Illegal Entry, What they don't know....

It was Saturday night, and after crossing the bridge, to El Salvador, we were all excited to go to the festival, but then the guards came up to the pick up truck and my heart began to pound out of my chest.  They had told me that there usually are no soldiers at the entry to El Salvador.  I was hoping that my skin color and the fact that there were plenty of us in the back if the truck would hide that I am American.  Then I heard the man say "Lift up your shirt."  I was apalled, was he saying that to one of the girls!! We all looked at him with open mouths, until the guy next to me lifted up his shirt, and we realized the guard was just checking for weapons, and then we passed without another problem.  I have a tiny understanding now of how it must feel to be an "illegal" in the country, walking around with fear of the policemen around the festival.  Ok maybe I am a little dramatic, but I wasn't that worried, only a lil bit, I mean after all they did put me on a blacklist to not enter the country until I had left the region. 

A brother of my girls, the Uncle Hilberto, Aunt Nina, A cousin, and one of the twins

These are the streets in part of the town. 

 

 

 

 

 

El Salvador is those hills in the distance

 

       I had no intention of going to El Salvador, when I went to the house of two of the girls that go to our school.  The sisters live with their uncle and aunt because their mom left them 8 years ago to go work in the states.  Their whole family has been moved around and dispersed between different tias and tios.  Its sad, but right now they are in a great place, with their Aunt and Uncle who take care of them like their own children, along with some distant cousin's twin daughters whose mother died in child birth, and their own son.  They live in a beautiful little tiny countryside town of a couple hundred people.  They like most everyone, make a living off their coffee farms and money they receive from the states (from the girls' mom).    The town is litterally right across a tiny bridge from San Fernando, a town of El Salvador, and Saturday night there was the coronation of Senorita San Fernando, so there was a tiny Fiesta, with tons of fireworks, a ferriswheel live music, dancing, and vendors of all sorts of stuff.  

       One crazy tradition they have is tho have a person with a cow costume that had live fireworks run around and dance, and randomly the fireworks will shoot off into the crowd!  As I was in the crowds I knew I couldn't move so I  just sat there and prayed to God the firework didn't go off when the cow was near me!    Its fun to see the cool cow dancing with flames on its back, but then you remember at any moment you might get pegged with one of those hot flames, and then you start to worry!

This is one of the sisters of a diffferent girl who goes to our school but couldn't make it home this weekend

    Its a beautiful place, and I love the way everyone knows everyone, and everyone family or not, is family.  I was called tia more than once by random little kids running around the village.  I hope that the threats right now of our modern culture can integrate with their lives, without destroying the beautiful sense of community you can find in these little villages like this. 

The dad of a different girl cutting down some fruit pods so that I can try them.

This is the fruit that you eat!

Crazy fuit pods called Pepinitos (I think)

Adventures on the border

 

So going to renew my visa was supposed to be an easy day trip, but it ended up being a long three day trip full of adventure.  Here in Honduras, the visas are given on a 90 day basis to Tourists from all non-Central-American countries except Libya and a few others.  90 days is just long enough to forget that you need to leave the country. My second 90 day visa expired today, and I had to leave the country to get a new one before.  

I live about 4 hours from the border of Guatemala and El Salvador by combination of buses and taxis. Not so far, and a day trip is quite possible, if one leaves early in the morning...

Rejection in El Salvador

Someone told me El Salvador was closer just go there, so I believed them and took a bus and then another bus, and then a busito and then a taxi, and made it to the border by myself.  I made it there pretty quickly and around 12:00 I was in the Immigration office in El Salvador.  After waiting 35 minutes inline for the passport check, it was finally my turn and the man began to ask me questions and then more questions.  He seemed awfully suspicious, and examined my visa, and then again, and then the third time of reexamining it he told me it wasn't valid in El Salvador, because it was from the El Salvador Honduras border, and I haven't left the region in 90 days blah-di-bla-bla... Well at this moment emotions running high and my nerves on edge, all I could do was hold back the baseball in my throat. I held back as long as I could and walked away, sad that I got cheated changing my money into American Dollars (the currency of El Salvador), and that I wasted my free day and my money on rejection!  Then Sor Vilma called me and then *waahhh*  the flood gates broke.  I was balling walking by myself on the Honduran border wondering what I would do without a Visa, or when I would find time and money to travel to Belize or Mexico, and the whole time aware of the strange men glaring at me wondering what in the world was going on. Ohh the humiliation of being an emotional woman! Lucky for me, even when I'm emotional I still think clearly and went to the Honduran Migracion office, and there was a guy watching TV, and he really said nothing but uhh huh,no,no! uh huh. Asking enough questions, I was able to deduce from the "si" and  "no" responses that Guatemala would probably let me in, so perhaps I wouldn't be left visaless! There was hope still!

