When the cock crows

After one night in Honduras I discovered a new understanding for the saying "when the crock crows". Roosters and chickens seem to be a common household animal here in La Ceiba, kept in the yard, inconveniently to be heard by all within a miles radius...you could say they are a replacement for all the pigeons and crows at home. Well before my time here, I mistakenly had the impression that the cock crows in the morning...well that isn't the case here in La Ceiba. In fact the cock crows whenever it darn feels like it haha. They also seem to beckon the calls of every single neighborhood dog while they are at it.
Fortunately I have now adapted to the cocks crow but the other night as I lay asleep while my friend was in the bed across the room from me I was awoken by the roosters call. Very shortly afterwards as I lay awake in my bed I could hear an inconsistent scratching at my door. Terrified that it was an ugly and fat iguana ready to crawl in bed with me I called in a soft, yet quivering voice for my Belgium friend Ella. Ella informed me that the sound was not coming from the door but actually the rooftop and assured me that it was just the birds!
Of course I then felt a huge sense of relief as continued to rest my eyes while trying to drown out the continuous, yet now more comforting cock’s crows. A wee bit frightening at the time, but it definitely made for a good story that received a lot of laughs the next day!

So now that my body has accommodated to the roosters, I can definitely say that I am in paradise here. I am living a dream that I have dreamt for a long time now...and even though it is now a reality everything still seems to good to be true. Everything has fallen perfectly in place for me, and I still can't get over the fact that I am here, I made it!

Coming to a place where you know no one, can hardly speak the language, and don't know what each day holds for you is very exciting. Everything is so new and different here... the natural beauty is outstanding. The weather is perfect now as we are in spring…about 25-30 degrees and is expected to rise to about 40 degrees in March/April when their summer begins. Where ever you are, it’s a delicious GREEN, GREEN, GREEN. Juan, one of the Spanish Schools favorite taxi drivers tells us that there are four different types of greens in Honduras, depending on the particular climate of the place. In La Ceiba tropical plants and palm trees bearing coconuts line the city streets; the Pico Bonito Mountains hug the land and form the most breathtaking sky line.
The city is in a contrast of times. La Ceiba holds both the old and new, and extremes of rich and poor. For a brief moment while here in La Ceiba I will feel as if I am in just any other city until I am quickly pushed back into the reality of Honduras as I hear bells clinking around a horses neck as it pulls carts of fruits and vegetables with 3 children driving it down the middle of city streets. La Ceiba has big department stores and malls (they are the local hot spot...in fact I think I have already been to the La Ceiba mall more times then the Halifax mall) and then it also has streets filled with market after market, and while passing through a persistent man will try to sell you his colorful rainbow hammocks. On a hot day or late night…or anytime in between you will often find yourself stopping at a small fast food shack-stand to buy the local favourite – a hot Baleada (tortilla w/ fried beans and cheese). In the meanwhile every single taxi that drives by you will honk its horn at you 5 times, as if you didn't hear it the first time...and every man (including security and police) that sees you (or anything with breasts to be honest) whistles and makes cat calls, calling after you "mi amor...mammi, un besito".
In some areas you will see beautiful houses adorned with vibrant and tropical plants along with an oversized jeep parked outside and the highest security fences and bars (unfortunately something that is a necessary evil) on all porches, doors and windows. And then you might travel 5 minutes outside the city where you find the people living a much more simplistic way of life, where poverty is more prominent…and one realizes this as you see a family with a shack for a house, roosters plucking around, children running bear foot with sticks in hand and the mother washing clothes in the river.
Another fun example of the contrast between the times is from the other night when I was walking home with friends. We were walking through El Sauce, a nice upper middle class part of town (the area in which I live), talking amongst ourselves when just then as I look to my left I see sitting their contently on someone’s front lawn… a horse. Yeah, he’s just sitting there minding his own business in the city neighborhood. We definitely got a picture and it definitely took me a while to get over the fact that there are 3 stray horses in La Ceiba that just wonder about doing their thing, taking a rest on your front lawn.

So in many ways the way of life is different here. Everything is much more relaxed...tranquillo as they like to say here. Every once in a while when I walking with my host sister, Hassany...she asks me, "why are you walking so fast?!” ha-ha I say that it is part of the North American culture and so then I slow way down and recognize that there is no need to rush here, and I ponder what life would be like if only everyone in North America could just slow down a little...if everyone could take a little more time to observe everything that is around us, be aware...stop and just be in the moment maybe we would learn more, our eyes would be opened, and appreciate everything that this world has to offer. This is just one of the many things that I am beginning to learn during my time here!


<3 you all,
Kat

P.S. The most important stories are soon to come, but they will take me a light year to write and I have pictures to put up first…so I’ll do a new entry within the next couple of days to keep everyone updated!


• For all interested UGers: I have worn four different pairs of footwear thus far:
ballet flats – check
black flats – check
black flip flops - check
Brown sandals – check