Traffic Violations

I was on my way to the dentist the other day. There is a left turn lane that you can only take a left on with an arrow. In order to get to the street that the dentist is on, it is easiest to make a u-turn at the arrow and proceed to the next street and take a right and the dentist is 1/2 a block down.

I did this an normal, as we have done quite a few times now being that the whole family is on a mission to get all cleanings and fillings taken care of before out trip back to the US June 17th.

As soon as I made the u-turn I see some cops just ahead waving me over. There are two of them. They told me that it is illegal to make a u-turn at that light. Oh really? I ask them where the sign is that says no u-turn. He points down towards the sign but it was just far enough away where I couldn't really make things out so wasn't sure.

Because I can't speak Spanish very well I get my husband on the phone to talk to the traffic cop. After he talks to the cop trying to argue that a u-turn is legal right there, but him being on the phone and nothing he could do to argue really, my husband tells me to just pay him off with L100. That is about US $5. He was more than pleased to take the money and gave me a huge grin and shook my hand telling me to have a good day. Disgraceful man that he is.

I get to the dentist and apologize for my being late and explain that I was pulled over for making a u-turn at that light nearby. She asked if I got a ticket and I told her I hadn't but that I had paid him off. She shook her head. She told me that the cop was lying because she has lived in the neighborhood for 21 years and knows for sure that you can make a u-turn at that light and the cops were just looking for some quick money.

Aren't cops just lovely people over here?

Pool Top Wagon

Pool Top Wagon, originally uploaded by Honduras Sprout.

Horse drawn wagons are common as a means of transportation, especially for the "invaders" as I mention in the previous post.

I am always amused by the craftiness and resourcefulness seen sometimes. Here this wagon has a child's pool stretched over the top to provide shade from the beating sun.

Invader Road

Invader Road, originally uploaded by Honduras Sprout.

There are communities, usually along rivers that have been built up by people that "invade" the land. They are nicknamed "the invaders" for this reason. They make homes out of found objects and scraps. They tap into city water lines and electric lines. They have no rent and no utilities to pay, but they are usually the ones that work for the lowest wages. Many will be fortunate to make US $5 a day. The city does not kick these people out or try to cut the lines that they tap into. You can see the electric line poles erected and the lines spliced and stretched everywhere.

At one time the city constructed apartment type dwellings for these people to go and live - for free! Taking advantage of an opportunity to make some money they sold the properties given to them and moved right back to where they came from. I think we often feel inclined to feel sorry for these people, but they often live how they do by choice. It's how they have always lived and it is what they know.

Children choose not to continue with school or are encouraged to work to help bring in money for the family. I think it becomes almost "uncool" in this sub-culture to want to continue with school past maybe the 5th or 6th grade. True, the schooling is poor but it's the attitude too that schooling in unnecessary because there is little aspiration to move out of this type of living.

Fast Changing Gas Attendent

My husband asked me to stop and get gas tonight. I had an appointment so I stopped on my way home. Most gas stations have attendants that pump the gas for you. It's a security measure so it requires prepay and no drive off.

On my way out of the house my husband hands me what I thought was five L100 bills. L100 = about US $5 and the capital letter L = lempira, the Honduran currency. He said "put gas in the car". I didn't count it at the time, but we had discussed taking L500 previously. Once at the gas station I hand the (5) bills to the attendant and he walks away. He punches some buttons on the gas pump or does something I couldn't see and then turns back to me and spreads the bills out in his hands and says (in Spanish) "only four hundred". I say, "no, five hundred". As he stood there holding out the four wrinkly bills for me to see as if to say, "no lady, see, you only gave L400". I started second guessing myself and wondering if I miscounted & misplaced a L100 bill or maybe my husband only gave me L400 not L500 as I thought. I wasn't sure and I didn't know how to argue the point.

