Gringo Phase Out

I am slowly working through the process of “de-gringoizing” (that is definitely not a word).

The first thing going for me is that fact that I am Canadian, and therefore technically not a gringo (officially it is only people from the U.S.) However, many North Americans and Europeans get lumped into this category. 

The second thing I learned not to do is call people from the U.S. “Americans.” We are all “Americans” from Canada to Chili. Locals here despise the U.S.A’s claim on being “American.”

Next, I have started to darken the skin a couple shades, but I am still very white at the moment. 

A couple days ago I received an authentic Honduran cell phone. I have never held something so small and seemingly indestructible. I know that I obviously don’t need a cell phone while I am here for a month, but one of my Spanish teachers gave it to me for free and it cost me 50L ($2.50) to load it up. It will come in handy I am sure, and it looks much less ridiculous than the gringos carrying a variety of massive heavy Apple products.

Finally, of course, is learning Spanish. The more I know the better! I have now completed 46 hours of class, and have covered a lot of ground in the last week. Now I just need to practice, practice, practice!

It is smaller than you think

Friday night a few school mates and travelers headed to the “carnival,” which is here for the week. It was pretty weird walking into what felt like the Ilderton fair of the 1980’s, with a twist of Honduran culture. Rides cost $1, and games were usually around 50 cents. There was no charge to “get in.” I even went on a couple "spinning rides" which I never do well on. Shortly after I got off one of the rides sparks flew and it was out of commission. Safety chains and bars are optional, and the guys working would jump on a random cart while the ferris wheel was moving and go for a ride.

from the ferris wheel

Raymond from Norway

I was on this 20mins before it self-destructed