So...My time here is almost halfway done. I can't believe it. It makes me so sad...at this point I have been in Honduras for 8 months of my life. Crazy, huh?
A few of my random and not so random thoughts on living here:
1) I never wear closed-toed shoes...I brought down only one pair it's a pair of tennis shoes-I have worn them for maybe 3 hours. Other than that-sandals!
2) Cleaning takes a long time here. No dishwashers, tons of dirt that blows in, lots of bugs, having to burn our garbage, etc... but it's probably good for me.
3) It's amazing how much language one learns by just living somewhere. I brought down several different books to study, but I haven't used them much...and yet I have learned a lot of Spanish. Everyday life here demands that I learn more and more and while in a lot of ways it's harder than studying a book, it's far superior and it's faster.
4) I've learned also about how another culture works. I certainly don't claim to be an expert on Honduran culture by any means, but I've gotten more or less used to having to learn new things and trying to see things from a different perspective. Sometimes I can anticipate a cultural difference before I see it or am told about it, sometimes I can't. It makes life here more of an adventure. I don't really look at my time here as me learning the culture so much as I look at it as me learning how to live in it and relate to it. I could live here for years and I would still think like a North American in many, if not most ways. We tend to learn cultural values and customs when we are very young and this is what is most natural to us. This is not to say that we don't enjoy the other culture. I love it down here- I am actually a lot less shy here! (I would have to be to teach 25 boys at a time, wouldn't I?)
5) I have learned the importance of good friendships. When you are far from everything you have ever known it's important to be able to have relationships with people. It can be easy to sometimes lock yourself away in your house and only go out to do your specific ministry. But it would be a sad, sad life. Here I have made some really good friends. The missionaries here are great and we can relate to each other. It's good to have people who understand how it feels to have limited contact with the people you love and be away from everything you have ever known. And it's great to be able to speak English! On the other hand, I love my Honduran friends here. We have so much fun together working together on things and having inside jokes that we tease each other about. And it's great to practice my Spanish!
6) Saying goodbye is hard to do. Yesterday we said goodbye to the Gouge family. They were Missionary Volunteer Partners (MVPs) here for almost a year. They got here a bit before I came to Honduras last fall in August, so I have never known what it was like to be here without them and the place already seems a bit emptier. They lived in the house close to Charith and I's apartment and I spent many afternoons sitting and talking with Ruth and working on something...or just sitting and talking. It's hard to see people leave whom you have come to know and love, but it's part of life on the mission field. Being so sad to see someone leave is hard, but it's a sign of how special their friendship has been to me and the rest of the mission family here. So, they will be missed, but not forgotten and can certainly expect emails and facebook messages.
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