There I was just screaming to be taken advantage of. I had just experienced recently that the customer is not someone thought highly of or respected. Who was going to believe me? I felt stuck. So yes, this white girl was taken advantage of, fast changed and lost a quick $5 bucks. You might think $5 dollars is not a lot to lose, but we live on Honduran wages, not US wages. Many people live on that much a day or less. It's hard to compare, but if I lose L100 here it is like losing US $20 dollars in the states.

Once I got home and told my husband, of course he said I should have called him, but in my confused mind it didn't occur to me. He confirmed that he did give me L500 and after a thorough search of my purse, my husband being so protective, wanted us to drive back to the gas station and try and set some things straight, but it was getting late and it was just not worth the time, gas, hassle and headache. I told my husband that we should just leave it up to God if he wants to teach that guy a lesson. I know I learned one. Be very, very careful and count out your money to the gas pump attendants and make sure you both agree what amount is being exchanged. Video tape it if possible.

Would you go back to the gas station and confront him?

Stuffed Truck

Stuffed truck, originally uploaded by Honduras Sprout.

This is a truck heading for the plastic recycling center. You can see the center on the left in the photo. It's the white building. Trucks of all kinds will carry as much plastic pop bottles as they can and drop them off for some cash. How high they can stuff the trucks is most often an interesting feat in defying gravity. As you can see the truck is literally being run into the ground. Also note the puff of exhaust. There is no exhaust regulations or clean air act in Honduras. At least they recycle.

I also posted this at my other blog the San Pedro Sula Daily Photo.

Life Without A Voice

Today Brother and I walked up to the neighborhood park. There are some small ponds and fountains where a few turtles and, as I found out, about a zillion tadpoles hoping to make it to adult froghood live. The pond was being cleaned by some hired locals that come to take care of the grounds and they also cut lawns too and do a pretty good job.

The dirty work today was to drain the ponds, roll up their pants and wade in the man made ponds and clean them out. There is a lot of muck that builds up in there. Brother was terribly excited to watch them clean things out so he could try and get a close up view of a turtle.

As it turned out, one of the guys cleaning the pond was mute. I didn't know this at first. When we first got there, I asked the two young guys where the turtle was. I don't expect people to talk much to me because I'm sure they aren't sure if I speak Spanish. It's like a wait and see if this gringa will talk. The mute man, who I'm guessing is about 19 or 20 years old pointed to a 2-3 foot deep debris trap at the bottom of the pond that the turtle was hiding in until that too needed to be cleaned out. We sat and watched the hole to see if we could see the turtle moving beneath the dark water. It was then that I noticed the bazillion little tadpoles swimming around. I looked at the mute man again, still not knowing he was mute, and asked him in my horrible Spanish if those little things swimming were little frogs. He nodded.

We watched them clean and work a little while. Brother was fascinated and I was a little too. Things are done so simply in Honduras. No special tools or machines.

It only took just a few more minutes and I realized the young man that showed me where the turtle was hiding couldn't speak. He made sounds when he wanted to talk or get his companions attention. All that came out was scratchy noises with inflections in the sounds. After watching them for a while I began to notice that when the other men needed to talk to him, they didn't use words. They would use hand gestures or point, but used very little words to communicate.

How strange, I thought to myself, that this man seems to understand when he is spoken to, yet could it be that because he cannot speak himself that others treat him as if he doesn't understand and stop using words to communicate with him? It made me think about what his life was like without a voice. This young man didn't seem physically impaired. He was skinny, but looked to be healthy. His eyes were bright and cheery and he smiled a lot, especially when Brother laughed and squealed in delight to see the turtles.

Maybe he could be a little deaf and I didn't realize it. But when I spoke he heard me. Or maybe he learned to read lips. Which, if that is true, I think would make him a very bright person. Either way, it left me curious as to why those he was with didn't speak to him with words.

You Break It - You Buy It

Yes, this gringa lost her cool again. While shopping. So I'll tell you again how uncool I was. Why not?

