“The amazing things in life are not necessarily those which can be described,
but those which can only be experienced.” ~S.B. Silvera
October 11, 2002
Dear Family and Friends,
As I begin the draft for this letter, Jennifer is in our “kitchen nook” concocting homemade chicken soup from a “soup starter” sent down as a gift from Mom Vander Poel via special delivery with Mom Silvera when she visited us this past month. We are proud to include in the soup creation a green pumpkin that was grown in our garden as well as other vegetables like carrots, potatoes and “pataste” (a local vegetable that looks like a gourd, has very little taste and is quite starchy. It is noted among the Hondurans to not have any significant nutritional value, but due to its crunchy texture we have opted to try it).
My mom arrived three weeks ago, stayed 15 days and saw more of Honduras than we have since coming to this country. We had an adventure that all of us will remember for years to come. The journey started when she arrived in Tegucigalpa, the capitol of Honduras, and we met her at the airport. Fully loaded down, mom emerged from the airport doors with her friendly skycap trailing behind with a mountain of luggage. After settling into our hotel room we dug into the suitcases, with mom showing us the bountiful treasures she had brought from the states. Not having been to the grocery store in four weeks created an excitement about boxed muffin mixes, Slim Jims, and soup starters that was probably a little more exuberant than normal, and it took everything in me to control my urge to stuff Slim Jim after Slim Jim in my mouth since we were soon planning to go to lunch.
The next day we headed for Choluteca, Choluteca (our department capitol) where we volunteered at the local orphanage with a group of about twenty children to decorate book markers. Mom was at a slight disadvantage as the children only speak Spanish and mom English, but the language of caring and sharing is universal and needs no words; they understood fully that this “gringa” (American) loved every one of them. The following morning we headed off to Concepción de Maria, Choluteca (our home) in the second-hand school bus for our “three hour tour” (feel free to hum the Gilligan’s Island tune at this point of the letter). My mom found the mountain scenery to be breathtaking and she was delighted to see a real live chicken on what we call the “chicken bus”. (“the weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed”…is the song in your head yet?)
Once in town she was warmed by the hospitality of our neighbors and how gracious they were to someone they didn’t even know. During one afternoon, mom had the opportunity to visit with our landlord Gloria’s mother, Doña Aminta. Doña Aminta is like a second grandma to us and enjoyed conversing with my mother as Jennifer and I translated. When the conversation veered to talking about how they take care of us, both women had tears in their eyes. They immediately felt the connection that I believe only two mothers can make. Later my mom told us that “in that moment there were no cultural barriers.”
On the evening after she arrived Jennifer and I made a Honduran meal of flour tortillas, beans, homemade salsa, chips, fresh guacamole, and “mantequilla” (a type of local sour cream). Of all the meals she had, Mom said this was her favorite and thought it was a wonderful way to be introduced to the culture. We are becoming professionals with this Latin American cuisine and are ready to take requests to visit friends and prepare this special meal when we return. Continuing the cultural sharing, we visited our town’s new library and Mom donated a dozen books in Spanish she had ordered from Scholastica. We spent a morning at the library coloring and hanging out with the kids. We also tattooed all of them with temporary tattoos mom had brought with her from the states. At first this concerned me since the only people in the country that have tattoos are gang members and I wasn’t sure how some of the parents in our conservative rural town would respond to seeing their kids with “skin art”, but my concerns quickly faded when two older women from next door sent their kids to our house so “the moms” could also try out the temporary tattoos. It turned out to be one of most popular activities. Trying to give mom a “well-rounded” experience, she had the pleasure of washing her laundry by hand in our “pila” and even doing dishes outside in the wash bin. In visiting different homes mom was surprised to see that people do not have living rooms as we are accustomed to having in the U.S.; although she greatly enjoyed the hammock in our “living room” and by the end of her trip had purchased one to bring home for her patio.
