Today was a much better day and because I finally had my first cup of coffee this morning I chalked it up to the fact that the best things in life are the simple things..like coffee.
Then I got to thinking, if there is one word to describe the Honduran way of life it is just that, simple.
Take for example the food. It seems there is little variation in the ingredients that my señora uses in all of my meals. Beans, rice, eggs, avocado, some type of meat and tortillas have all been used in almost every meal I have had here..breakfast, lunch and dinner.
While there may not be an abundance of food available my family definitely makes it work. Im not sure about my fellow teachers, but for Steph and I every meal is a feast. Miss Dorin (the honduran teacher that I am living with) says that her mother never wants her family to be “skinny” so she is constantly cooking and feeding and forcing everyone to eat, eat, eat. Which is true. Breakfast awaits me when I wake up in the morning and dinner is prepared the moment I get home.*Note: I am only one of MANY people to feed in this household and this doesnt even include the large amounts of food that my señora prepares and sells for our neighbors.
Most families here don’t have internet or a T.V. so they spend their days just hanging out with each other. My family can be found outside on the porch at all hours of the day and the kids in my neighborhood play soccer in the streets until dark. It makes you think about how much of our time is spent on the internet or watching t.v. or how so much of our conversations take place through text messages and emails. It’s nice to finally be in a place where people actually communicate face to face. It’s nice to find entertainment in a simple game of soccer during lunchtime.
I think one thing that people can learn from this place is that our lives, which too often center around materialism, is not necessarily the only way to live. It’s definitely not what grants you happiness. I wish that everyone could have the opportunity to sit down with my señor and listen to his stories. I wish they could have the chance to look through the old photo albums of him and my señora when they were just kids and just as much in love.
Perhaps then they could see what happiness really is when it’s pure and simple.