In the last post, I mentioned that most of our glass glasses have broken. Well, our glasses aren't the only thing that we are short on. Our dish supply continues to shrink as well. Saturday while doing dishes I broke the 3rd out of 4 ceramic plates. The kids and I went to the mall for lunch on Sunday and afterwards stopped into a local department store. They have a large kitchen and dish section and they also have a section where they sell single pieces of dishes. This would be from sets that are incomplete probably due to damage , so they sell them separately. I figured a few pieces would be good enough for the time being.

I've never really liked shopping here in Honduras. It's a different kind of experience. A lot less gratifying than the shopping I've done in the US. Now I could get sued for talking bad about this one particular store, but I just have to say that I will probably never go shopping in another Lady Lee department store again. I had had enough and this was the last straw.

I'll tell you what I experience here in San Pedro Sula when I go shopping. It may change a little from store to store. Most stores have security when you walk in. If you have any other bags with you, you must check them at the front. There is usually a sign that says firearms are not allowed in the store. All these things I can deal with. It is when you get past the security you will notice one or a plethora of store personal ready to follow you around the store always a few feet away. They may ask you if you need any help. They at times can be very helpful. But I don't always need undivided attention when I'm shopping. Sometimes I want to just look. But often there will always be someone right there to roam the store with you. I've experienced this hovering the worst in Lady Lee and in that other grocery store where I lost my cool. It makes me wonder what they are thinking. I also know that they work on commission so maybe they hover around me more because I'm white and think I might spend more money? Do they think I might steal something? Whatever the reason, this hovering drives me mad and makes shopping very unpleasant for me. I can usually feel my stress level go up when I walk into a store. And I guess on Sunday I hit a breaking point. (Pun intended)

We were in Lady Lee by all the random dishes display. There are dishes and mugs and bowls all precariously stacked from the ground up to about chest height on a glass shelf display. I stop to inspect some dishes (of course being closely watched) and my daughter and son walk away from me to look at something. A moment later I hear a mug break from the other side of the display. Yep, it's my son. Now I don't know if he picked it up and dropped it, bumped it or what, but these mugs were stacked one on top of the other. Not the best way to display mugs in the middle of a high traffic area of the store IMO. Crap. If you go shopping in Honduras and you break something - you buy it. So here I was ready to spend some money in the store, but because as soon as the mug broke I had three store personal surrounding me I felt irritated and decided to see if they would let me slide out without paying for the broken mug. Wrong. I knew better and was stopped. I was questioned and told that I needed to pay. I could feel my irritation rise. I think it was a combination of the fact that I couldn't communicate with them on what happened or what I thought of how irritating it is to shop at their store. After a little bit of trying to communicate and my anger feeling almost unbearable I took out a 20 lempira bill (About US $1) - the cost of the mug - and pretty much threw it at them and walked out. I said something to the effect that I wouldn't be back to shop there and oh...I said a swear word too. Oops.

Why did I get so upset? This is what baffles me. I'm not one to feel so hot headed about something so stupid. I can blame it on the annoying hovering, the lack of communication since I don't speak Spanish, or the break it - you buy it policy, but ultimately I think it's a combination of everything. I was brought to a point where I felt like I couldn't control my anger. To the point that I swore in front of my kids to strangers. We walked out of the store and I had to apologize to my kids. It was horrible. I felt horrible! I lost sleep about it that night agonizing about what horrible behavior I had. Why didn't I just get out the money as soon as it broke? Why did I want to be let off the hook? I don't know, but I drove home from that experience telling myself that I will never get used to living in Honduras and feeling very discouraged.

BTW, the mug my son broke, it was a very nice Care Bear themed mug. Just what every Honduran wants - right? Probably some cast offs from some silly themed gift set.

How do you feel about the "you break it - you buy it" policy? I'm curious.

Here's A Little Catch Up

Life here in Honduras has been moving along at a steady pace. I can't believe it's been about 8 months we've been living here now. Being that I now have a job, I've been feeling less cooped up, you could say. It's also starting to get hot around Honduras so it's nice to get out of this concrete oven we live in for a short escape at work.

