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Published: December 7th 2008
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RANDOM OBSERVATION UNO: You know that you’re in a third country when a beer is cheaper than a coke.
RANDOM OBSERVATION DOS: There is a constant haze in Honduras because they spend much of their time burning trash in order to get rid of it. This of course is not really the best or most environmentally friendly way to dispose of trash, but apparently they don't do it enough because the country is quite dirty. This trash-filled and hazy country could be helped by a single word. Recycling.
RANDOM OBSERVATION TRES: I wish my parents pushed me more to do some kind of international program like Peace Corps or an immersion program. I never knew about things like this until I was already established in my career. When my little Brams graduate high school, I will let her/him/them know about all of their options and not just push them to enter college right away. There is so much out there and it’s just so much easier to discover it when you’re young and broke.
BUS SALESMAN
Taking the term “traveling salesman” to heart, different salesmen and women would come onto the bus and sell various items. Most
selling food and drink, but some of them would be selling medication. Would you in your right mind buy medication from a man who comes on to your bus??? I wouldn't either, but my co-riders didn't seem to mind.
GRACIAS
It took a four hour bus ride on three separate busses with a large Honduran woman leaning her sweaty back onto my leg, but we made it to Gracias. It was a relief to finally get there and to top it all off, my leg made a new “friend”.
However, I felt very vulnerable on the bus ride because we were getting different instructions on which bus to take to Gracias and what time the bus left. I realize that we could easily be taken advantage of, since our Spanish was spotty at best. We were not sure if we were on the correct bus until ten minutes into our ride and then this lends to my thoughts of whether we’re going to be okay, and then this further lends to my worrying, and this branched out to my worry about my pets back home.
It's strange, because while on vacation, I worry about my animals
stay true grasshopper
Eric trying to convince the grasshopper that his life is worthwhile and meaningful more than my friends and family because I know that my friends and family will be fine and can take care of themselves, but my cats are at the mercy of the people who I entrust to take care of them. I know logically that they're going to be fine, but it’s amazing how the mind works when you’re feeling vulnerable. It takes over everything and dials in every worst-case scenario. I've had a deep seeded fear of losing my animals since I was eight years old when my dog Perry was hit by a car while my family and I were on vacation. Most of my fears regarding my pets stem from that and my mind is a mind that normally likes to stress (I'm Jewish). Add to this the fact that I'm in Honduras and my mind goes to town. It loves to make me work harder than I have to. But this is exactly when reality hits. Most people on this hot and sweaty bus are worried about what they’re going to eat tonight and how to feed their families, and I’m worried about cats that are probably fine, and sweaty backs. In fact, my cats probably
are getting better treatment than most of the Honduran population, which is sad obviously so I told my mind to stuff it back into my parietal lobe. Enough brain talk, let's get back to Honduras. I’ll save my psych discussion for my next travel blog. The trip to the local shrink.
We found a hotel, Hotel San Francisco (with AC!) for $20 and booked it immediately. We rested and walked around town. What a great little town Gracias is, for so many reasons. Hardly any tourists and populated with Honduran cowboys and suicide-friendly grasshoppers that line the street. These hundreds of grasshoppers hang out, waiting to be run over or stepped on. They don't move. I suppose if I was a grasshopper, I may want to end it all as well because you would assume in your next life, you'll probably be something better than a grasshopper.
You’re probably wondering why the town’s called Gracias. Well, apparently, when the conquistadors were looking for a place of flat land to start a city, it took a long time because the area is so mountainous. When they finally found flat land, they said, “Thank God we finally found it!”
Hence the Gracias moniker.
The town square in Gracias is exactly as you would picture any sleepy small town in the U.S.. Kids playing, adults all knowing each other and giving each other a “hola” and a handshake when they passed each other. The only differences are that the roads were all dirt and there was s heavily armed soldier watching the activity. I don’t think that they had a soldier with a M-16 in the Mayberry town square, although Barney Fife is rather intimidating (it's the eyes). I had thoughts about bull-rushing the soldier just to see what would happen. Do you ever do that? Think of insane scenarios that would occur if you did something entirely crazy and stupid. It’s like the annoying guy in Starbucks who talks too loudly on his Bluetooth and you sit there wondering what he would do if you took his Bluetooth and put it into his Chai Latte. It would lead to a lawsuit in the states or maybe a fist fight. But if I bull-rushed this solidier, these are the scenarios I picture. At the very least, I’ll be thrown in a Honduran jail which does not sound like a
place I’d like to hang out. At middle, I’d be injured and thrown in a Honduran hospital which does not sound like a place I’d like to hang out. At worst, I would be killed in the Gracias town square, in front of all of these nice people, and the grasshoppers will eat my remains slowly and then commit suicide. I figured it wasn’t worth it.
At dinner we had some kick-ass fried chicken and Danielle got harassed by this drunk Honduran guy who wanted her to be his "amor". Luckily for him, I was too involved with my kick-ass fried chicken to take much notice until the owner of the restaurant kick-assed the guy out of the restaurant. Danielle was mad at me at first, but when I gave her a bite of the kick-ass fried chicken, she understood completely.
We booked a hiking trip to Celaque Mountain that has a cloud forest on the very very top. But that was a two-day hike and since we weren’t going to be in Gracias long enough to spend two days hiking, we chose the 5 hr. intermediate tour. We were then going to watch a soccer game (Marathon
vs. Olympia) at a local bar, but each bar was packed and it cost lempira to get in, so we watched in our hotel room because the entire town shut down during the game. The game ended in a 1-1 tie and the town woke up again. We went to grab some drinks and met this Chinese family that was visiting from San Pedro Sula. They spoke Spanish, Chinese, and English. It was interesting seeing an Asian family living in Honduras. I equate it to seeing a Christian, besides Jesus (before the conversion), in the Fairfax district.
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Cynthia
non-member comment
great trip
Hi Eric, Sounds like quite an adventure. I thought I was bold going to Egypt. Glad to hear that you having a great time and seeing the world. Stay safe, take care and send Danielle our best. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Love, Cynthia and Stephen