JPII my last hope in Guatemala!

Sunday by puro milagro I woke up at 5:40 realized the bus left at 6:00 aka it leaves at 5:50!  I literally jumped out of bed put on my jeans and sprinted out the door and down the huge hill, making it to the bus at 5:51, only to find out there would be no bus until 9:00! 

So back up the hill to the Cathedral I made the 6:00 mass, and then down the hill again just in time to catch the bus.  At the big border town there was only one taxi waiting at the station to go to the Guatemalan Border-- it was Sunday, so only one taxi does runs to the Guatemalan border  which is about 45 min away.  The Guatemalan border was weird.  First there's the leaving Honduras side, then a 3 km drive and then the entry to Guatemala side.  Its also totally sketch there's nothing around really a couple snack shops and a ton of young men just standing around watching the two of us who came in the taxi pass through customs--CREEEPY!  I went to the border and just walked over to Guatemala with no problem, then I realized I needed to get my passport revised. hahe  So I walked back to the strange neutral zone and waited 20 min for the Guatemalan Immigration to attend to me, even though there was only one other person there! 

      So long story short, they let me into the country! and after a few more taxis I made it to Escipulas safe and sound, around 1:00.  They said the last bus to Santa Rosa left at 3:30 fro the big border town, so I figured I had 45 min in Esquipulas before I had to make my way back.  I prayed in the awesome templo and saw the famous "Black Christ" ate a sandwhich and a smoothie in the park, and then headed back .  I made it to the leaving Guatemala side on a little busito, but there was noone in the Immigration office, so the bus left me, and I went to go look for the Immigration workers first in a snack shop, and then all the way to their houses, and still didn't find them! haha Only in Central America!   So I waited about half hour, and finally some 17 year old guy came running and said he could stamp my passport, and he did.  Then I left just in time to jump on a bus on its way to Santa Rosa! What luck! 

      However when we came to the Honduran Entry point, they didn't want to stop, so I jumped off and they left me.  The second time that day!  The Honduran side was not so reticent to accept me either!  The guy  said the don't give visa's if you haven' been out of the country more than a day!  The guy said I could spend the night here and in the morning he'd give me a visa.  I looked around at the couple of run down houses and sketch guys, and was desesperada! (dissillusioned)  I prayed for some Divine Mercy.  Then I began to explain that I'm a volunteer and da da da and everything I do.  The man looked at me and said no, he couldn't, then I begged JPII for some good ol intercession, and sat there. The man began looking at the huge stacks of lists of people rejected from the country, (that I am now on in El Salvador hehe)  and I thought for sure he was going to add me to it, and asked me to fill out this paperwork, and ta daa! It was my visa!!!

Divine Mercy Sunday, and JPII perfect combo when in a bind!

As I signed the Visa, I heard the Booom, of the thunder, and as I was walking down the steps the rain began.  I looked and the Taxi was pulling away.  The only taxi that runs on Sunday! He saw me and let me in, saying I was lucky because now that the rain started, he wasn't going to do anymore runs!  Even though the taxi smelled a like dirty laundry, I couldn't help but rejoice that I was dry as I looked outside at the immense downpour of the rain on the beautiful countryside!

  The Third Bus to Leave me Stranded...

     I made it to the Bus station just in time around 3:40, and they said the bus hadn't left, so I was lucky.  However, soon 4:30 came, and then 5:30 and me and the fifty others were still at the bus stop.  The bus wasn't going to come.  And the next bus was at 4:30 am.  No prob, I called the sisters asked them if they knew where I could stay the night, and told them I was at the bus stop, and then.... My phone died. I have amazing luck!   So then I was tempted to hitch hike with this lady and her children, but decided against it in the end, because they weren't going all the way to Santa Rosa.  Soooo I waited at the bus stop, with a friendly couple and the sisters called me at the bus company, and told me how to go to a random convent in the city, because I could spend the night there.  What a miracle, the sisters there took care of me and gave me dinner and in the morning I left and made it back to St, Rosa in time for my classes!

God is good and takes care of us when we need him!

El famoso "Cristo Negro"! The cross in the Basilica draws pilgrims from tons of countries because it is a miracle that the Jesus on the cross of the crucifix turned black (dark brown) like the skin color of the people here to show that Christ is one of them too. 