My Teaching Job
The job teaching English has been going good. I've been hearing good feed back anyway about my teaching skills. I do like it and find it a good challenge. But there are two major issues with the job. The company I work for doesn't pay well and the time it takes to get ready, spend money on gas to get to work and the cost for childcare makes my "take home" pretty measly. That and I also hate being away from my kids and husband for a big chunk of the day. It really makes the job a lot less appealing. Papa says he misses dinner together at night too.

But who knows. I'm going to see if they would be willing to up my pay and maybe I'll stick around. If not, I'm going to see if I can pick up some students to tutor in English. So if you know someone around here wanting English lessons- send them my way.

The Maid Situation
Lets see...Ah yes. Our maid that I mentioned in my last post. We brought her back. Her name is Melinda, btw. We did attempt to find someone else. We called a girl highly recommended, but after talking with her on the phone, I guess you just need to figure that, "I'll get back to you" = no.

After debating the issue for a few days and weighing all the feedback we got from everyone, Papa and I talked to the maid's parents and sat down with Melinda too and gave her a second chance. I guess Melinda's father gave her a pretty harsh talking to, too. The first few days she was back, she was a little uncomfortable, but now seems to be back to her usual self. Laughing and talking. The one thing that helped us make the decision to bring her back, was that our son seems to like her and she likes him. They play and laugh. It's cute.

It's A Zoo Out There
On another note, I got into a small fender-bender a few weeks ago with the car. Papa was not happy. Maybe you saw me mention it on twitter. I rear-ended someone who I didn't see stop. Yeah...it basically cost me my whole months salary to get it fixed. But it looks better now than it did before because there was still some damage from my 1st accident. I think Americans have it almost too easy in the states because you can drive mindlessly. I remember driving places and arriving to my destination and thinking..."was I even watching the road?", "How did I get here?" The roads are wide, open and clear in the states for the most part. Cars usually stay in their lanes and drive at a fairly consistent speed. People don't make frequent sudden stops and theres not cars jetting out in front of you causing sudden breaking. In Honduras you better drive with both hands on the wheel and keep your eyes on the road and what's in front of you. Stay alert! I think that is where I have trouble. I think I forget I need to stay so alert.

Places to Go
We made it to the beach last week. It was a perfect day. I brought the camera and didn't take one photo. Sorry. A friend came along with her two adorable kids and it was a very good day.

I went out a few weekends ago with some girls I met. I also have made kind of a little chum at my job. It's nice to have some girlfriends to hang with. My girls back home can never be replaced, but no matter where you go, I think a girl needs girlfriends. Very important. So we went out and hit the town. Okay we went to one place and stayed there all night. But it was fun and we all danced our tails off. It was a-lotta fun! I felt 25 again.




Brother Updates
Brother graduated from potty training a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a struggle at first. He wouldn't put his "big boy underwear" on but we also would not put a diaper on him. So he ran around naked for a few days. After he wet himself he realized he did not like that and begged and screamed for his diapers. I told him diapers are for babies and had him help me (he watched me) put a diaper on a stuffed animal. He didn't like it at first. He screamed and was very upset at me. He wanted his diapers. But the next day he decided that mama was right; diapers are for babies and started letting us put his underwear on and he would tell us when he had to go. He now refuses to wear anything but his big boy underwear and is bringing himself to the toilet. I''m so proud of him! But the best thing is...no diapers to wash!! Thank heavens for my pila. They are invaluable, in my opinion.

Sister Updates
Sister has really been making leaps and bounds on her language skills. She is understanding a lot more now and I've seen her react to instructions given in Spanish or she will respond in English to what she hears in Spanish. I've been encouraging her tutor to get her to speak more now. Sister also has been picking up a lot of Spanish at school. Her friends seem to be pretty good with trying to help her speak more. They understand that she needs to learn.

