Why Outside the U.S.?

In every radio, television and blog interview I am always asked the same question: “why did you choose to move outside the U.S.?” The ‘gringos’ story mentions changes going on in our family and the need to be closer, which was true. However, the bottom line was the Universe told us to.

My husband, Ordin, and I loved the people and life on the island of Hawaii, but the same wet pocket that made our acre of paradise green and beautiful was also causing us to be uncomfortably cold. We had bought an older plantation house with single wall construction; charming and well-built, but cold enough (to us) during the winter months that we considered buying a wood stove. Well, discontent creates change.

The housing market was in full boom so we couldn’t afford to buy another house in a drier location. Then, add the fact prices of everything were going up and we were looking toward retirement. So we made a list of what we wanted (based on what experience had taught us we didn’t want) and began to meditate daily with the list.

The Universe has such an amazing way of weaving loose ends together. We had been selling herbs at the Farmers Market in Hilo for years. Part of what we enjoyed about it was the friendships and conversations that sprung from those weekly commitments. For about a year there had been a lot of buzz about Costa Rico and Central America but the light never went on until after we had started our meditations. 1+1 became 2 with a great, ‘A-ha!’

There were several pros and cons about Costa but what the ‘awakening’ did was expand our thinking to the idea of US moving outside the States. So, we dusted off the office globe and began to renew our knowledge of Central American countries.

Gringos in Paradise: Our Honduras Odyssey explains how we narrowed our search from south of the border and north of the canal. However, the chain of world events that have passed subsequent to surviving our first year reconfirm our decision and hold me in awe.

This “3rd world”or “underdeveloped” nation reminds me so much of the areas of the U.S. where I grew up during the 1950s. The same freedoms and values that used to be so fundamental to daily life yet have seem to silently faded from U.S. life under the guise of security and protection still exist here.

I’m glad to have my U.S. passport so that I can occasionally return to the Wonder of Shopping World for a fix but otherwise life is good (easy and affordable for average folks) here on the Caribbean Coast. AND, I am certainly not cold anymore.

WWOOF!

I am so excited! A wwoofer is coming to my home. First 'wwoofer' in Honduras, I believe. Wwoofers are volunteers like the others that come into Central America however their focus is on organic farming and permaculture.

A Big Island Hawaii friend, Drean Barley, has a number of acres and has hosted many of these volunteers. This one is a PhD candidate that needed a short 'get back to the earth' vacation. The introduction came just as I was trying to figure out how I was going to balance time for research and writing. I am writing a book on healing from chronic conditions and food for healing is an important aspect of that theory

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I don't live on a farm nor do many folks suffering with chronic illness but everyone can plant and grow something. There are some great urban farming projects in the inner cities; our urban project is scaled down to flower gardens and pots.

She should be here in a week. I'll keep you posted.

Parade of Volunteers

I can’t recall ever hearing of volunteer programs other than those of missionaries or Doctors w/o Borders until I moved to Honduras. Now I am surrounded by people ranging in age from 20’s to 60’s from all around the globe. Occasionally some stay with us in the downstairs rooms of our house.

This month we have a retired couple from Canada, here to teach English at the local school. This is their second time to visit El Porvenir. I met them when they were here a year ago. They must have enjoyed the experience since they not only returned but they stopped off in Nicaragua for a community project before coming here.

Last month we hosted a young (early 40’s) single woman from Canada who wanted a positive focus for a bit while she sorted out changes going on in her life. Within a 5-year span she had gone through a divorce, lost a brother, been diagnosed and treated for cancer and was currently dealing with aging parents ill-health.

We also got to know a newly married, young couple from Australia around the same time. They were moving to the U.K. and this gave them a chance to have downtime, help others and see a bit of Central America before arriving in London to job hunt and reenter the everyday world.

Sometime this summer we will host a family from Poland. It’s the mom, dad and two primary school aged children (9&11?). They are coming to help at the public school and a local orphanage. What a beautiful bonding experience to share with your children or even grandchildren. I love getting to meet so many wonderful folks and learn about their lives.

Who would have thought that living in a little beach community in Honduras would seem

so similar to standing in the entry hall at the United Nations building.

