My new sound today is not a good one. And it's not that new.
When I was little my mom bought me an alarm clock that had the sound of birds instead of a buzzer - she thought that was a nicer way to be woken. So since I was little I've always chosen alarm clocks with tweeting birds. You would not think this could be a problem. However, here in Honduras right outside my bedroom window are the exact birds that were used to make the sound for my alarm. Every morning lately (this morning at 5:04 am) I am woken up by the sound of my alarm clock, which is still in the states. I need to retrain my mind not to wake up to this sound. Especially because these specific birds are in their prime between 5 am and 6 am.
Yesterday Tony and I left church early because Nidia was still sick. We met her at a private clinic where she was given medicine. (ooooooh!!!! Finally I hear thunder! Today may be my first rain storm since I got here. The rainy season is supposed to begin any day. I've been loooking forward to the rain.)
Afterward I went home and read a newspaper in spanish - a habit Tony and I want to continue - then took a nap. In the newspaper I learned that if Honduras beats the US in futbol on Saturday a whole bunch of fast food places are giving away free food. Also I saw that Hilary was in Cuba, I need to be careful eating shrimp because there is no group that moniters the temperature of shrimp until it is sold, and I missed the day that phone minutes are sold 3 minutes for the price of 1. Gotta keep my eye out for that. It changes weekly. Also 8 men posing as police went into a drug house and shot all of the men inside, but did not kill the women. And there are 34 cases of swine flu confirmed here. That's the local news.
Dinner was great once again. It kind of like a tuna casserole only with fresh vegetables. Last night we got into the hot sauce for the first time. And Jose taught me about the different strength of the pepper spices. After dinner I went to bed and read some more, then went to sleep early b/c I had a small headache all day. Today I feel better.
This morning Karla and I took a cab for the first time to the church. It cost 60 limpiras, which is about $3.12. You don't tip the driver. Also it is the same price no matter how many people are in the cab. Otherwise cabs are the same as in the US. Karla is going to introduce me to two drivers who are friends of hers so that when I go alone I can call them and they will be the only cabs I ride in alone.
We had 46 kids from the school walk over this morning. Karla does a really neat interactive program with them - the kids loved it. She had two of the kids from our every day breakfast program who did a puppet show. Everyone sang songs and listened intently to her. Then they got to eat a breakfast of sausage mixed with eggs, a tortilla, a piece of avocado, a piece of apple, and juice. Tony explained to me that at home these children do not get meat, or probably avocado either. They are so tiny, it is hard for me to tell their ages in part because of their size and partly because even the older boys love hugs from adults and are physical with eachother in ways that boys in the US are not. Anyway, everything went very smoothly. About 7 kids were chosen from the daily breakfast program to serve the school kids. They prayed about this opportunity to teach the school kids about God, and talked about how this is not "work", this is an opprtunity to serve. It was very cool to watch. The church here is doing a great job in grooming leaders for the future. The kids are good at leading by example and also moniter eachother's behavior pretty well.
Today at 11 am, Tony was supposed to go visit with Carlos' mother. It is now 12:30 and through no fault of Tony's they are still at the church. I hope she is there when they go to her house. Normally she is on the streets every day because of a drug problem. Tony is praying that his spanish will be effective. I am praying that she is still at the house.
I have the rest of the day on my own. Karla and Jose are have to work this afternoon. Then they have a meeting with Jairo from 7-9 pm. Karla said we will go grocery shopping tonight at 10 pm! She invited me to come and I said I would love to go.
Yesterday Tony and I went to a small market. The small markets are called "mercados", but there are only certain things that are safe to buy there - basically non-perishables and fruit if it looks good and the price is right. For all other items Karla says it's important to go to a "supermercado" which is just like a grocery store only everything is in Spanish. Personally, I like the mercados. They are small wooden shacks in a row with different vendors in each one. Yesterday I bought queso fresco from the mercado for my family. Queso fresco is a little bit like fresh mozzarella, only very flavorful, salty, with tiny holes, and a bit more firm.
Tony just left to go to Carlos' house! I said a strong prayer that Carlos' mother will be there. He will be only 2 hours late, which is not a big deal in Honduras normally. We were supposed to go yesterday, but there is a man who was sitting in the street on Wednesday who yelled at us not to come there. So today Tony is with a local man who works for the church because the area where Carlos lives is not safe. I think he will be fine with Don Juan, but with me there may have been problems. They will drive up the side of a mountain as far as they can go, then walk the rest of the way up and to the other side of the mountain where Carlos' home is one room made of mud. His grandmother lives there with him, but she is having a hard time.
Meeting Tony and choosing to come to church could be Carlos' opportunity for an easier life. Carlos also has other brothers, one who is 8. The mother insists that the 8 year old accompany her on the streets, but at 11 Carlos is old enough to say no. I keep asking Tony, if he has the chance, to pressure the mom into letting the 8 year old come with Carlos. But all things in time. We are also waiting to put Carlos in school. First he needed to be fed, then cleaned up. Now he is building friendships and self esteem that he did not have a "street kid". Soon he will be able to hold his own in a classroom.