I didn't mention this before, but we hired a woman in the neighborhood a few blocks from us that drives her kids and one other kid to school. I was a bit hesitant at first to hire this woman. Mainly because I didn't like that she was charging us so much even though she would be bringing her kids to the school anyway. She's charging us about $50/month which is almost the total cost of gas. We could hire a bus service to pick her up for less, but she would be picked up very early. So paying a little more has worked out well and Sister has fun with the kids she rides with and they too help her with Spanish.

Language
I on the other hand, am still in desperate need of Spanish lessons. I tried to study from the computer with some of the free programs out there on the web. I tried to read my Learn Spanish books. I don't know what I need because everything I do on my own puts me to sleep. Literally. And I don't retain anything. It's like I read it and forget it. At least that's how I feel.

Papa Updates
Papa has been working really hard. What else is new? Ha! I wish there was a magic formula to make his business grow like we want it to. But the systems here are so backwards and literally no one is consistent or is dishonest with their business practices, which makes it very difficult. Papa's joy definitely is in his family. He might have a very stressful day, but he always has room for love and play for the kids and wife.

That's All Folks
I could keep on writing but I'll stop this post here. Just wanted to catch you up on some things.

It's Raining Black Ash

Summer is upon us. We are inching closer to the hot season which starts around March. This is true for much of Honduras anyway unless you live way up in the mountains. One way to know the season is changing is when the sugarcane fields are harvested. My neighbor tells me they call this season "Zafra" because it is the time when the land is prepared.

Things kicked off last night with the burning of some nearby fields. Sugarcane fields are burned as the first step in harvesting. It gets rid of a lot of the excess to make harvesting easier. I found it explained here in English in a PDF- Louisiana Sugarcane Burning.
The image of the burning fields is one I ripped from a website about sugarcane harvesting.

There are lots of sugarcane fields around San Pedro Sula. I actually tasted raw sugarcane for the first time shortly after we moved here last July. Our neighbors who live across the street grow food crops in their yard for their own consumption and also to share. Sugarcane, plaintains and yuca. They had two or three good bushels going and they cut a few stalks for us. We all got sugar rushes chewing on the raw cane, except for Sister who is very reluctant to try anything new. Brother loved it, of course. I'll have to see if I can get a photo of some of the sugarcane juice stands around town. Maybe a video would be good too. They sometimes ride around with a mill and stalks of sugarcane and make fresh cane juice for you right there.

The number of sugarcane fields around San Pedro Sula are probably because there are large flat stretches of land in the valley which are surrounded by hills. I don't understand how winds and weather work exactly, but it's obvious this geographical layout creates a pollution problem. I wonder how all the burning they do effects those with respiratory problems? Especially for the young and old. As I mentioned before, I have allergies, and I'm not sure how this may effect things, but today my eyes are sort of burning and my throat and eyes are a little more itchy.

Here are some photos of the ashes that showed up around our house. A lot had blown away since this morning when the winds picked up this afternoon. Needless to say, it's not the time to be wearing white.

That is not dirt you see in the photos. That is sugarcane ash blown in from the burning fields a few miles away.

Watch Out For That Wall Officer

I was driving to my new job this morning when I saw an accident (after it had happened). Oh, did you catch that last sentence. Yes, I got a job teaching English. I'm hoping to learn methods to teach and be able to utilize the skills as a freelance English instructor/tutor. It should be an interesting challenge anyway and it's been a welcome change.

Back to the reason for the post. An accident really isn't that surprising. They are frequent in the city. What I thought was interesting was that the car obviously a bit out of control was the police vehicle. But who really knows what happened in this case. Maybe the police vehicle was only avoiding someone else who may have been driving like an idiot. There were three uniformed officers standing next to the house possibility waiting for someone to come and pick them up.

Hopefully those nice people that live in that house get a new wall and fence. We have seen and talked to the owners of the house actually. You see, the people that live in that house also sell beautiful woven hammocks and hanging chairs across the street and I see them setting up shop sometimes in the morning and we have stopped and talked to them before.

The photos were taken from my cell phone = poor quality.