Comforters

On Friday morning as I left to get on the series of buses to take me to Tegucigalpa for an MCC retreat for the weekend, my host mom said to me ¨Que Dios le bendiga.¨ ¨May God bless you.¨

My initial plan was to take a bus from La Campa to Gracias, then to La Esperanza, then to Tegucigalpa (if you look at a map, this route makes the most sense). This was the route that I had been told to take. Upon arriving at the central bus station in Gracias, I learned that the station is not so central and that the buses to La Esperanza leave from elsewhere. I took a taxi to elsewhere, and was informed that there were no more buses running that day, and that I´d have to wait until tomorrow...! I returned to the central station to decide what to do. I thought I´d try going to Santa Rosa de Copán, a larger city an hour north (the wrong direction!) to see if there´d be a bus there to get to Tegucigalpa.

Lo and behold, there was! I happily got on the comfortable bus (no chickens on this one!) and prepared to arrive in Tegucigalpa in a couple of hours. As the bus went along, I began to realize that this bus went to San Pedro Sula first before going to Tegucigalpa. Your map will show you that this is significantly out of the way! I settled back in my seat, and realized that I would be arriving a good deal later than expected, but still before dark.

Around noon, the bus stopped. This is not abnormal, as there are constantly people getting on an off the bus. This time was different, because the bus did not start again. Every 10 minutes or so, the bus would inch forward a couple of meters. But for 4.5 hours, we did not make any significant progress. When there is only one highway, and this highway gets blocked by a transport truck slipping off the road, traffic just stops.

I called my MCC team members in Tegucigalpa to make plans as to what to do. We decided that there was a bus leaving SPS at 6 that would stop closer to their house than the bus I was on. Their neighbour, who is a taxi driver, would pick me up and bring me to their house. As the bus got moving again, a woman got on and sat next to me. Her destination was also Tegucigalpa, and we talked about being uncomfortable about arriving after dark. When we were 15 minutes away from SPS, the bus stopped again. A collective groan arose from the entire bus. ¨Not again!"

Yes again. This time, we were stopped for 6 hours. I missed the 6pm bus to Tegucigalpa, and thought that it would be best for me to stay in SPS for the night, and then take an early bus the next morning. At this point, the woman next to me offered me a bed in her house in Teguc for the night, since it was unsafe for me to go join the MCCers at night. I felt a bit uncomfortable with this option, but figured I could call the MCCers and see what they thought. For whatever reason, I was unable to reach them, so my neighbour woman tried. When she saw the name and phone number, she exclaimed ¨Virgilio! Yo lo conozco!¨ ¨I know him!¨ I still felt a bit unconvinced, but she gave me all kinds of information about them and I figured that she really did know them! So it was decided that I would stay on the current bus with her, sleep at her house, and in the morning take a taxi to meet up with the MCCers.

My bus did not have a bathroom. I got on the bus at 9:30am, and by 8pm at night, you can imagine how most people on the bus were feeling. The men had no problem - they can just hop off the bus, stand in a particular stance, and be comfortable. Women have it a bit more difficult! At 8, we had had enough. One woman stood up, and announced to the whole bus ¨The women need the toilet.¨ We all marched outside, formed a protective circle, and took turns squatting in the centre while the other woman scolded any man that got close. Talk about a community that forms when in need!

The bus arrived in SPS at 10:30, and in Tegucigalpa at 2:30. I went to my new friend´s house, where she showed me a bed. On the bed was spread an MCC knotted comforter. I slept under that comforter feeling very blessed by God, as my host mom had prayed that morning.

A Miscellany

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Despite having had a very challenging week, I have much to be thankful for:

• I have five fresh, juicy oranges sitting on my table. I´ve already enjoyed three.


• There is a gorgeous sunset outside (red sky at night, sailor´s delight!).


• People at work are friendly, as are the people in La Campa and the surrounding communities.


• I was just able to talk with family via the wonders of the internet. So different from when my great-aunt Ann went to Paraguay 40 or 50 years ago, and even when my family went to Lesotho 20 years ago.


• I am learning Spanish; although it feels slow, each day I learn something new.


• I am healthy! Only two bouts of digestion problems so far, and no other issues.


• I have very interesting work prospects.


• The rainy season is ending, and the sun is showing its face with greater frequency. I especially appreciate the sun when I take my outdoor cold-water shower.

This morning I took a bus into San Pedro Sula for the weekend. This was my most eventful bus ride yet! Most of the buses here are old school buses from the US. Each bus has two workers: the driver and the conductor. The driver drives (a challenging feat in narrow, pot-holed roads), and the conductor has a myriad of tasks. He leans out the door loudly advertising the destination of the bus; he collects the fare; he carries heavy packages for the passengers; he brings a plastic bag in response to somebody´s urgent cry of ¨bolsa!¨

My bus this morning was of the school bus variety, which means that my legs do not fit in the limited space between the seats. Its seat configuration meant that 5 people sat across the bus instead of 4 like I grew up with. So imagine a very squashed Alison against the window (my debate is always whether to sit by the window so I don´t get motion sick, or whether to sit in the aisle where I have more leg space; this morning I opted for the window). Unfortunately, the young woman sitting next to me got very motion sick, and her shout for a bag came too late. I gave her my stash of toilet paper to help clean up, but throughout the 4 hour ride I would occasionally see her emptying her stomach in her fresh plastic bag. I must have appeared to be a very comfortable person, because when she wasn´t vomiting, she was asleep on my shoulder!

The bus ride is also not complete unless somebody has brought a chicken on board. The chicken on my bus happened to be in a cardboard box just above me. Sometime during the ride, the chicken laid an egg, which promptly broke. I looked up to see egg mixed with chicken feces dripping onto the seat back in front of me. While my neighbour slept on my shoulder I watched the egg slowly drip down the seat until it finally dried and crisped up.

Can you identify me in this picture? Even if I wasn´t blond and white, I stand out everywhere by being so tall. I have to duck to go into all the doorways in La Campa and the surrounding communities. At church on Sunday, the woman behind me moved to the aisle when I stood up so she could see.

This picture shows me, a couple of colleagues, some student interns, and the guys that hitched a ride in the back of the truck and wanted in on the photo with the gringa. The woman standing next to me is my supervisor.

A view from the office. La Campa sort of spreads out to the right.

How many people does it take to vaccinate a cow? One to hold the rope around the legs, one to actually complete the injection, three to stand around and give advice, and many more to stand around and watch!

A school futbol field does double duty as a horse pasture next to a hillside of coffee.

The view from the top of the mountains is spectacular! But first I had to hike up slick roads and paths that were as tricky to navigate as a hill covered in ice and slush.

A ´friend´ that I found in my bedroom this morning. It had evidently fallen on its back, and couldn´t right itself so it just lay there struggling. 10 minutes later it was happily crawling back up the wall. Cockroaches make too much of a crunch for me to step on them.