hn24.

I realized a terrible truth today. But before i get to the point, one would need to be briefed about the thought process, where it started, how the conclusions came. And to be honest, maybe i can even get you to realize the truth before I even say it, and then you can nod your head, feel a sense of accomplishment, and actually get something out of this. because you come here once or twice a week, read entries about my life, but probably don't ever feel like you really did anything. or learned anything. or laughed. well today, we shall discover together something deep and frightful. kind of.

anyway, lets get to it. ever since coming to honduras and living in the campo ihave come to notice that almost everyone looks older than they actually are. 16 year olds look like they're 18 or 20, 25 year olds look like they're 30, and the gap keeps growing with every age category after that. once in a while you run into a honduran who looks their age, but overall, this is the trend. people get wrinkles early, grow mustaches early (although i think no matter what age i reach, i will never be able to grow a mustache). they marry and have 6 kids, all before i could even think about settling down. they grow internally and externally at a more rapid rate. and now the question comes, but why? what factors affect aging in such a way that a whole population might be growing older in a different way than another? in this case, i think the list goes on. but i wanted to explore a few regardless.

hondurans age externally due to their environment. living and working. they live in a country where the sun is harsh, for a large part of the year. harsh, like white people can't hang out outside. ever. at least not for more than an hour without increasing their chances of skin cancer by 10% every time. and the people of this continent do it every day, with only a hat and long sleeves to protect them. and so, skin being the way it is, changes every year into something more tough and weathered, as a means of protecting the wearer.

but this takes its toll in appearance, or at least beat-upedness. people start looking older at a younger age even though they live the same or longer than we do. they work in the fields, or other types of manual labor, from before they can read. kids start cutting coffee with their families at the age of 3. the boys work with their dads building or farming, and the girls in the kitchens or the little stores. all this work, also is reflected in their looks.
but what's even more interesting is that hondurans move through life at a different pace, in a way i could never have imagined. people have children starting at 16, and usually by the age of 26, three little cipotes (kids) are seen running about the salon (living room). little girls watching Nickelodeon, little boys blowing up fireworks, and the dads working 7-5 every day including saturday to feed them. the moms at the same time spend all day in front of the stove (or fogon, a woodburning cooking thing), or washing clothes (by hand), cleaning, doing everything at home with no technological assistance. this then leads to the parents aging quicker (for need to provide for 5) and the cycle begins again. its almost as if their social class, standard of living, and national situation (yes politics affect this as well due to the corruption that keeps these people in the same place year after year) are working against them every day. and the funny thing is that although maturity wise, and externally, hondurans age fasted, in terms of energy, capability, and strength, age slower. i know old honduran guys, 60 years old, who spend the day in the field chapeando with a machete, carrying 100 pound bags of fertilizer, and doing everything that an average 35 year old american could not even dream of doing.

well, that's about it. something to think about. maybe that's why peace corps are

here, help people with their skin and babies.