My "Day of Happiness" is actually a Week of Happiness since that is what vacation is all about. Now, do I consider going to Honduras vacation, not really. In Honduras, I do as the Hondurans do: cook, sweep, mop, sweat, wash my clothes by hand, pee/poop in a latrine, shower in cold water, get eaten alive by mosqitoes, and take crowded, hot buses for long hours at a time. However, I also get to see friends/family/Ivan so that makes me happy.
Here are some of the spots of happiness that I experienced on my trip to Yusguare, my home away from home:
- Ivan.
Ivan is a spot of happiness in and of himself - when he's not annoying me by being late. I was absolutely ecstatic that he managed to arrive at the airport before me and was waiting for me to walk through the door. This is a miracle. Usually I arrive, can't find him, eventually buy a phone card, call him, and find out that he is still an hour away, and spend the next two hours (because he always underestimates the time it will take to arrive) waiting in the airport for him to show up. This was a great start to my trip. - Seeing the neighbor kids that used to color at my house.
I love these kids. They annoyed me many time by banging on my door asking to pintar (color) all the time, but now that I don't see them every day, I find them quite adorable. Actually, I was shocked to see how big they had gotten. I had brought them some Barbie dolls and they loved them. Honduran kids are so easy to please. They came running up to the house minutes after I had arrived screaming "Katy, Katy, Katy!!!". I felt loved. - Walking down the street and having random people yell "Katy!!".
Yes, I am famous in Yusguare and it feels great most of the time. I was specifically walking to one of my former youth group kid's house and some kids came running out of their house yelling my name and giving me hugs. I don't actually remember these kids but they were really excited to see me. It made me really happy. - Hearing that my baby-weighing program was still up and running.
When you start projects in the Peace Corps your ultimate goal is sustainability. It can be really hard to achieve this because most of the time you are doing things that no one else wants to do - teach sex ed, have youth groups, play with kids, etc. Sadly my youth groups did not go on and no one is going to the schools to give talks about condoms (on a side note though, two of my youth group girls are going to school to study health - one community health and the other nursing). However, I went to visit the nurses at the health center where I used to work and they were super happy to tell me that they were still continuing to go to the little aldeas (super small towns far from the health center) once a month to weigh the babies. Only two of the nurses were still at the health center (the other two I worked with had been transferred) and they were telling the new nurses about all the work we had done together and how much fun they had with me. Let me tell you, it felt sooooo great. The entire time I was in Honduras I never knew if I was really doing what they wanted me to do or whether I was really making a difference. However, hearing the nurses talk about all the stuff we had done together really made me feel like they appreciated everything I had done. And to know that they were still going to weigh the babies made me super happy. - Riding Mayo's bus.
Ivan works in Mayo's bus and this is where I met him. I also happen to love the bus. It's the bus from the town that goes to the city so there are always people I know on it. Plus, Mayo will do many things for me like wait for me when I'm running late, drop me off in random locations, pick things up for me when I don't feel like going to the city (actually Ivan does that, but whatever). Plus, since I am Ivan's wife (everyone in Honduras thinks we're married) I don't have to pay. Ahh, what a great feeling. - Running into Ivan's family everywhere.
I was coming back from Manuel, a town that was about 40 minutes from Yusguare, where I had been visiting one of the nurses that had been transferred. I was on a strange bus that I had never ridden before. All of a sudden, this woman sits behind me and asks if I'm Katy. Who is this random person and how does she know me? Well, she happens to be Ivan's aunt and although I've never met her, Ivan has shown my photo to everyone under the sun. Plus, she's with her daughter Cintia who I taught at the school in Santa Anita (another aldea) and she recognized me. Yes again, I am famous. Not only did she say hi, she invited me to her house and made her son bike me all the way home (a 20 minute bike ride) because she didn't want me to walk. People are super nice in Honduras. What other 15 year old boy would bike a strange girl in 100 degree weather down a dusty road. - Almost getting arrested.
Ok, so why would this be a spot of happiness? Well, it goes back to being famous. So, Albita, Heydi, Fanuel, Carlito (neighbor's son), and I were driving to Heydi's house (Heydi owns a taxi that her uncle drives in Choluteca). I was driving (my first time driving in Honduras, ever). I specifically asked Heydi if I should grab my license and she said no, there wouldn't be police around. So, I didn't. There were police around. I'm heading down the road and whaddya know: a police check-point. The first thing the police ask for: my license. I explain that I left it at home. They look at me strange (where might home be exactly, since I don't look Honduran). In the middle of this exchange, right as the policeman tells me that it's prohibited to drive without a license, another police officer comes up and says - hey, I know you, you're Ivan's wife. Yes, since Ivan has felt the need to show my photo to everyone and their mother and tell them we're married (which we are NOT, yet), this random police officer recognized me and decided that it was ok for me to drive without a license. So, I was not arrested. Of course he immediately called Ivan and told him everything and Ivan immediately called me to tell me how crazy I am for driving around with no license, but it made for a good story. - Cooking.
I love to cook in Honduras. Albita and I plan our menus even before I get there. We always make enchiladas (which are not like Mexican enchiladas), sopa de pollo, and plato tipico. This time I also made fried fish, rice with chicken and shrimp, brownies, and arroz con leche. I also like to cook for Ivan and make him lunch everyday. At 11:30am as the bus heads to Choluteca I run out with his plate of whatever. Yes, that is exciting to me. It's more exciting to other people who seem to think that Americans only eat out of boxes and cans and find it utterly amazing that I can make Honduran food. - Staying at the Intercontinental hotel.
Usually my first and last night in Honduras are spent in Teguc with Ivan. We always stay at the Intercontinental. This time the price of a regular room was the same as a room on the Executive Level. So, of course I went for that. Well, let me tell you, did we look out of place. The only other people who can afford to stay on the Executive Level are old men, most likely from the U.S. So, here are Ivan and I, hanging out in the Executive Lounge with 60 and 70 year old men. I think they kept looking for our parents. Funny stuff. It was even funnier when Ivan insisted on wearing the shirt I made him with our picture on it. Classic.
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