Tratar: To Try

When traveling there is a lot to be said for trying new things. Experiences, ways of being, food (although that verb en Español es probar). What would be like to go somewhere new and taste of the fruit, proverbially speaking, that the new country has to offer. My first week in Copan was full of the verb "tratar."

Las Ruinas ~

First (primero) there were the ever famous ruins for which Copan Ruinas is named. The ancient Mayan ruins were truly a marvel. A testament to human strength, sweat, blood. How significant the reality that I had a chance to glimpse a piece of the wonders the ancient Mayans had created. To see where they lived and worked and slep and were buried. To trod where kings have trod (and perhaps were no poor Mayan ever did, though it was but a moments climb up a hundred stairs). The history is too grand and Spanish to say much but here are a few savory treats I loved:

1- The Mayan god of fertility is the crocodile.

2- The game from "The Road to El Dorado" where they bounce the rubber balls through the hoops is real, and if you won you were awarded the honor of being sacrificed to the gods. But that only happened three times a year.

3- The wealthy Mayans had their places of work right across a small courtyard from their houses, and right under their beads were their tombs.

..........or right under their houses.

 

Zip Lining ~

For as long as there have been humans, there has been the dream of flight. We have always been fascinated with the idea of growing wings and leaving the shackles of the earth. The Wright Brothers were the first to taste anthropogenic flight on December 17, 1903. Yet (todavía) planes are not the only way we fly. I flew last week, in a manner of speaking. I flew approximately 12 times. Through the glorious montañas of Copan. I flew on the western hemisphere's longed zip line, which exceeded a kilometer in length (.62 miles for you Americans out there). It was exhilarating, invigorating and a great chance to practice Spanish, you'd be surprised how quickly you can learn when your life and health depend on your ability to understand people. No pictures to date, my camera was too big to bring. However, one of my travel buddies Alexandra took some photos and videos and I may be able to get my hands on them.

 

Bird Park ~

I understood surpassing little of this entirely in Spanish adventure but there were a few great take aways.

1- Pigmy Owels are born featherless and our guide called them "pelotas de carne" which roughly translates as "meatballs."

2- I got to hold three Guacamayas (see below). Guacamayas mate for life and live to be 80 years old! That's what I call commitment!

3- I think the photos speak for themselves. *Note, this week's photo of the week is from the bird park.

Aguas Calientes (Thermal Hot Springs) ~

An hour into the mountains of Copan rests a serene and peaceful paradise of thermal hot springs. Our rag tag group of two undergraduate volunteer translators (Alex and Andrew, from Oaklahoma and Texas respectfully) and two teachers (myself and Thomas, budding professional and seasoned with the wisdom of a healthy career, respectfully) enjoyed everything from Spiritual baths, to natural foot massages, to mud baths, steam baths, and conversations in Spanish and English about love, writing, teaching, faith, college, and musicals. Fun fact, the water from the hot river (which was diverted to create pools) is at its source 95 celsius (203 degrees Fahrenheit, again for the Americans). Needless to say we kept it safe by staying in the designated areas.

That is all for now. Should keep you all busy for a day or five. Thanks for your love and prayers!

 

Viajar: To Journey

Where do you start when the whole world you knew is gone. What is Copan like, what is different? These are not simple questions to answer. Copan is many things: remote, green, steep, full of Spanish, alive with the song of a thousand birds you have never heard before, in the middle of winter, wet, without power for hours at a time during the storms, friendly, different, did I say steep, alive, brimming with smiling children, wonderful, different, challengeing, and filled with adventure. It is, in a word, a breathtaking.

For the basics, I am staying in a homestay with a wonderful family. I have a delightful mother who cooks every meal for me (but she could never beat the real deal) and a beautiful sister named Sarai. (Sara-eye-ee, phonetically speaking). My room has a nice bed and its own bathroom. Each room opens onto a patio and the kitchen rests at the end. In short it is a wonderful living situation with great opportunities to practice my Spanish.

Each morning (cada mañana) I walk down the steeply cobbled streets for four hours of Spanish class. My teacher is named Sara and she teaches me everything I need to know, makes me feel smart, and then speaks at a normal tempo to another teacher and all of the sudden I feel like I know nothing. I am progressing rapidly and try to practice continuosly. There is much to learn and I try to work meticulously on my tarea (homework). At the school we are permitted to speak only in Spanish. All the teachers speak only Spanish and to the other students: solomente en Español. It is hard, but I know I am learning my fill.

When it comes to food there are not many similarities. Almost everything I eat comes from right around Copan. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. The juice I have is freshly sqeezed mango juice. Mangos from the garden 10 feet from the kitchen. As I guest I am given the largest and best portions of everything. I can not argue it, I can not change it. I am never allowed to help clean either. The generocity of my host family (and the families hosting the other students as well) is incredibly beautiful. They give of their need, not of their extra. There is so much kindness it is even a little overwhelming. In case you were wondering, when it comes to food there is mostly: beans, rice, tortillas, corn, avacados, tortillas, mangos, beans, papayas, tortillas, lettuce, beans, avacados, tortillas, sometimes beaf, beans, rarely chicken, tortillas, beans, and tortillas. That about sums it up.

Comenzar: To Begin

If every journey begins with a dream, then my journey to Honduras began midsummer 2004 under the corn yellow sun in the blue-skyed depths of California. A freshly finished schoolboy, scrony by all standards, is mowing the lawn. Verde. That's Spanish for green; even then I knew that.

Mowing the lawn is a great time to think about things like the meaning of life and whether or not you'll ever fall in love. Amidst the labyrinth of synapses fusing and neurons firing like war canons, a curious thought befall this laboring youth. Sometimes thoughts happen like that. They fall out of the sky and into your heart like lightning, or sneak up on you like a sudden chord from a piano when you thought you were in an empty room.

The boy cried for no more thana few minutes. He cried because he thought that one day he would leave his home to travel and help people. He thought he would be lonely and scared. He cried because he wanted to go, becasue he did not want to, because he thought maybe he was supposed to go. He wasn't wrong.

So.

Dreams are funny things. Sometime you fly. Sometimes you worry or talk. You die a lot; or may be you don't. Sometime the people you love the most die. Sometimes the people who are supposed to love you betray you. Sometimes you travel to impossible worlds. Sometimes you kiss someone you've never met. Sometimes dreaming is better than real life, there are more butterflies in dreams you know. Mariposas. Sometimes you dream the same dream so many times it comes true. Sometimes you have to make your dreams come true, or they sit in your bones like led. So.

Off I go to Honduras. For many reasons. I think somewhere, perhaps vainly, I hope that I will be doing some good, for someone... somewhere. I hope to have a grand old adventure. I hope not to miss my loved ones too much. I hope you will all enjoy my adventures and forgive any spelling mistakes as I transition from English to Spanish (it is likely I will forget how to spell our overly complicated language). Your prayers and support are appreciated, and I hope my adventure will thrill you (and me) beyond our wildest, happiest dreams.