find him ˆ in the door jam, on the counter next to the fruit bowl‚ from your big toe, etc.

4. Write your own Musical. Yuki and I have recently discovered new and rather odd ways to entertain ourselves in our spare time. . . It all began with the release of RENT on HBO. I explained to Yuki one night that musicals are complete crap because NOBODY in real life bursts out into song at every emotional turning point. She laughed at my obvious insensitivity to the “arts” and then it just became like second nature to burst into song to say “goodnight” or “dinner‚s ready” or “have a good day!” Our choreography is getting pretty good ˆ I'd say we'll be ready for Broadway in a couple more months. . .

6. Cross a river after Hurricane Felix. . . Sure, it was only considered a “tropical storm” by the time it reached my town but one must use their “better” judgment when attempting to brave “makeshift” bridges of log and cable haphazardly intertwined. . . About midway through, Junior and Alexander (my tag-along buddies) decided that they couldn’t stand it anymore, and started crossing from the other bank. That would be mistake #1 excessive weight. The second problem was that my tennis shoes have lost all traction and fall into the category of SUPER SLIPPERY when wet. Anyway, to make a long story short, the wee little sticks could not support our weight and gave way. For some bizarre reason, I made the split decision that if I chucked my camera away from me (we’re talking spiral football throw here), I could magically rebalance my weight on the cable and save myself from drowning. . . Obviously, I was wrong. . . Anyway, by the time Junior found the camera, it had snails growing on it and I was so far downstream at this point, I didn’t really care. I hoisted myself up on the bank with the aid of what can only be described as Honduras version of poison ivy and have been suffering the consequences ever since!!! Needless to say, I will not be crossing rivers for a while nor sending pictures!
(Thus, you should cherish the pics in the attachment all the more!!!)

So that’s it for now - just wanted to mention that I am NOT working for the NGO “Bridge of Peace” anymore as they have unfortunately decided to shift their focus from the students in the rural school system to the district administrators and employees. However, I am joining forces with a new NGO called Enrich the World to continue working in the schools.

Ok. Better run. My crazy neighbor Paco (who suffers from dementia) is screaming at me from the internet window as I believe he is lost (he lives 2 blocks away) and appears to be sporting only his tighty whities. . . I just keep telling myself that I am a master at crowd control.
Later Taters,
Annie (former Hospice Patient Care Volunteer)