The second part of our trip included a five-night stay in Roatan, a tropical island that is part of the Bay Islands off the northern coast of Honduras, where we stayed in a two-bedroom suite, with a connecting dining room and full kitchen located on a white sand beach. To me it felt more like a forgotten Caribbean paradise than a Honduran island. Before arriving, I had somehow miraculously persuaded, convinced, and cajoled Jennifer enough to take scuba diving lessons with me. Roatan is one of the least expensive places in the world to learn to scuba dive, yet one of the most beautiful; there is a stunning coral shelf said to be second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia that runs along the shore of the island making for some really incredible dives. Jennifer will now spin her tale of underwater mysteries...
When Shawn first suggested we try scuba diving I never imagined I would have the courage for such an endeavor. However, with time and patience Shawn’s passion created curiosity in me and I agreed to at least try. Throughout our class I was hesitant and nervous. This new activity seemed a bit too daring for me. Each new-fangled skill proved to be more challenging than the one preceding it. Shawn’s mom was a great cheerleader, encouraging me each step of the way and congratulating me with each level I advanced. Shawn praised my courage, knowing that I have always had a fear for the ocean. I love to swim (in a clean, chlorinated pool), but even in the great 10,000 lakes of Minnesota I have always been a bit paranoid that some fish will come and eat me! Halfway through one of the drills, where I had to practice: flooding my mask with water, taking the mask completely off my face, keeping my eyes closed because of my contacts, swimming 150 feet without the mask while remembering to breathe only through my mouth in order to keep water from going up my nose, I decided that I truly love my husband. For in that moment, I knew I was only continuing this crazy thing called a “sport” for his sake. Unexpectedly, somewhere between being completely terrified and panic-stricken, I composed myself and started to enjoy the water. After our first dive I realized that each obstacle makes us stronger, and we never fully appreciate that for which we have not worked. Shawn and I are good for each other. He pushes me to new levels that I may have otherwise never attempted without him. He compliments my character and helps me discover a whole new side to myself. During our first real dive to 30 feet I was completely in awe; the beauty of the ocean, the deepwater coral and the aquatic life are stunning to observe. I saw fish of all sorts and sizes; brilliant purples and fluorescent blues. I felt as if I were in an underwater play land, a secret splendor of the sea.
One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 139 describing God’s complete knowledge of man. There is a certain verse that continually repeated itself in my mind as we were diving. “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14. We were taught in our diving class that the most important rule of diving is to breathe! Our lungs control most of our movement in the water; allowing us to ascend and descend, helping us to achieve neutral buoyancy to hover over the coral and granting us the freedom as we breathe to weightlessly explore the wonders of an entirely new world under the sea. Due to the change in pressure as one ascends from the depths of the water it is crucial to continue breathing properly. Danger lies when one hold’s their breath causing the lungs to expand and suffer from lung over-expansion or rupture. Gliding through the water I was in awe of how perfectly our bodies function; fearfully and wonderfully designed.
Being suspended in water gave me a new appreciation for how our body works. I could feel my lungs expanding and deflating with each breath something I rarely consider when on land. This interaction became vivid in my mind as I concentrated on slowly breathing in and breathing out. Once I calmed myself down from the excitement of actually swimming with barracudas and puffer fish, I could relax in the rhythm of each breath. Since sound travels four times faster in water than on land it can be difficult to decipher where sounds originate. In the midst of being encased in water all movements become exaggerated; even the act of breathing is audible. With each breath I could hear myself inhaling and exhaling through the regulator; entering and releasing with an even, melodic cadence. Normally breathing is something quite routine for most of us and yet I think of my father-in-law who suffers from emphazema and I can not even begin to imagine the struggles he encounters on a day to day basis. Once an avid diver himself, I know that he understands fully the gift of health – the gift of breathing. I look forward to coming home and sharing stories from our diving trip with him and hearing about the adventures he had during his ocean days.
