Feelin' good

I've always kind of had a thing for book lists. The truth is that sometimes I feel good about life or slightly depressed depending on how many books I have been able to mark off of my "to read" list. This is probably a ridiculous but, it's just the way I am...

Anyway, in a couple days, I'm going to be headed to Central America for a couple of weeks. As most of you know, I love Central America and traveling is one of my favorite things to do. It is also a complicated time for Central America, it will be interesting to be traveling during the next couple of weeks.

I am going to do my best to take a picture a day and post at least a couple times while I'm there.

morning ramblings

I was thinking yesterday about how hard it is for me to keep things I'm excited about to myself. If I don't want to talk about it I have to avoid people, otherwise, if they ask me "how I'm doing" I'm going to end up telling them. Gah! Woe to being transparent.

The other day, I was feeling very confused and worried so, instead of going to be with people I walked around the city for hours and went to the bookstore. It was exactly what I needed to do.

I'm still reading Till We Have Faces and it is fantastic. Summer has finally arrived (in a way) to DC and it has been very hot. Even so, the evenings cool down wonderfully... and the mornings are glorious.

The tensions continue in Honduras and the international community has been pressuring for the return of Zelaya. It's all kind of scary.

so much on my mind

They say that if you have a lot on your mind to write you should just start writing it and then your ideas will come together. I hope that happens. Last night I was talking to one of my aunts and I realized that she reads my blog! I didn't know. I wonder how many other people read my blog and I have no idea that they read it!

There is a lot on my mind, like the unrest in Honduras and the beautiful weather in DC this summer. I've been reading Till We Have Faces and more than anything experiencing the odd sensation of being "in between". I will be going on a two week trip through Central America in less than two weeks. I know that as soon as I get back my life is going to be a whirlwind of activity no matter what ends up happening to me next. I am literally experiencing the calm before the storm.

I realized this week how much I am like a bird. I can make myself at home, sing, and delight in a place but, without too much difficulty, my heart can turn and open itself up to a new adventure and a new place. I have come a long way, I promise, I believe very, very much in investing in people and in staying places. I think "staying" is a big part of changing places. But, I also believe that I am not going to fix or ruin a place and if I have opportunities to live and be alive in other places, I don't have to pass them up.

This week I've spent more time alone than I have since the first two weeks of January. I like having time alone. It makes my time with people that much more wonderful. Other things I've been thinking about a lot recently are the words of Jesus "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? " and Solomon "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven". Sea lo que sea, por algo será.

it's the principle of the thing

The president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias, is going to act as the mediator between the Honduran leaders Manuel Zelaya and Roberto Micheletti. Hopefully, this will help find a solution to the crisis!

This morning, I listened to an interview with Ruben Blades where he gave his thoughts about what makes the situation in Honduras unusual. It is complicated for several reasons. One of those reasons is that there ought to be a legal way to remove an abusive leader but, apparently Honduras didn't have an impeachment process in its constitution, so they improvised their own way.

The very reason that there are different branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) is that they might be able to keep each other in check. I think that is what the legislative and judicial branches were trying to do in Honduras. The executive branch was getting out of control. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to keep the president from breaking the law, they broke the law. That kind of invalidates their actions. What a mess!

[Update: “America supports now the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies.” President Obama

Secretary of State Clinton did not actually say that America supports the restoration of Zelaya. She said that America is waiting to see what happens during the conversations with Arias.]

Can I just say that there are some really hard things going on in China right now as well, what a messed up world we live in.

oh Honduras!

I have been reading about what is happening in Honduras and I don't really think I am anyone to have a strong opinion. I don't really know more about it than anyone else. What makes it different for me is that my parents call Honduras home and maybe I care just a little bit more about what happens there because in some ways a little bit of me considers a little bit of Honduras home.

