Hola todos!
The dust has settled after a long 18 hour journey from home to home. The short story is that everything went incredibly smooth. Nothing was delayed, nobody got stuck at a border despite my slightly scandalous looking passport. And for me personally, there was no getting sick! I have officially decided that I do not enjoy plane rides, but this time I tried very hard to remain hydrated and eat healthy food because I did not want to knock myself out with Gravol. . . something about 10 students counting on me to be conscious and explaining to them what is going on inspired that.
We boarded the Robert Q at Midnight from London and headed to the Detroit airport . . . 3 hours later we sat in the airport . . . 3 hours later we boarded the 6am flight to Miami. . . 3 hours later we sat in the Miami airport . . . and (you guessed it) after 3 more hours we boarded our 2 hour flight to San Pedro Sula. Finally we took a 4 hour trip in a van winding through the mountains before arriving in Copan Ruinas. This last part of the trip took longer than usual because the a lot more traffic is coming across the Guatemalan border than in the past, and the pot holes have become craters.
I was then received with open arms by my family in Copan, and of course dinner. Mama Gilma is wonderful.
Of course I couldn't help but contrast my rip off $10 sandwich meal in the Detroit airport with my $2 buffet style meal on the side of the road in Honduras. I thought industrial “progress” was supposed to make things more “efficient” and cheaper? Fail.
That covers the “hard facts” of the very long first day.
 |
| Pictures of "upstairs" |
Also, during the ride through the countryside it is evident that even in the last three years the gap between the rich and poor has increased. The drive paints a clear picture of the wedge that neo-liberal capitalist development places between the peasant class and the urban class. It is also clear that most economic benefits end up in the hands of the elite class here, or multi-national corporations elsewhere. Honduras also has to deal with either absolutely no press, or terrible press, which has hurt the tourism industry a lot. After the political Coup in 2009 the only thing you ever hear about Honduras is violence and political instability. Although some of what is reported is true, much in the stories are omitted, and small parts exaggerated. Sure there are some dangerous places in Honduras, but you just don’t go there, the same way you don’t walk alone in the back alleyways of New York late at night. All of this negative press surrounding the country means that when people talk about visiting places in Latin America, Honduras is often left out. In reality it is likely the country with the most luscious greenery covering the mountainous landscape. The landscape is beautiful and so are the people. The only violence people should be worried about is the structural kind that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph.
My blog entries will not be this long in the future, but I have one more story to tell. I met a man on my plane ride to Miami who instead of letting me catch some sleep, decided to impart his 55 years of wisdom on me. I can summarize the two hours as follows: He has worked a job in EVERY industry, and at every job he worked harder than everyone else. He believes that there are 3 kinds of people in the world; those who let things happen to them, those who make things happen, and those who are dead. At the same time he believes in fate (I tried to point out the potential contradiction with no success) and now he is on a non-stop "battle" 80-100 hours a week attempting to eliminate his competition and take his cigar business empire to #1 when he “walks off the field.” After respectfully acknowledging his sage advice I questioned the model that cost him his first marriage (something he considered collateral damage) and clearly his health (he has suffered 4 cardiac arrests). But for him, as long as her gets to finish as #1 and sit on a beach smoking cigars someday, it will be worth it. Are humans not the most bizarre creatures ever?!?
Enough rambling for now,
Hasta Pronto!
No comments:
Post a Comment