In the News...

While I was out on the bike yesterday, I started thinking about something I had seen on the news on Sunday. I was flipping through the channels and stopped on one of the Honduran stations. Up until about a month ago, it had been a Guatemalan channel. The news was on so I tried to see if I could understand what was being said. I could.

They were talking about two ladies (they looked like very early 20s) who had been assassinated in Tegucigalpa. Yes, assassinated. One was shot in the face, and the other in the chest. The part of the report that is hard to get used to is the footage that goes along. Video news here does not spare on gore or dead bodies. So, all of the viewing world got to see these two young women lying on the ground. Dead. After a few minutes of watching the report, the next shot of one of the ladies (the one shot in the face) had her body mostly, and mercifully, covered by a sheet. The report kept droning on and on, that the cause was unknown, etc., and after a few minutes, I changed the station. I didn't need to hear, or see, any more.

While riding, I was thinking about that news report, which then got me thinking about another news report. When I was in NJ, I got to share at Chapel service at the school where my friend, Angela, teaches. After the service, Angela told me that I might get to be on the Korean news. I asked, "You mean a regional station that broadcasts in Korean?" "No," she said, "on the news in the nation of Korea."

Ang's school has about 25 or so students from Korea who board at the school. It just happened that on the day I was there, a news team was there doing a story on those students. It was pretty cool to think that maybe, just maybe, some folks in Korea heard a little bit about the ministry here in Honduras. What about it, Cucc? Did you get to see the final footage?

So, I kept riding for a while, deep in thought and my own inner monologue. Then it hit me: My inner monologue was happening in Spanish. Really!! Wow! That is definitely a step in the right direction of language acquisition. Of course, when I realized it, I didn't know the Spanish word for monologue. I took a guess at it, and was mostly correct, although I misplaced the accent. For the curious, the correct word is monólogo. Which means an inner monologue is un monólogo interno.

This morning I needed to go to the bank to make a payment which will get me one step closer to that elusive residency carnet. I had a long (very long) wait in line. I struck up a conversation with the woman in front of me. She was quite friendly and I think we both welcomed the diversion from an otherwise incredibly boring, and did I mention long, wait. 45 minutes. I was amazed that I was able to do so well with my Spanish. We talked a little about my frustration with it, and she told me to just keep doing what I was doing -- talking with others -- and it would come along.

Maybe I am beginning to make real strides in learning Spanish.

The Reunion Trip...

OK, let me just say it: My trip to the States for my high school reunion was incredible! Every part of it! Pretty much from the moment the plane touched down in Newark, until I was back in Honduras, I was busy. In addition to all the festivities of the reunion itself (the party on Friday and all the football related activities on Saturday), there were breakfasts, lunches and dinners with friends, trips to NYC, Montauk Point and the Jersey Shore, and, yes, shopping!

The picture above was taken during the ferry ride into the City. My friend Maureen and I went in one day 'to play'. And play, we did. We visited Chelsea Market, Ground Zero, and Times Square. We had Frozen Hot Chocolate at Serendipity's and I even got to play on the big piano at FAO Schwarz. A great day, indeed.

For me, it was just so good to connect/reconnect with friends from high school. Even though I was in NJ for almost two weeks, the time flew by and there were still so many people that I didn't get to spend much more than a passing 'hello' with. That seems to be a common thought among many of my classmates, so it looks like we're not even going to wait 5 years to have another reunion, but are already planning to have some kind of a shared 50th Birthday Bash in 2012. Ouch! 50?

Another great part of my trip is that it could also be called the NJ Diner Tour, ala Guy Fieri and Triple D. I went to the Tick Tock, Nutley, Versailles, and Lyndhurst Diners during my visit. Even though Nancy and I were at the Lyndhurst Diner for breakfast on a Sunday, I asked about and was brought some of their wonderful homemade pickles. Hmmmm, pickles and eggs. A new taste sensation?

Yes, of course I also got to enjoy so many of the foods that you can only get in the NY/NJ area: Taylor Ham (5 times, but who's counting?), pizza, bagels, Italian bread, and Rippers. In fact, I hit Rut's Hut for a Ripper before I had even made it to Nutley and the wonderful hospitality of Lisa & Mike. I'm thankful for my GPS.

At the risk of closing this post philosophically, one of the things that made the reunion such a success is that it wasn't about cliques, or being cool, or whatever. It was about people. And I was so genuinely grateful to see so many people. All the years just seemed to melt away. Everyone else seemed to feel the same way, too.

Back on the Bike...

...And this time, with a helmet.

Yes, you read that correctly. I wore a helmet on my bike ride this morning. What, you ask, could have prompted such an action? Well, basically it comes down to this: About a week or so before my trip North, I was out on the bike and rode part way up El Volcan. When I turned around to head back to town, I was soon freewheeling at 37.5mph. That's pretty fast on a bike. I just had one of those "D'oh" moments and decided I should wear a helmet here, too, despite how strange it looks.

I mean, in the States, I won't ride a bike without a helmet, but here I have resisted wearing one since I want to try to blend in a little. But let's face it, I'm never going to fully blend in here. I'm a gringa. On a bike. For exercise. In the words of Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny"... "Oh yeah, you blend." Not.

The upside of wearing the helmet is that I rode today relatively uninterrupted. I still had to avoid becoming a hood ornament for cars, taxis, and even a motorcycle. But I only got one "Hey, Baby" and not a single marriage proposal. Wait! Is that an upside?

As much as I missed the feeling of the wind in my hair, I know that I'm much safer wearing the helmet while riding. I guess I'll continue to do it when I go out for exercise. Now, if I'm just headed to the store for something quick, all bets are off.