So, the deal is that they have removed their president in a very unusual (illegal?) way and now it is the whole world and Zelaya against Honduras. It's tough. I don't agree with just ousting a president, just like that... but, I also think that people need to listen to the "other side"... things are never quite as simple as they seem.

Dan Rosenheck wrote and article in the National Post, Everyone is wrong about Honduras, and I think that there might be some truth to that. I just saw another article written by Carlos Alberto Montaner (author of some pretty interesting books), Preventing a Honduran Bloodbath. Montaner writes "...if there is still something worse than the depressing spectacle of a freely elected president forced to leave his country at gunpoint, it is that same leader trying to force his way back in. If Zelaya returns, he will be arrested and charged with an array of crimes. His imprisonment will embarrass any who decide, irresponsibly, to accompany him on such a mad adventure."

I hope that this gets resolved; I do not envy those leaders who are trying to negotiate this situation. What are we going to do? Montaner suggests that, "The solution is to move forward with the general elections planned for November. It's a solution within everyone's reach: the candidates are already there, freely elected in open primaries, and both enjoy much popularity. Why plunge this society irresponsibly into a maelstrom of violence? Once the new government is selected, a government that enjoys the legitimacy generated by a democratic process, the Honduran people can push this lamentable episode into the past."

Airport Goodbyes...

My friends the Lopez family came to say hello and goodbye at the airport in San Pedro Sula before I left. They were the family we lived with the first time we went to Honduras when my parents were planning on moving there to live permanently. We stayed with them for a month and in that time they became my Honduran family they are fond of me and I am very fond of them as well.

Having people who will come to see you at a moments notice even just for a little while is really special. I am sad to leave Central America again. I am convinced that there is a part of me that is very Latina, I miss being there already...

I got to spend this Christmas with my parents. It was refreshing and good. It was the first time that I'd been in Honduras for Christmas without one of my siblings, that part was incredibly odd.

"bring THAT friend with you!"

On my way back to Santa Barbara with my parents, I became friends with some adorable kids in Tegus. The oldest, Micah, who is four --told my parents that they should come back and bring THAT friend (as he pointed at me) with them. It was adorable and they really did make me want to come back.

I've arrived in San Salvador

On Saturday my parents and I drove to Cucuyagua, Copán and visited some friends of theirs there. We also stopped in Corquin where I took all of these pictures. We were going to stay in Cuguyagua but, they hadn't had water for four days and we decided it would be easier for everyone if we just went ahead! Four days without water!

Anyway, we went on to Ocotopeque which is close to the border with El Salvador. On Sunday we went to church with other friends there and they took care of us. This morning I got to take a famous bucket bath because they didn't have any running water this morning. We spent the night and this morning another friend who lives in Honduras but is from San Salvador met us to guide us into the city. It was very kind of him because we had no idea what we were doing.

It was only about a two hour drive to San Salvador where we met with another friend who had been recommended to us. We were very well cared for. He showed us around. Took me to see where I'd be working, took me to see his mother's home where I might decided to live these three months, and helped me get a cell phone.

Now, I'm going to stay this week with our friends from Venezuela and I'm feeling very happy with all of these kind people. Tomorrow, hopefully we'll meet some other of our contacts and by the end of the week I'll probably be settled here. Right now I'm a bit exhausted because I haven't gotten much sleep for a week or so but, it's fun to be back in Central America.

Corquin, Copán

Santa Rosa de Copan

Eunice, Hannah, Carlita, and Eunice

Orlando & Teresita and Nancy & John

On Friday we drove to Santa Rosa de Copan where we spent the night with the Aritas. I cannot tell you what kind and generous people they are. Orlando has a coffee plantation where he grows and toasts his own coffee. He drinks more coffee than anyone I know! I enjoyed an evening of great fun (and little sleep, as always) with the two Eunices and Carlita.

Santa Barbara

This is the view from Santa Barbara, the city where my parents live.

Las Rosas, Honduras

This is up in Las Rosas at where my dad is doing a lot of tree planting.
It is so beautiful up there.