What I Miss Most About America *Weeks 10, 11, and 12*

Since I feel sorry about the last post being so long, I’ll try to keep this post semi-short. Week nine took me three weeks to write so I am going to go over the past three weeks in this post. For the past three weeks I got to work in Papí and Mamí’s house taking down a wall and then putting it back up since it was infested with termites. This was my first time, in all my years coming, that I got to go inside Papí and Mamí’s house. Anyways, we started by taking all the wood and drywall down, and then we brought up the wood frame we made and the drywall too. Then for final touches, we used caulk to cover up the screw holes and cracks. It was an easy process but it was difficult to carry out since it required us to lift a lot of weight in really awkward positions. We finished the job on Thursday of week 12.

Not a lot happened during week 10 except for when I went to town on Saturday. Since Maestro gets his Saturday afternoons off, so do I. I had already decided I was going to town in the afternoon so I offered Maestro to come eat at Bigos(Honduran ‘fast’ food) with me. Obviously he accepted the offer and I told him I’d wait in the city square at 1:00 on dot(Not quite a joke; for RadDadBrad). I got to the city square a little early but ended up waiting for him until 1:15. Since he didn’t show up, I decided to continue with my townly routine. This was my first time going into town since my mom brought the Mexican suckers that the kids down here like. So I threw a bag in my backpack and dished them out to some of the kids in town. Since I had a lot of time on my hands, I decided to just walk around town and see places I hadn’t seen before. As I was walking around, in a very random part of town, Moncho pulled up next to me on his motorcycle and asked what I was doing. I told him I was just shopping and that Maestro had just stood me up. I knew Moncho had Maestro’s phone number so I asked if he could call him. When he did, Maestro told me he totally forgot about the meal and he was on his way now. So I turned around and headed back toward Bigos. As I was walking back though, I ran into Jefferson who I mentioned back in week 8. He was with his mom at work so I gave him and his friend a sucker. Maestro and I got to the city square at the same time and crossed the street together and walked into the store.

When we got into the building I placed my order. I said I’d like two chicken burritos and a platter of fries, then I asked Maestro what he wanted and he told me “only a soda”. I found that odd because I thought since I offered to take him out to eat, he’d actually eat. Well it turns out that’s exactly what he intended on doing because when my food came out he took one of my burritos and gaslit me into thinking I ordered it for him. I just don’t think he’s ever seen someone order more than one “combo” meal for themselves, and technically I ordered three “combos” since I got a platter of fries too. After we ate, Maestro took me to the Tigo store to see if we could buy flash drives to download the movies onto for the kids. I bought eight 32GB flash drives for 75 dollars(that feels kind of expensive). While the cashier was processing my card, I saw a lamp/alarm clock that had a wireless charger on it that I needed, but didn't buy. My phone has been having charging problems lately because the charging port is dirty or something. After the Tigo store, Maestro took me to a shop that a friend of his runs so that I could buy a lighter for my candle. The guy spoke decent English and now I know where to go if I need to buy, or need help with, appliances. After that, Maestro and I split paths and I went to the grocery store to get the food and drinks that I needed. Then as I headed back I visited Glenda and took the picture of her wearing my mom’s earrings that she asked for. And then I returned to the orphanage.

That same day in week 10, my phone died and I couldn’t get it to charge again so I just let it be. I remembered the wireless charger/lamp/alarm thing, and on Tuesday of week 11 I went back into town to buy it. After I bought it, I took myself to Bigos and ordered the same thing I ordered a couple days prior, but this time no one took half of my meal. When I got back to the orphanage, I went right back to work on the wall in Papí and Mamí’s house. Everyday while I was working, Mamí and I got to talk about how much distress there is in America and how ugly it’s starting to get. It was super nice to get to talk and bond with Mamí like that, because not many volunteers get that kind of opportunity. For the rest of week 11, I spent four nights at the Grandecitos house watching the four movies I downloaded for them. At the end of week 11 I got the privilege of meeting Joe Mclelland. A bunch of weeks ago(the same day that the Union team arrived) I saw a big guy walking around the Comedor saying hi to some kids. I just assumed he was with the team that came in that day, but when the Union team left, I thought to myself “who was that guy because I never saw him with the team”. So I asked Danielle and she told me that his name is Joe Mclelland and he comes down every month from Pennsylvania just to spend one day with his sponsor kids.

