Yesterday we dropped my truck off for a check up before it gets to 100,000 kilometers. They found a few things that need to be fixed, which is no surprise, so I am without a car for a while. I hope I'll get the car back before I leave to go to the US, but I'm not holding my breath.
Yesterday we went out to lunch to celebrate Lourdes and Jairo being back home. They took me to a place they said every person who lives in Honduras should go at least once. I kept thinking about how much my Dad would have loved the place. The owners started out as street vendors, cooking over big barrels on the side of a dirt road. It's still a bad neighborhood, but a dining destination. Everything is cheap and good.
We had what I can best describe as the Honduran version of samosas with a typical Honduran "salad" (cabbage) on top. It was deep fried and fattening, but delicious. Jairo and Walter stuck to their diets and ate yucca. I told Jairo that when he lives in the US, if anyone ever asks him if he wants to go to a "hole in the wall" he should always say yes because this type of place is the definition of a hole in the wall. Picnic tables, bottles of rum turned into containers for "chilis". I even saw a pigeon walking around inside. It wasn't bothering anyone.
In Honduras pigeons are not thought of as dirty nuisances, like in the US. People here often comment about how pretty a pigeon is. That was a strange thing to get used to at first. But I have learned to see pigeons as pretty now too.
I am back to riding everywhere with Lourdes and Jairo. Jairo said it is good for me to learn dependence again and that everything does not move in MY time. He's right.
Monday the Breakfast Program is cancelled because we are all going to a meeting for Samaritan's Purse - the people who are giving gift boxes to needy kids in our area. We have to go to three weeks of training to learn how to receive and distribute the boxes. It actually sounds really interesting. I am disappointed that I won't be here for the second and third week. I am also REALLY disappointed that I won't be here for baptisms this year. I love baptisms and I love the day after baptisms when all the kids at the Breakfast Program get to swim in the pool. Bummer. I am considering cutting short my time in the US and coming back early. I am also fairly sure I will stay in Honduras for Christmas this year. That will be a fun, new experience! It will be nice to be here to hand out the Samaritan's Purse boxes and to see the Christmas celebration at the church.
As I opened the door to my house tonight I had a new experience. Usually as I approach the house I can hear Jetty meow from upstairs. As I put the key in the keyhole I heard her cry, but it sounded like she was just on the other side of the door. I opened the door slowly and sure enough, there she was. She led me straight over to her empty dry food. I realized I hadn't fed her this morning because she had some food in her dish, but not enough to last the 10 hours I was at the church. So she went downstairs to look for the other food dish I keep down there.
Part of me is happy for Jetty because now she can explore the whole house and have a more diverse life. I hated that she was just staying in my bedroom all of the time. That's not healthy for her. On a personal level I would love to get her litter box and food downstairs. But at the same time I am leaving to go to the states. Jetty has a tendency to jet out the door quicker than quick, so I am a little nervous she will get out while I am gone. I trust the cat sitter, but it has happened to me more than once, even when I am careful.