What a Semana Santissima!

Ok so Holy Week was this last week, and here that is like the equivalent of Spring Break for the whole country.  Imagine a whole country on vacation!  Everyone spends time with family and goes to the Hot springs, the beach or the river "to bathe" aka to swim.  I too joined this Honduran Vacaition madness, accompanied by my brother Nathan, who came in from DC to visit!   We had some great times...
Snorkeling and seeing amazing amazing coral reefs in Utila, 
         

 

   

Going toCopan to visit the Mayan Ruinas, to go Horseback riding and to visit with some friends from Tegucigalpa

 

And Coming back to Santa Rosa to experience the amazing traditions of Holy week, including:

The Sawdust Carpets for the Way of the Cross

  the veneration of Jesus hung on the cross, the procession of the holy burial,  and the procession of the mourning of Mary

However awesome all everything was, one of the best parts this week, was on Holy Saturday, going to a tiny tiny town in the middle of nowhere that has no electricity.  We had the opportunity to go with the bishop and the sisters for the Bishop's pastoral visit.  It was amazing to see the faith so alive in these people who live in the middle of nowhere, and that they came from their houses some hours away just to sing, celebrate, and have communion with the Bishop.  They were all so generous, even making food for all of us visitors.  It was cool to see how much Monseñor Luis (the bishop) is a Bishop of the pueblo (for the people) because he loved them, and also just how genuinely they also loved him.  

Finally the culmination of the week came to the celebration of the Easter vigil mass, with a dramatization of jesus breaking out of a tomb they had constructed behind the altar!  
 

Unfortunately we were to tired to stay up to see the races of St John and St Peter Easter Morning, between 4 and 6 am they run with the statues of the saints all over town for two hours just like Peter and John ran to tell Mary Jesus was risen. oh well. After an excursion to Gracias, Me and Nathan finished off the trip sitting listening to some old men play Marimba music late Easter Sunday in front of the Cathedral para toda la gente (for all the people). It was a blessed week and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my brother!

"On Easter we're all fish!"

Having Nathan, my big brother, here all week was awesome, we got to have adventures on all types of public transportation in Honduras,
1. Rapiditos/busitos(15 passenger vans that they shove 30 people in),  this is a video Nathan took of one soo full they broke the door off!

2. Tuktuks/mototaxis- My fav because you can't shove too many people in one!
3. Normal taxi's -with sneaky drivers trying to trick you into paying more than normal along with some quite respectable drivers, 

A cute kid making faces as she sat on the lap of her mom

4. Normal buses - old school buses filled to triple capacity because you don't have to pay for children and always with people and their chickens(in boxes of course), and these buses stop at every single group of houses no matter how small, and you have to be prepared to stand for a few hours.

5. Un Bus Directo that stops at less little towns, and only lets random people on to sell things when the driver is hungry , hehe 

6. And once on a Luxury bus, that gave us sanitary food included in the price, and didn't stop at all until the final destination! 
So in all this adventures of public Transportation, I'll share with you one. 
       On Easter, we went on a day trip to Gracias and on the way back, we were on a normal bus and there were a few empty seats, and I thought Wow maybe because its Easter day less people are traveling....But I was wrong, we approached the river and there they ALL were, all the Hondurans filled the river swimming and enjoying the sun.  However as we passed over the bridge, **Boom** thunder and the rain started, and, well, everyone decided this was the moment to leave the river, and our bus stopped.  A huge hoard of people still dripping wet from the river poured into the bus. Men and women accompanied by their grandparents and ten children entered cramming into every crevice possible bringing with them mud and the smell of fish. Someone had put a bag dripping with muddy fishwater over the heads of the people sitting in front of us, while I had the good fortune of only having a really wet old grandma pressed against my side, and she said through her few remaining teeth to the people in front of us who were complaining about the fishwater falling on them that "La Pascua todos somos pescados!" (On Easter we're all fish!) She made me laugh.
     The vieja was just noting that everyone goes swimming here on Easter, but I thought how oddly true her statement is.  If Jesus called us to be fisher's of men, then men really have to be the fish!  I guess we have to realize that sometimes we are the dirty smelly fish that need to be caught up in the nets of Christ.  Than I guess we also have to go out with our nets and hooks of love to catch other dirty slimy smelly men and bring em to the truth.   Anyways Happy Easter to all!

Pictures from Gracias

The fortaleza

Nathan firing

He shot me!

          

Me and Nathy

The church at the center of the town!

Do you take this man...

