well i've been through quite a number of experiences today and in the past week that are worth mentioning. ups, downs, in betweens, and all throughout a learning experience. first, when i wrote that last entry, i was slipping into a negative phase that lasted about three days. i got little down, got hit with a little depression, and struggled for a few days. the thing that saved me were the loving words from family, friends, and loved ones. so for that i thank you all. but it also made me realize how much i depend on others for my own sanity. i think its about time i stopped making hundreds of phone calls when things go downhill, and start looking within myself for the answers. because i know they're always there waiting, it just takes a little effort and suffering to crack that nut, and get at the good stuff. plus, although i feel very grateful for all the help, i think that something is skipped over when provided support by others, and some part of the learning process is never reached. its as if being handed the medal before running the last lap. that's the hardest part, and you just got the prize. not the same. anyway, i guess most importantly i'm over it and in high spirits, although i have had some shitty moments in the past few days.
first, lets talk about the good stuff. i'm currently writing a grant for this worm project thing im starting, and its going well. not nearly as done as i would like, but progress is good. i also got support from an NGO to cover the start up costs for the project, and all i have to do is give a little talk sometime in dec. they also suggested other sources of funding, so i may go looking there as well. tomorrow ill be going horse back riding again for long distance, so that should be awesome. thats the good stuff.
the bad stuff. my hard drive crashed, the portable one, so good bye movies, tv shows, and other awesome stuff. shame, but oh well, nothing to do. also, my camera is on the fritz, so there might not be many pictures starting sometime soon. we'll see.
on a completely different note, not related to anything previously written, i would like to describe an experience for all of you, which you can tag onto the good, the bad, or the in between. I went to an evangelical traditional honduran wedding reception today. i didn't get to go to the wedding, well, because i was asleep until 7 or so, and it started at 8 an hour away. but the reception, well that was something else. first of all, as you all know, they don't drink here, at least not openly, so there was no booze. there was food, and soda, and a whole lot of quiet hondurans. many sat outside, some inside, some by the bread oven, but no one really talked about anything, and the whole thing was somewhat surreal. then, everyone got together to go dancing at the grooms house. i thought, awesome, let's blow this Popsicle stand and get our groove (or grooves) on. although it took about an hour and a half for people to get organized, by the time we left in the back of a pick up truck, it was only 3 30 and we had plenty of time to party. i was all dressed up, clean pressed shirt, smelling nice, hair combed, ready to mingle and integrate to the max. within five minutes it starts raining, and by the time we arrive at the "party" i'm soaked. at which point, i find that not only is there no dancing, but there's more food. so we eat again, and I figure, hey lets boogie. but no. what resulted was more like an 8th grade formal, with the men at one side of the yard, talking about the lack of dancing, and the women in the kitchen and at the table, talking about how lame the men are (maybe, i wasnt actually there but that's what I would have talked about). i spent about two hours waiting with the guys, to see change, and when none came i decided it would be best to get another plate of food and relax. however once i finished i heard the sounds of booming ranchera and thought, now is the time, finally i get to shake my ass, and make a fool of myself. but alas, what was going on was more like a performance than a dance party. three pairs were dancing in the living room while about 50 people observed. and this is the point when it hit me, for every 1 girl participating or wanting to participate in dance, there were about 10 horny older honduran men (maybe not all of them were horny, but definitely the single ones and many of the married ones, which was about 80% total). at this point i chose to go home, and hopped a ride with my host fam, as they were bringing purchased sacks of coffee back to the cooperative. what i didn't realize is that the coffee would have to be loaded into the beneficio before we went home. thats about 20 two hundred pound sacks. with two people to carry them, and two to unload. and it was raining. not fun. but i did get to learn something interesting about coffee.
so one of the steps of processing coffee is washing it after its been de-pulped. the coffee bean retains a honey like coating on the surface which needs to be removed prior to drying and toasting. the way this is done is simple. coffee beans are placed in a serpentine bath like channel, which is about 100 feet long. give or take. water then gets pumped into the channel at the beginning, and as it washes over the coffee, the honey residue is removed. at the same time, bad quality coffee which is less dense, rises to the top, washes over the good quality coffee, and falls into a grated tub where the water goes into. this water is then processed in order to prevent the contamination of the water system with this honey stuff. but the most interesting part is what i found out is done with the shitty coffee that falls into this tub thing. it still gets sold, but to very specific buyers. producers of instant coffee, i.e. folgers, nescafe, etc. and to producers of mass marketed honduran coffee i.e. café indio and cafe oro. that means that the next time you find yourself drinking instant coffee, since i doubt you guys buy cheap honduran coffee in the states, know that you are drinking the rejected coffee from many different farms and types of producers. and also, apparently, during the grinding process, for cheap coffee that is, it gets mixed with other crap like seeds, avocado pits, and other fillers to supply some of the volume. enjoy, buen provecho.
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