Week number two in San Pedro has been filled with with highs and lows- making great memories for sure! I have been in my apartment now for a week, so life here is feeling a lot more like home compared to the first week when I was in the dorm at the hospital. Although I miss living with the Bridgemans and chatting with the guards in the evening, and now I have to wake up an hour earlier before work, I'm still thankful for this nice place to live in a safe neighborhood. I'm learning to be totally independent in almost every way, except for the fact that I don't have a car, but can't drive alone anywhere anyway even if I did. But I have great friends who are always up for adventure, so there is never a lack of activity!
Some of the latest:
-Church.
The Bridgemans have been visiting a different church each week to see which place is right for them. I've been going with them and am liking the different experiences, although it will be nice at some point to find a place to connect with. The first week we went to Geraldo and Aracely's (our Spiritual Director) church, and this past Sunday we went to ICF (International Christian Fellowship) which is an English-speaking church made up of mostly missionaries. The Bridgemans like this one (as do I) because until their girls get more sufficient in Spanish, they want them to be in a place that they like and understand.
-Recreation
On Saturday while Jay had to study for his upcoming final board exams (can't wait till they are over! I thought Jay was fun with how busy he now- it'll be great when the studying is done!) Pauline and I went with the girls on a (very HOT!) hike up one of the mountains surrounding the city. There is a trail that leads up to a big Coca-Cola sign (displayed like the Hollywood sign) so we made our way up this trail but after about a hour decided we should head back with the kids and wait for a cooler day to go to the top. We were very happy to find this safe place to hike that is close by.
On Sunday afternoon while Jay continued to study, Pauline and I went with the girls to Club Hondureno Arabe, where we pay 100 Lempira (about 5.50 USD) for the day to swim in their olympic size pool. I've never swam in a pool this big before; swimming laps have never been so fun! It is quite a nice place, and we plan to order from their Middle Eastern menu next time!
The first weekend that I was here, I went to Zizima (a big water park) with Pauline and the girls. Most of my pictures from the first week that I was here, including these, I have not yet been able to download onto my laptop because the setting my camera was on is not readable by my computer. As soon as this bug is fixed I will upload these great pics!
-Storms
Every night, with very few exceptions, we have crashing thunder and bright lightening along with torrential rain. I feel so sorry for Ace because no matter how many storms we get, he is equally afraid. As soon as he hears thunder, there is no personal space left for me, and we sleep on the same pillow. I really don't mind, it's just that for his sake I really wish he'd gets used to it!
Some nights the rain is lighter which is a huge blessing, because that means my house won't flood! This afternoon I went to the hair salon across the street from my apartment, and while I was there we had the worst storm yet. I felt badly for Ace because I knew he was terrified. Well, that should've been the least of my concerns- I should've known, but I guess I was just hoping so much for the opposite to be true, but when I opened the door, there half of my living room was flooded. Thank the Lord that I didn't leave anything on the floor! All the way from the door, under the couch, under the table, to the kitchen counter. *Sigh*.... I need to talk to my landlady about this issue ASAP! I do, however, realize as I drive past the shanties on the way to work and back every morning, how much I really have, and how nonexistent my house "woes" are compared to the majority of the world.
My apartment viewed from the front door- my bedroom is straight ahead and the guest room is behind the wall that is behind the twin couch that Ace is on to the left. The kitchen is in the back behind the table, and out the back door is a terrace where the washer and dryer are.
Half of my living room was flooded- completely under the big couch on the right, all the way under the table and chairs to the kitchen counter!
As I was sweeping the water from my living room outside my door, my next-door neighbor who I'd never met before came upstairs and as he saw me, he asked, "que te paso?!" meaning, "what happened to you?!" I told him the rain came under my door, and he promptly opened his door to see if he had any flooding. Only slightly. I don't know if my place in on a downhill or what. He then asked me how long I'll be here and where I'm from. When I told him los Estados Unidos, he replied in English, "oh, so you can be my English partner!" We chatted for a minute and he told me his name is Mario and if I need anything to knock on his door. That was nice of him, but really? As Jay kindly put "we need to get to know him better and I need to talk with every guy before you hang out with anyone!" Glad to know I'm not the only one looking out for myself! The Bridgemans are proving to bless me in increasing ways everyday. About five minutes later I got a knock at the door, and it was Mario, telling me he had extra tickets to go somewhere (it was in Spanish and I didn't know where it was) with him and his friends. Oh great. I'm glad I already had plans to go with the Bridgemans to get frozen yogurt. But who knows, maybe I'll end up having a really cool neighbor.
View from the front terrace (that I share with Mario) of the rain clouds setting in over the mountains.
-God's sense of humor
Before I came here, I was hoping that there would be an easily-accessible hair salon that I could go to since it had been just shy of a year since I had my hair cut. I debated just going at home before I left for worry that I wouldn't find a place, but I knew that I would be able to get it cheaper here and I like trying new places. I still worried about finding an easily-accessible place though, until the day I got here and saw advertisements everywhere for salons. Well as I mentioned above, there is one across the street from my apartment. I don't even have to leave my development. I don't even have to walk down the sidewalk. All I have to do is walk across the grassy yard between the two buildings and I'm there! It was a good lesson in remembering that God is in the details, even the ones that really aren't important! I think sometimes He gives us these little blessings to remind us that He is in control and has a plan from the beginning. There are the those moments in life when you realize that He's been taking care of everything all along, and all the while you were worrying you never saw His hand in it till something so unexpected happens. This was one of those moments. And since I know this, I can rest in the fact that whatever, whatever comes me way, must be necessary for me. Knowing there is a lesson to be learned in every situation helps me better trust Him through it all.
