An Unfinished House

Williams Nickols my apologies for not posting sooner...it's mostly Camilla's fault; she's such a needy monkey. She's such a good friend though; always so quick to check me for lice, eat my leftover fruit and show me her devotion by growling at me when I try to extract myself from her vice-like grip. She's the best. Camilla is also reminding me now that it's late and I don't have nearly enough time tonight to cover all the happenings in Laureles in any sort of proper way. Hang on William, a new post is coming this week. Camilla promises.

It's no secret that I love Los Laureles. The people, the homes, the very contours of the community evoke my affection. In thinking about what to write on this month I found myself at a loss for good stories. There's a funny anecdote here and there but no grand meta-theme to tie it all together and Lord knows I like me a good meta-theme. What I did find though were about 356 photos that I've taken over the last few months. Taken as a whole these photos highlight what I love best about my people in Laureles; their joy, their resilience, their freedom and true community. Oh and worry not, I didn't post all 356: This is Noel a sweet kid and one of the few students that I'm helping this year with their studies. He comes from a good solid family, is driven and generally avoids bad influences. He's a joy to be around.    One of my all-time favorites, beloved Chucu. I told him I needed his photo for a project and this is what he gave me. He's...

I once ran over a blind man on my bike. That's not the worst of it. I though about that the other day as I was sharing with my 7th graders the Parable of the 'Good Samaritan'. We'd been discussing the beginnings of Christianity within the Roman Empire and our textbook happened to mention that Jesus taught in parables - a word no one in my class seemed to fully understand. Aghast at their lack of basic biblical knowledge, I turned to my laptop, played a few examples of parables from " Godspell " and then began to explore their meanings with the class. We looked at the 'Parable of the Sower', 'The Prodigal Son', 'Lazarus and the Rich Man' and then finally arrived at the 'Good Samaritan'. I asked if anyone knew what message Jesus was trying to convey with this particular story. There were the typical responses of "Be kind to everyone!" and "Don't ignore people just because they look different or messy!"....

I've been hanging out with a lot of Gringos (and other hangers-on) and I mean a lotsies. This may come as surprise to some of you because if you know me you're painfully aware that one of the more absurd quirks that I have developed in the span of my time here in Honduras has been the general feeling of loathing and disdain that seems to envelope me whenever I see another foreigner (Gringo especially) on the street. This other foreigner in question of course has done nothing wrong, although they're usually dressed like a gypsy, and smell the part too. No, the fault lies entirely in my court; I simply have come to assume that Honduras is mine - I am the only white person living here and so to see another white face is to thusly disrupt that false paradigm that I've created in my head. This isn't to say I don't like Gringos & Expats; heck some of my best friends here are white...   As you can see. And lately these new-found white people friends have be...

 Chita, also known as Edwin, turned 12 the other day.  Last Saturday in fact. I'll admit, I haven't been the most consistent in my birthday celebrating lo' these many months.  Of the hundred or so birthdays I have on the calendar I think I've maybe celebrated 10 with kids. Time to cut the fat and do some prioritizing. Chita is one that I just can't cut. A loyal, sweet and selfless child; he can wield a mighty temper at times but is always quick to forgive and forget. 4 of 8 children from one of my favorite families in Los Laureles. That little one Darwin there, I wish he were mine, he's darn near perfect.

I have no excuse. I have officially been on Christmas Break from school for more than a week now and still I have been loathe to blog. Jojo Daniele is here with me and so, as is my want, I may just shift the blame to her. She's the reason I don't blog - she just keeps me so busy. On this lazy New Year's Eve Day though, she suggested we run our morning errands and then hole up in a coffee shop and have a writing day. Here we are then and instead of writing and blogging I spent the first hour or two re-opening a Facebook account. I don't loathe blogging, I loathe myself. I have been keeping busy though and thus the following is a quick photo recap of my many pursuits these past few days. Oh, and Merry Christmas/Happy New Year from Jojo, the youth of Laureles and myself. It certainly doesn't feel like Christmastime, what with the 80 degree weather, but I suppose it's the right thing to do (send the Yuletide greetings that is). Jojo with her "sister" ...