fifteen. first real one in honduras.

so guess what guys? i'm finally in honduras. i'm not sure when i'll be able to actually publish this, so i will add to it as my experiences, well, accumulate. first and foremost, i guess i should give a time and place to this portion, as my location will be changing drastically over the next few months. today we arrived in tegucigalpa around 11 am. the landing was awesome, since teguz is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, the plane had to dive quite quickly, almost grazing a major highway, and stop on a runway about the size of my drive way in brunswick. it was sick. we were picked up by peace corps representatives, and taken to zarabanda, the town where we will be staying til sunday. btw, right now, is tuesday, july 28th. anyway, we got to see our training facility, which is situated in a bosque de pinares, or pinos, both of which mean pine. its beautiful. the mountain air is cool and fresh, and while in dr we were sweating immediately upon arrival, here we need sweaters at night. its wonderful. the training staff seems nice, although i don't yet know any of them, so judgement will have to be passed later. luckily, our training director is awesome, luis estrada, a peace corps employee with a life story that puts many to shame. basically, if there is something you have wanted to do at one point in your life, he's probably done it, twice. anyway, the best part was yet to come. i met my host mom, who picked me up at the school, and she turned out to be wonderfully sweet. a gentle and pious woman, mi mama, is one of the kindest, gentlest, host mom's i've ever had in all my time abroad. she lives with her son, his wife, their 3 year old daughter, who's adorable beyond belief. next door, live her other son, his wife, and their two kids, one of whom is the coolest little boy ever. we spent the day exploring their garden, where i tried to learn as many plant names as possible. we played with a turtle, went to the nearest pulperia, or little store, ran with their dogs, and mostly spent the evening playing games and laughing. i spoke to the family all day, as much as i could, about everything from the current political situation to my own family tree. i even cooked with the dona, and got to enjoy the bandera hondurena. the honduran flag, or staple dish, includes a starch (potatos or rice), habichuelas (beans), platanos maduros fritos (fried sweet plantains), un poco de carne (a little meat, in this case some fried egg), and mantequilla (which is not butter here, but a kind of buttermilk sour cream thing, which you put on top of plantains, and its awesome). everything was topped off with some coffee, which is made in an interesting way here. while boiling the water, sugar is added directly to the pot, before the coffee, which gives the whole brew a sweetness that is very distinct. to be honest, i loved it. so far, honduras, is, well, great. if everything continues on this path, i may want to move here when i get old. maybe. but then again, it's still too early to tell. heh. anyway, hope all is well with you guys.
7.30 i am in love with this country. where i am right now, reminds me of my childhood in russia, and it brings about an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. the pine forests, country living, the smells, the sounds. everything brings back memories of our derevnya, or dacha, all the years spent running around the forest, breathing the fresh air. and now, i'm living through it all again. except here, there are wild horses, amazing tropical plants, insects ive never seen before. yesterday i explored the land that belongs to my host family, and my host brother introduced me to more than 40 differnet species of plants, including vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals. here they grow everything from beans, corn, plantains, coffee, and other standard staples, to pomegranates, mandarin oranges, guava, passion fruit, mango, and every tropical fruit imaginable. they grow their own basil, and other herbs. medicinal plants. everything. its mind blowing. shit, for now, my battery is about to die, so i will continue this tomorrow. til then.
7.31 my host nephew has amazed me more and more with every hour that i spend with him. although he is extremely young, maybe 9, or 10, he already has a deep understanding of the natural world. he can identify any plant, or animal, insect, anything that lives or passes through this area. he understands how they interact, how they change through time. he talks of metamorphosis in the same way other kids talk about power rangers. every day that i have come home from school, he has invited me out to explore some system with him. we went to the pantanos (marshes), watched caballos salvajes, poked around a large vernal pool, even hiked through a forest in the dark, looking at termites in a dead standing tree. this kid is everything I wish I had been at his age. i sincerely hope he goes to college, and does something green, because I can see greatness in him, and maybe one day he'll save the world. just like i've been saying i would be doing at one point. what's even more amazing, is that the whole family is like that. it's not boyish curiosity that drives the kid, it's constant reinforcement from his dad and his uncles. they all work constantly, either at their jobs, or on the family farmland, producing most of the family's food in their own backyard. at the same time, they recognize that the world they live in is fragile, and they make a serious effort to defend its vitality. the catrachos, or hondurenos, respect their surroundings, because they understand that their lives depend directly on the survival of what's alrededor. they also seem to know about everything else that is useful. for example, the two brothers, both in their late 20's or early 30's, spent most of the evening fixing the front frena, or brake, on the one brother's moto. i think his name is manuel, but I forget. i'm terrible with names. regardless, within about 2 hours, the two had tested every aspect of the brake, found the issue, which was much more complex than intially expected, and repaired it without even breaking a sweat. now the motorcycle stops on a dime. too bad i can't ride it, but now i'm completely envious of their mechanical knowledge. hopefully, by the end of these 2 years, i will be able to do the same. too bad i will only be living with this family for 2 more weeks. i know i will find equally capable people elsewhere, so maybe i still have a chance of making something useful out of myself.