My apartment is the yellow building next to the brick wall on the left, and the salon is the yellow building with the red roof straight ahead.
-Heat.
The heat continues to stay around the nineties and low hundreds, with high humidity. I was told by one of our staff a few days ago that only in December and sometimes January does it cool off in this city. Well, it's a good thing I'm getting used to it. Ace, however, is a different story. If you know him at all, you know that he is terrified of water. He just hates it, and every time I'm done giving him a bath, he he shakes and runs around like a crazy man and rubs himself of the ground until he is dry. Well apparently yesterday he decided that being wet was better than being hot. When I was in the shower, he actually jumped in and sat under the running water. I could not believe my eyes! When I was done, he jumped out and as if he didn't mind being wet, he went and laid down on the couch. I never thought he'd get to the point that he'd choose wet over heat, but he sure did!
-Eating simply.
Now that I make my own breakfast and dinner everyday (we eat lunch at the hospital made by the cooks on the weekdays), I am trying to broaden my horizons with making new recipes. Pauline gives me a "cooking lesson" whenever I am at their house for dinner, and I am learning all kinds of new recipes! Chinese, Italian, Greek- she makes all kinds of good food and I am appreciating the lessons. There is one little problem, though. When I am at my house and I'm thinking what to make, all I ever want is cereal, fruit (mangos and bananas), and peanut butter & honey sandwiches. Seriously. I keep thinking about making all different kinds of food, but nothing ever sounds as good as those three foods. I really like practically every food I've ever tasted, but I never realize till now that if I have a choice, I really like simple foods. I keep asking myself, "am I just too lazy to make anything better?" and that might be part of it... Last night when I was going to eat cereal, I decided to make myself eat my vegetables before they went bad, so I made myself a tomato and cucumber salad. Granted, it's only been two weeks, so I know at some point I'm going to be ready for some new things, and when I am I'll have a wide variety of choices now that I have Pauline to help me!
Depriving myself of my beloved cereal and peanut butter sandwiches :)
-Dog-walking and running
Almost every house in this neighborhood has a dog, and as I am walking down the street with Ace in the afternoons, we always set off the "barking" alarm as we pass each house. By the time we're at the end, the whole street has been barking! It gets old pretty fast.
On some days after I walk with Ace, I run around the development. Ace can't run with me right now because it's simply too hot for him. There is a big soccer field and basketball court at the far end of the neighborhood so I run around those for some variety because the development is very small and I have to run around it quite a few times. It's a different experience running in this neighborhood; on the sidewalks there are a variety of obstacles like trash cans, chickens, iguanas, overgrown shrubbery and trees, etcetera. I wish beyond words that I could run down the bike/running trail along the main road, but I'm simply prohibited to leave my development by myself! :( I know it's for my best interest though, so I'll take what I can get. And besides, I never see girls running out there anyway; it's always big burly men.
On another, better note, I got home late tonight and had to walk Ace after dark which I don't normally do. It my very well light neighborhood it's not that big of a deal. And on my walk, I saw a girl about my age walking her dog, and as both of our pups ran towards each other we chatted for a minute. Then I saw a kid in a soccer uniform sprint past me. I figured there must be a game going on so I walked down the field, and sure enough there was a big game of pickup soccer going on. There was only one girl on the whole team, so who knows, maybe next time I'll join her!
Note to Mom: I wear my toe shoes everyday that I hike or run- they are the best and perfect for every activity. Thanks!!!
-Tela!
Today the hospital was closed, and we had a staff retreat at the beach in Tela- a beautiful city on the north coast about and hour and a half northwest from us. We had a lot of fun at Telamar, a nice hotel and restaurant on the beach, swimming, playing "futbol" (soccer), fishing off the pier, and eating at the at the beach buffet.
One minor detail, on our way there, the Bridgeman's new car of less than 24 hours broke down! :( Not to worry, we had Coto and the rest of the guys there to fix it, plus we had a caravan of about five cars, so we had enough space and joined Heraldo and Aracely's car with plenty of room (according to Honduran style:)
Boys to the rescue of the broken car
View of the pier in the distance
View of the beach from the pier. Riding horseback on the beach makes me happy
-CUREkids
I am loving my job as a patient photographer/videographer/storyteller, which I share with the world through cure.org/curekids. I am slowly but surely getting comfortable with the job and life here, and would dare to say that I work with some of the most amazing and wonderful people on earth! I also am loving the experience of spending time in the clinic/ward with Dr. Jay and the other medical staff, watching patient examinations, learning what different medical conditions mean, watching legs being casted, ect. Our work schedule is from 7am to 3pm, so I'm working on switching myself from being an "owl" to a "rooster." I thought waking up at 4:45 every morning would be bad at first, but it hasn't been hard- I'm learning to like it!
-Lessons....
As I hope you can see from the above news, my first two weeks here have been wonderful, better than I ever expected, yet at the same time have been filled with difficult times as God is revealing to me different areas of my that are not honoring Him. They may seem small and easily ignorable, but when God shows me an area of sin in my life, there is no inner peace in me until it is resolved, although I usually can pretend that everything is great. And that's part of the problem. I have a hard time keeping it real. I will share specifics as they form into a story, but it has been a work in progress and is going to continue to be. It's not fun, I wish everything could be perfect now, but as we all know that's not real life! Following God means dying to self daily and that takes a lot of humility.... Pauline has been a big help in trying to get me to accurately express life, but it's not easy! I feel like life is one long, continuous lesson. Yes, these two weeks have been the best, filled with blessings, and at the same time, the hardest, filled with challenges (blessings in disguise:). I'm so thankful for the laughter and grace that He gives through it all as I live and learn.
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