Saturday of week 11, I walked up to the tienda to buy chips and drinks for the Mayores(older boys that work now that they’re done with school) since that night, I planned to watch one of the four movies that I bought for them. It was while I was buying snacks that I got to meet Joe. He was eating at the tienda with his sponsor kids so I to the opportunity to have a chat with the guy. He offered me to stick around and play a board game with the kids. Obviously I accepted the offer and we played partners, which is just like sorry but circular. While we were playing, my little buddy Colby called me from Wisco and asked me if I had time to chat but I told him I’d get back to him when the game was over. And when we finished the game, I did the exact opposite of that, because as I was leaving the tienda, Joe said “well it sucks that you have to go because you’re going to miss the next thing we do.” And so I asked him what they were going to do next and he told me that every time he comes down, he lets them drive his rental car out in the campo. When he said that, my eyes lit up and I told him that the call could wait, just as long as I got a turn to drive as well. He agreed and we made our way to the Campo. I was very thankful for Joe letting me do that, because one of the things I miss the most about America is having the ability to drive wherever I want, whenever I want and I feel like I took that for granted a lot. As week 12 ensued, I watched the first movie with the Mayores, but the other three movies didn’t work(keep in mind Chino was the one who downloaded these movies onto the flash drive and he isn’t fluent in American film). So on Wednesday, I invited Chino to my house to work on all of the flash drives together, since they all had unique problems. When he came, he brought food that he ordered from town for the both of us and it was really good. It took a week to finish downloading the movies, but eventually he got the flash drives to me and I was able to restart watching movies with the Mayores. 

On Saturday at the end of week 12, I went into town once again. The first place I stopped was Maestro’s friend's store to ask if he knew where I could buy fine china. I had to ask because that morning, I was hanging up paintings and fixing kitchen cabinets in Mamí’s house and she broke her favorite tea cup while doing dishes right next to me. I wanted to be able to buy her another one that she could hold dear to her heart but I couldn't find a good one in town. So after that, I went to the hotel that Moncho works at since he told me to come find him when I came into town next. I called his phone to tell him I was outside but he told me he was at his house on lunch break and then asked me what I was going to do next. I told him I would be at Bigos and 15 minutes later, he and his family showed up to the restaurant to see me and chat real quick. When Moncho had to leave for work, I offered Ana Yansi and the two boys to stay since I had one of those big platters of fries coming. They agreed to stay and I got to have a nice conversation with Ana Yansi. When we finished eating, Ana Yansi showed me where the new grocery store in town is and we said goodbye.

The new grocery store is very nice. They have sliding glass doors and shiny white tile floors. The store is decently sized and they have such a variety of goods, it’s like a mini Walmart. After shopping there, I made my way over to the Dispensa(my usual grocery store) where I finished my shopping. While at the Dispensa, a lady came up to me and asked if she could take a picture with me. I didn’t know this lady but I agreed to take the picture with her. After she took a picture with me, another lady asked to take a picture with me too. And after her, another lady wanted a picture. And after her… no one else wanted photos. I felt so famous and to them I pretty much am because it’s not every day that they see a tall, young, white guy in town. On my way back to the orphanage, I stopped at Glenda’s house just to say hi. I also told her that I was leaving for Cancun for six days in May and when I come back, I will be bringing five hungry Americans that will want her vegetables with me. She got really excited then wished me luck and said goodbye. On Sunday, I finished watching movies with the Mayores and I plan on watching movies with the small girls next, but I need permission from Danielle first. I can’t wait to get to spend time with each house, and I’m looking forward to what other fun little adventures are in store for me. To be continued…