The House in Santa Rita

---

Several entries back I promised pictures of the house and this evening there is finally time to sit down and relax. What's even better is that there are no storms, the electricity is functioning properly, the computer turned on, and the internet connection is good. This never happens!

The family I live with had 8 children. Their father bought a big house so each child could have their room. That is a commodity here, almost everyone shares a room because the houses are generally half the size of a house in the U.S. Now everyone is grown and long gone, but the family still has the house. It is situated on one of the four corners of the center of town, from the storefront you can see central park. It is very green and beautiful in central park. On the weekends a lot of people shop here in Santa Rita and rest in the shade of the park.

The store is just one room but they can fit a lot to sell on the shelves! They run a bakery where they make cakes for birthdays and weddings, cookies, tortes, etc. Very yummy! One intersting fact is everyone here likes to eat a very dry bread with their coffee, so almost all the types of bread they sell are very dry. They also sell candy, dry food supplies, and most importantly, soda pop in bottles and plastic. A glass bottle of pepsi sells for 40 cents, but you have to drink it all there and return the bottle.

When you enter from the store, the courtyard is to your left. Tall trees grow in the courtyard; they also have a lemon tree, a nance tree (looks like cherries but has a very different taste), hot chile plants, and several other fruits I am not sure of the names yet. When it rains, all the water pours off the roof into the courtyard, keeping it beautiful and well watered. Walking around the courtyard, you come to the first of two kitchens where they make all the bread. It is always so busy in the kitchen, especially in the early mornings. People get up very early to start work. The second kitchen is for general use, then there are three bedrooms. Below is a laundry room with a washer and dryer (a commodety here, most people scrub by hand and hang-dry) and four or five other bedrooms. People who work here live below, as well as some renters. I really like the courtyard for one other feature, the back door. It saves some walking and gives me freedom to come and go as I please.

I can look out of the back balcony and see part of the town and a mountain. It is so beautiful to see mist rolling through the mountain in the morning, or to see the dark clouds close in as a storm thunders in. I have now learned to look off to the hills every afternoon to see if it will rain or not. You can see it raining far off before it comes. Then a strong cool wind blows in, and if you are not inside you had better get inside because it is coming. One day we even had hail, it was such a bad storm. I thought for sure a hurricane had hit. But hurricanes come very rarely to Honduras, the last was in 1998, Hurricane Mitch.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the word pictures of the house. It is a beautiful house and I am very thankful I live in a clean, well kept house, with my own large room and bathroom. I was expecting a lot less but am glad to have what I have. Until the next blog - blessings.

---

Comments

[Becky]

Looks like postcards
Wow! The pictures look like they should be postcards. It is very beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Miss you. ~Love, Becky~

[Julie]

talk about living in paradise!
You live in a very beautiful place my friend! It's so nice to hear about your friends and how you're growing as a teacher! Plus, I'd say you should eventually go into some free lace photography...your pictures are gorgous!