The island afforded us many wonderful memories in addition to some excellent shopping opportunities. Jennifer and mom squealed with delight over all the fun shops there were to buy souvenirs. We were sad to leave, but with more adventures ahead of us it was back to the airport for a short flight to Tegucigalpa. We landed at 2:10 PM after a pre-landing scare. The runway in Tegucigalpa is one of the shortest in the world and requires some tricky maneuvering to land. One of these tricks is flying directly towards the face of a mountain and then turning a few thousand feet before landing. This just happened to be too close for the Russian plane’s instruments and right before landing we heard an alarm go off in the cockpit indicating we were about to crash; since it was a small twin-prop plane and we were sitting close to the open cockpit we witnessed the whole thing. As I looked up all I saw was the large sheer face of a mountain side from the front window of the plane. I turned to Jennifer and told her everything was ok and we were just getting ready to land (I hoped silently). I guess this kind of landing is considered “normal”.
Within an hour of landing we were on a bus heading to the mountains to visit the national park and stay at a quaint bed and breakfast for the final part of mom’s Honduran tour. The transition was quick, but when relying on bus transportation there are not always many options. As we were herded onto the only bus going directly to our destination, mom received her Honduran initiation in crowed buses; the old school bus was filled with at least 75+ people and mom and I had to stand in the aisle for most of the two hour trip. She even got to squat down in the aisle at a police check point to keep the bus from being stopped and the driver fined for being overloaded. The ride was rough due to the bumpy gravel road filled with pot holes. Mom was discouraged to discover that the road we were traveling on has, for the last eight years, received government funding to be paved. This is a main highway to and from Tegucigalpa, but unfortunately past plans to pave the road have never materialized due to corruption and stolen funds for road improvements.
Jörg and Monica are a German couple that immigrated to Honduras about six years ago after a tour of Central America. They have set up a lovely bed and breakfast at the base La Tigra National Park and play host to many Peace Corps volunteers as well as people from all over the world. The small two-bedroom cabin is a place to relax and enjoy the “vista” of three different valleys. Situated at 4800 feet on the side of the mountain the view is spectacular. Mom loved the outdoor sink for washing. She noted that she wouldn’t mind brushing her teeth outside every morning while viewing this inspiring landscape, and she was delighted that this was her first time showering outside! In mom’s words she was “struck by Jörg’s genuine care for us…loved his hospitality…didn’t know of anywhere else where they pick the vegetables for your dinner right before you eat…and didn’t think he charged enough.”
Our second day on the mountain we hiked over six miles through the sub-tropical cloud forest to a waterfall located deep in the park at 6000 feet. Although mom’s overall confidence that she “felt very safe with Shawn taking care of safety, security, and money”, she also started doubting my assurances that the waterfall was “just a little further and just over the next hill” since I seemed to say that phrase every ten minutes with no end in sight. The lush vegetation, flowers and occasional spots of running water kept the hike fascinating and each turn afforded us a different perspective of the jungle like enclosure. As mom said “despite Shawn trying to kill me by hiking me through the jungle, I had a wonderful hike that reminded me of the jungles from the movie Romancing the Stone.” After reaching the waterfall we took lots of photos, rested and then headed back quickly as it had started to rain. For dinner we feasted on fresh bread and homemade cream of vegetable soup followed by lemongrass tea and cookies. Being in the 65 degree wet chill of the mountains was a big change from the heat we normally endure. It was fun to sleep with down comforters that night and actually wear a sweatshirt! We reminisced with mom about our desire to come home and experience MN winters again. Can you believe we are saying that?
The best thing about having my mom visit us is that she was able to observe firsthand what we are living daily. She now can envision what we are doing, how we are surviving and how we are growing. Our stories have become alive now that she has experienced them for herself and we love having that link of new understanding with her. If you are in need of an adventure or a break from civilization we invite you to visit. We would love to have you.
Until then, we’ll leave the light on for you (given the power is working),
Shawn and Jennifer
Peace Corps Honduras
Website: globalsilveras.com