culture change

Ok, so a few days have passed since I touched down on American soil. Now, its kind of surreal, because things are so familiar because I grew up in this culture, in this area, but some things have been a little weird.

first what?!- Ok, so in Honduras, you don't flush toilet paper down the toilet. The sanitary waste system (where one exists) cannot handle the paper, so there is always a small trash can to collect it. Odd situation when one first arrives in Honduras, but as of now it is the norm. So, I am in the airport in Atlanta, and very confused when there is no trash can. I felt really guilty for flushing it. Still do. Its an odd situation.

Food: I am sure when I get back to Honduras I will be craving frijolitos and platino. As of now I am enjoying the food here. Eating whatever junk I can get my hands on. Lets be honest, I have a lot of fresh fruits in my town, so I can eat very healthy in Honduras. Its always good climate for growing veggies and fruits, so fresh stuff is easy to find. My parents love me, so they are indulging me and I love it.

Now, I live with a host family. I feel very comfortable with them, but its not the same. Also, I am wrapped in very soft warm clothing as I am writing this. Well, its not cold enough in Honduras to enjoy the feeling of layers.

I bet a few of you are wondering what my reaction was to the Maine weather. Before I even left Honduras I had a minor situation. I had gone hiking the weekend before, and my sneakers were really, really dirty. Well, I thought I could wash them before coming home and with two days in the sun, they should dry. It then rained for two days, so I was without shoes. Let me explain this, I only have two pairs of closed toed shoes in Honduras, my sneakers and my boots. Well, I didn't want to travel in my boots, so I went out and bought closed toed dress shoes.

These shoes ended up destroying my feet. I had to walk about a kilometer between dropping off my dog at her sitter's and getting to the bus station. My heels were literally bleeding from the effort, so the rest of the time I folded over the back of the shoe to prevent more damage (although I later got blisters too) and made a phone call home to request my winter boots being brought to the airport to pick me up. Its kind of funny though because the only time I wore my fleece in the trip home was in Tegucigapla, in the airport, and was freezing because the air conditioner was on too strong. The few places that have air conditioning only use it enough to make it less hot, not to make the place cool.

So, getting off the plane in Maine, I was trying to run up the walkway, but my feet hurt too bad to run. I was brought a coat and boots to the airport, and I was prepared in my mind for the cold, so it wasn't too bad. On the other hand, the next day I wasn't prepared for the cold, so when I went outside I really felt it. It feels so nice to sleep underneath heavy blankets, the most I have in Honduras is maybe one thin blanket.

Ok, thats all for now.

Jill