Sooo, this Sunday, in front of all the girls I will be married to a Hondoran!  Dun dun dun duu.... I hear the music, and the words(or the spanish equivalent), "Do you take this man to love and to cherish for the rest of  ..."  Ok this is were I give thanks to God, that the girls will not ever be planning my real marriage!  and that the words of the celebrant will end "for the rest of the Kermesse."
     The Kermesse is our big annual carnival that we have to raise funds.  At one point they decided it would be a good idea to pay to marry people for the Kermesse, which means you have to walk together the rest of the carnival, or pay for a divorce.  Only God knows who will be the man I am going to marry, because everyday for the past two weeks the girls have been talking about who they are going to marry me to! Ahhh! Now I have to get back to grading papers :(  I just needed a break for a moment.  Good night, Pray for us here, and the situation with the teachers strike, there has been no classes inthe public schools for three weeks, some for more time, and who knows when the situation will end.  The situation in Honduras won't get any better if the people remain uneducated, so pray for a well thought out peaceful resolution.

People of few words

Sandra and Me

This past weekend, I went to the house of another girl in Corquin 2 hours from Santa Rosa.  This stay was much different than the past house I visited.  Instead of a house with dirt floors full of children like the last house I visited, her parents were in their late seventies.  Her father had worked as a farmer for 70 years to earn money to build and sustain the house, and it was relatively modern with tile floors, electricity, a refrigerator, and an indoor bathroom!  However, don't think that its like your house, it is still very much a Honduran house-- meaning the wood stove kitchen away from the house, the same water pila to wash your laundry by hand, very simple and small indoors, and a ton of chickens! same profession, .  When you worked that long outside, and you see the way things are, you don't speak much. I've found that this is also very Honduran, many people just pass time in silence.  There isn't a pressing need to speak for them, "there's always  tomorrow if God allows us" as they say.  It's an interesting way to look at things, and definitely more reflective than an American go get it and Just do it now type of attitude.  This is cool and nice for a while, but I realized as much as it is good, neither does silence really solve problems, it kinda just pushes them away and makes family life difficult if you don't speak much.

The house looks very modern!

The Dad always wears his working hat during the day so that if he has to leave to work, he has it, even though he is retired. hehe.

    Fittingly, you can imagine, I had a relaxing time this weekend away from the girls of the school, and the talkative Hermanas.  My friend showed me around her town and introduces me to her also very silent sisters and cousins and told me about her life. I'll just say she is 28, and in her second year (10th grade) studying Bachillerato in Admnisitration, and she has had to overcome some amazingly difficult obstacles to go to school and to move forward in life.  Its pretty amazing that she now has this chance to study here, and I'm very blessed to know her.

A lot of Chickens= Fresh eggs, mmmmmm

A normal Honduran stove

The Kitchen where we spent most of our time,
making tortillas and the food for the family

"modern" houses still wash clothes by hand, in the pila on the left.   Bottom Right
next to the Plantains, note that its the ONLY trash basket the house!

     On the subject of how campesinos talk, I just thought I'd share with you what one man told us just randomly as we were on our trip home from Corquin to Santa Rosa. Its a 2 hour trip but we went the first hour leg of the trip with some random policeman who offered us a ride.  For an hour, we didn't speak a word, until we said goodbye, take care, and God bless as he dropped us off at a bus stop to finish our trip, and he said "You too" smiled, and waved goodbye. We waited half an hour with a handful of people, and no one spoke, one was a middle aged campesino, he was still in his work clothes from working in the fields, and after a while, He asked us if we knew the man who dropped us off, we said "No, he was just a policeman kind enough to drive us half way to Santa Rosa."  Then we all waited in silence, after a while he says "Yeah, God does take care of us.  Look at the beautiful dresses the trees are wearing right now- how they are all nice and festive with flowers for Easter coming, and how the mango trees look so burdened with the sweet fruits for us to eat, but soon when the first storm comes it will all be gone, the leaves and the fruit and the trees will be barren looking.  It doesn't look so nice for us, but the trees like it because God knows they need the water, and sends us the storms anyways, the storms undress and unburden the trees, but only so that he can redress them even more beautifully.  See what I mean, God takes care of us with the flowers and the fruit, and then he sends us the water for the trees."  Then we didn't really talk and as we were getting on the bus, he added that he was friends with uncle of the policeman who took us. Honduras is a small but beautiful country, and I'm glad I had a little retreat from the city, but also glad to be back in the hubaloo of the school day!

Yes, thats a chicken in the tree, just hangin out!

The view from her house

Their dog Perrigro (sounds like "peligro"=danger) hehe