We made Cheerio treats today! Cheerio treats are Rice Crispy Treats without the Rice Crispys. The kids all said, "Que Rico!", which is good and now we have use for all of the Cheerios and the MONTON of marshmallows that the store was going to throw away. We also served rice and hot dogs with veggies, so this was a special treat, like desert.
I had a yummy dinner last night. I made corn on the cobb and ate it with lots of lime juice, plus a plate of 3 tomatoes and a cucumber with salt, pepper, and vinegar. I walked down to the local pulperia - a little corner store, but they have tons of things - and bought everything there. I was going to get an avocado too, but I didn't have enough money. The guy was so patient with me as we went through my pile of veggies to see what I could afford with my 14 limpiras. Turns out an avocado alone is 12 limpiras, but I was able to get veggies and 2 conservas (sweet little coconut candies) so that was a good dinner.
On the way home from the store I had my first frightening experience. Although looking back there was no reason at all to be frightened. I have explained how people all have fences or walls around their houses, so as you walk up the street you can occasionally see through the fence into someone's house. I always peek, because I'm nosey. As I was walking home I was looking around, being nosey, when I was suddenly a foot away from a man, standing pressed against his fence, looking back at me. He was fully dressed in camouflage and was clearly part of the military. It really scared me to be so close to him, but he wasn't doing anything except looking outside. This is one of the big differences between Honduras and the US. Even before it was "the Deadliest Region on Earth" there was always a guard with a huge gun standing outside the bank. Now they are everywhere. I am not used to being around all of these huge guns. The man on my street did not have a gun, at least not one I saw, but I am still not accustomed to men in military uniforms patrolling the streets. Or standing in their front yards.
This afternoon Lourdes sorted through all of the free groceries. We are trying to find a use for
bags of black eyed peas. People here don't even know what black eyed peas are - which is why they don't sell at the store, I guess. We got Arm and Hammer laundry detergent but everyone here uses powder so I had to talk Lourdes into trying it. (She likes it.) There are about 20 boxes of angel food cake mix, 20 boxes of chocolate Silk and huge jugs of mayonnaise and mustard.
Lourdes, Josselyn and I watched on the internet as President Obama read Where the Wild Things Are in respect to it's author who died today. I thought my Mom does a much better version.
I just thought of something. When I first got here I noticed that all of the kids continued to go to Lourdes for simple things that I could help them with. Today was the first time it hit me. For over a week they have been coming to me for things just as often as they go to Lourdes! That is great progress in my opinion. It means they finally trust me. Although yesterday when I took away one of their toys they went to Eunice to try to get it back. Of course, she backed me up.
I am really trying to appreciate the peace and joy I feel every day here. Even on a bad day, I have a sense of happiness that I only find here. Since I'm not sure where it comes from, I'm not sure how to keep it. I believe it can only come from God, because I am not doing any extraordinarily fun things. Digging through stinky, sticky groceries serves a purpose, but it is NOT fun. This is the person I want to be. When I get home at the end of every day I want to feel like, "Wow, that was a great day!" How can I maintain peace and joy if I return to the states? I know that it is fully possible, but I'm not sure how.
I learned today that I have one more sponsor. Thank you, Cia!
It's thundering and lightening. Have to turn off the computer for now. Hope we go home soon because I've had jeans on the clothes line for 2 days that I would like to dry. Oh no! Tonight is fútbol for the guys at the church too! I hope it's not raining at 7 pm. If it is, I'll bring a raincoat. I'm hardcore like that :)
