Holllllllllaaaaa!!!!!!!!1

Blog
From: Jessica
June 25, 2008

There are things that I eat here in Honduras that I am not sure I have ever eaten or would eat at home.

§ Chicharron – I am not quite sure what this is (I think maybe fried pig skin?), but I like it. It is deep fried, the bag it comes in is greasy, and it costs only 1 Lempira (that’s right – a nickel). Plus, it comes with a little packet of hot sauce that is not too hot. Note: I only like the Chicharron found in the pulperias here in Colomoncagua. Street chicharron is not okay by me.

§ Tortillas con quesillo – Two deeeeeep fried corn tortillas with this white (kind of like mozzarella) cheese in the middle, watered down sweetened ketchup on top, and some powdered white cheese. Yum! I eat this at least twice a week!

§ Fried bologna – for dinner. This is not a favorite of mine, but when people are giving you dinner – you eat it! Usually, I have to hide this in my napkin to then give to a dog, but the other day we had some made crispy…and I actually liked it.

§ Sopa de frijol – Bean soup, but not the kind of bean soup you are thinking. Bean soup as in either a: open a can of kidney or black beans and eat it with that weird syrup, or b: make beans and eat them with the water.

§ Chicken Salad Sandwich – again, not what you’re thinking. This is made with two maybe three teeny tiny pieces of shredded chicken, the whitest white bread available, and a ‘sanweech’ spread consisting of what I think is mayonnaise, ketchup, onions, mustard, and sugar.

Some of these things I LOVE, ie the Chicharron, and others I do not really like! There are also some food items (a lot actually) that I really miss: 2% milk (not this long life whole milk), real butter, real maple syrup, being able to choose what pieces of chicken you want (the chicken comes frozen in a one pound bag – you have no clue what you are getting), and many many other things. I am not really sure how I am surviving without real butter considering I would eat an entire stick with three pieces of toast.

Now a brief update! I am not sure if we told you about Sandra. She is a young woman (21 years) here in our site. She recently won a scholarship to study in the US for two years. Originally, we thought she would be studying at Georgetown or somewhere in DC because the scholarship is through Georgetown University. She found out last month that she is actually going to Mt. Hood Community College in Portland, Oregon. There are 19 other scholarship winners from Central and South America going with her to the US (only 3 or 4 are going to Oregon with her). Her first year she lives with a host family and takes English courses as well as regular college courses. Her second year she is able to live with friends. We have been getting to know her because she came to us for some English classes. She is a really wonderful young woman, bright, funny, and always in a great mood. She is really a perfect candidate and will come back to Honduras to help her fellow Catrachos (nick name for Hondurans, they think it is funny when we refer to them as it). I, however, am incredibly sad that she is leaving. We have become very good friends and I will miss her friendship, company, and insight on Honduran ways. She leaves August 8th for the United States…only one more month for her here in Honduras. Yeah for her, boo hoo for me.

Other goings on: Maya ate Brian’s cell phone charger (about three months ago she ate the keypad off his cell phone), our refrigerator is broken and is now growing mold, we taught a lady how to use a camcorder her son sent her from the US without directions (don’t most electronics these days come with directions in Spanish, let alone directions?), we have a new internet place in town (not quite sure how well it works), Brian and I each have about ONE MILLION mosquito bites and counting (I seriously look like I have chicken pox, my neighbor screamed when she saw my legs), and La Esperanza might get a Dominos Pizza and a Dunken Doughnuts! I have also decided that Honduras in rainy season is one giant mold experiment – mold on clothes, on shoes, on wooden spoons, in the fridge, in books, on money, and probably on me, too.

July 11 is our 1 year anniversary of being in Honduras. I can hardly believe it – I am not sure if I can’t believe that one year has already passed or that only one year has passed!! We have 15 more months here in Honduras. In six months we will be home for the holidays – yippee! Maya is pretty excited to be moving to the States – she gets a flea and tick free life as well as a delicious assortment of doggy treats. Hopefully getting her home won’t be too difficult. As one volunteer said, “it was easier to get my Honduran husband home to the US than my Honduran dog.” Hmmm.