hn26.

so it's about time i wrote again. its been about a week since the last entry and much has happened, at east in my eyes. first and foremost im obsessed with my horse. and athough i don't spend enough time with him, its hard not to think about him all day. its as if i really had a kid, and not a horse. regardless, every day i awake at 5 30, cut him some zacate, spend about an hour petting, brushing, and talking, and then in the afternoon we walk, do a little training, and more zacateando. for now the training will revolve around stay, come, and circle-running commands, but slowly and surely progress is being made. i think within a month he'll be quite manageable. i will be trying to mount for the first time in about 2 weeks, so we'll see how that goes. if he throws me, well it will be a learning experience and we'll seguir adelante. until then, it's a relaxed regime, with more bonding than training. it's strange how much worry and love an animal like a horse can bring out in it's owner. what's even stranger is that none of the hondurans around me share the same sentiment. to them horses are just work animals, stupid and only good for hard labor. to me, he's a friend, a mode of transport, a pet, everything. i mean, i spend just as much time talking to him as i do to some hondurans. and i think its not just a cultural difference, but something to do with how campesinos view many of their animals. not even dogs are treated with cariño. they're here just to guard, and they get hissed and and shished at all day long. i don't even think they get fed. they more or less fend for themselves. and then hondurans wonder why their chicken eggs go missing. anyway, enough about that. let's talk about thanksgiving.

this past thursday i joined up with about 15 gringos, 4 hondurans, and a dutchman (i think), to celebrate the holy union of pilgrims and natives (ignoring the fact that the pilgrims went on to massacre the natives over the next century, and beyond). it was amazing. the meal we cooked was one of the most elaborate i have had ever, and just the fact that we were eating true american cuisine in honduras made it all the more delectable. all day long we spent preparing the two turkeys, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the standard trimmings. we ate from 6 til...well til we fell asleep. and in between we danced salsa, merengue, everything. for hours. it was so refreshing. the people were wonderful, sweet, and friendly. conversations lasted hours instead of minutes, like they do in the campo, and we actually talked about substantial things and not just the weather or honduran politics. in the morning we ate bannana bread with ice cream, sipped on hot coffee, and parted ways with hugs and promises of future fancy dinners.

but now, since the holiday is over, it's time to get back to work. the next few weeks will be filled with lots of mapping, lots of coffee pulp, and lots of time spent horse training. lets see how that goes.

oh and btw, in answer to mom's comment on the last one, the horse reshoeing experience was awesome. he didn't freak, didn't buck, didn't do anything. i petted him while he stood there with one leg in the air for about ten minutes. everyone thought it was incredible that an untrained horse could be so calm for so long while being shoed. we ended up doing it on a street corner in front of my house at dusk, and it worked out perfectly.