Yesterday was the official swear in ceremony for Honduras 17 training class! I am proud to say that of the 57 people who arrived to serve on June 23rd, 57 people were sworn in by the ambassador.
I am very excited to be headed out to my site very soon! I will be in the Western part of Honduras in an area that relies heavily on coffee production. I am very excited to share more with you as I learn more and more about my community and my work.
As far as the past couple of weeks go, things have been really hectic here. With training wrapping up, moving from family to family, lugging around my life in a couple suitcases, and drinking vast amounts of coffee to stay awake when training sessions got long, I am pooped! Needless to say, I appreciate all of the cards, e-mails, texts, etc. that people from home have sent me! I know how busy you all are and it means a lot to hear from you all.
Here’s a little top ten list of things to see at the San Isidro Market in the capital of Honduras:
1. the people…thousands of them. Everyone is running or pushing in a different direction and they all have things to do and cositas to buy, so get out of their way
2. the assortment of pets available for purchase…most of the more illegal animals are hidden towards the center of the market (think exotic birds and insects)
3. speaking of insects, the huge cockroaches that run around and make the hair on the back of my neck stand up
4. the evangelicals with excessively loud sound systems proselytizing all the buyers and sellers of the market
5. stalls and stalls of underwear and bras. lots of them are fake calvin klein and [insert random female name]‘s secret. but they are all granny panties.
6. large slabs of beef. i mean, very very large. bigger than the last christms tree that my family purchased.
7. bolos (drunks). sadly, there are lots of drunks in and around the market. some of them are stumbling, some are selling, and some are just passed out in the street.
8. big vats of soup. i am convinced that these pots are big enough to feed at least the entire Chicago Bears’ roster.there is sopa marinera (seafood) with lobsters hanging out of the pot, sopa de res (beeeeeef soup), and of course, sopa de gallina (chicken soup…the feet are a particularly desired part of the soup)
9. taxis. taxis in tegucigalpa are intense. they rarely stop (even when people are getting in or out) and they are constantly honking.
10. so many fruits and vegetables. i don’t know who consumes all of these products but there are hundreds of thousands of pounds of fruits and veggies.
And that is the market in a nutshell! Come and visit, it is quite the experience.
eat a peach.
carlita
Carly,
You do a wonderful job of explaining what Hondorus is like. I was just thinking of you the other day, when I saw your Dad, and wondered when you would be writing again in this blog. I hope things slow down a bit for you, it is hard carrying your life around in suitcases. The Fall weather is coming now to Wheaton. Think Indian Summer though. Hondorus, must still be pretty hot at this time of the year.
Fondly,
Mrs. Ross
Dear Carly, so glad that you are now an official PC member. You are a
wonderful writer-can almost see what you are talking about! I will have
to check my coffee and see if comes from H. With all that you are doing
you are an inspiration to me to get on the ball. I hope you will be in a
cooler climate soon if not now. Do continue to have good times and we
love to read your account of your activites. Love, G’ma S and G’pa L
Hi Carly, I went to the store and came home with some bananas, as I was putting them away I started to read the Dole label, guess what? They are from your place!! Now I’ll enjoy them twice as much. Luv, G’S & G’L
Carly,
I’m having fun reading your blog and learning—but you’re the one REALLY learning! And how cool that you can share it with all.
Wheaton hasn’t changed so you can picture it perfect. The fall colors are starting to come out.
Will look forward to following more in your blog and hope all is well and you are enjoying life.
Hey, Texas has massive cockroaches too!
Be safe!
Mary Anne Doran