The Day Of the Dead

Today begins the Day of the Dead festivities in many Spanish-speaking countries south of the Rio Grande. This is a time to honor loved ones who have passed on. It is also a time to celebrate the goodness of life, in general. In many countries, graveyards are decorated with brightly colored fabrics and flowers. Music is played, songs are sung and the favorite foods of the departed are prepared and enjoyed in their honor.

Nov. 1st is dedicated to the ‘Innocents’: A day to remember those that passed before they were old enough to have tasted life at all. Although I lost a sister within hours of her birth, today day holds special significance for me because it was the day my younger brother, Ralph, dropped dead just six years ago. He was 53 years old.

His life was never easy. He was conceived after our father had had lost his job and homestead. Dad and Mom already had to young babies to feed; I was only nine months old at the time. They had to pack up what they had and return the D.C. area to live with Mom’s family until Dad could find work. I don’t think life was intended to be easy for this one. It was as though he was an angel, being tested to earn his wings. He was only nine years old when a tobacco truck catapulted him thirty feet off his bicycle, breaking his right arm and left leg. He spent two tours in Vietnam Nam; dealt with the hardships of divorce and much later suffered third-degree burns over most of his body when a battery vat blew up at his work. He was never able to work in daylight again.

Any one of these (and other) experiences could have forged him into a bitter man. Many people use the hardships of life as an excuse to act out their pain and anger, however Ralph never seemed to lose his sweet, caring demeanor. He and his second wife, Kathy shared their home with over twenty children besides their own during the years together.

I don’t have many pictures of my brother. But the favorite that I do have and that I dig out each year around this date, is one taken of he and I with our older and younger brother. That sweet expression on his face is one he never lost.

Election Day in Honduras

Today is a big day for Honduras; even the weather is participating. Three days of rain ended and the sun came out to oversee the electoral process. Today’s election removes all the outside pressure and internal concern while the government begins the process restoring management of the country to an elected official.

I watched on television this morning the first person to place their vote. It was a 93 year old woman. There was also a man voting who had come all the way from the United States. He was a Honduran citizen who had been living in N. Carolina for 35 years. This was his first time to return to his country in all those years. He made a statement to the press about this being a time of change for Honduras. I believe everyone feels that way.

Since the purging of the office of President in June, the world wide attention Honduras has received has pulled this little country out of its hiding place in Central America. It won’t be as easy for public officials to line their pockets anymore. This is what the elders are seeing and they are traveling to the polls in mass.

Each vote is individually cast and each paper ballot counted. The polls will close at 7pm and the outcome announced at midnight; one department (state) at a time.

And on, and on, and on, and on…

Again,estoy mucho tarde in posting an update. Outside my travel schedule I have no excuse other than waiting for something to change on the political front here in Honduras. I don’t think we’re gonna see that happen until after the November 27th elections.

The US has insisted on involving itself in the problem instead of focusing its attention on repairing conditions within its own borders. Ms. Clinton and Pres. Obama refuse to back down on trying to make Honduras govern itself according to the dictates of the US. Ousted pres. Manuel Zelaya still refuses to develop any form of conscience toward abusing taxpayers’ money along with the trust of the country. It still seems to be all-about-Me[L]. Meanwhile the Congress and Interim President Roberto Michiletti are still standing firm on the Articles of the Honduras Constitution.

November is the 5th month since the purging of the presidency began. It has been a intriguing experience to observe. There have been so many private agendas involved yet the safety and peace of the citizens has seemed foremost in the priority set by the current [Honduras] administration. In the area of Honduras where I live, it has been pretty much ‘business as usual’ but I’m sure the citizens will be happy to have the gears of the government back in synch.

The old photograph attached recently passed through my e-mail. By the white border, I’d guess its vintage to be about the 1950’s. It’s a young Manuel Zelaya, dressed for a costume party or dressed for work? Who can tell?

World Cup-World Class

Shouts and screams of excitement filled the night air as Honduras beat-out San Salvador 2-1 and qualified for the World Cup Soccer Competition. This bright spot in an otherwise discouraging year was the burst of new life the country needed. It has been twenty-seven years since Honduras has qualified for this world championship.

The year began its downward spiral when (then) President Manuel Zelaya , in an effort to buy the loyalty of the country’s poor, created a new law that tripled the minimum wage. It also required employers to pay a bonus of one month’s salary every year. White-collar workers already receive what is called a 13th and 14th month bonus in June and December; now there would be another. The elated workers soon found that their employers could no longer afford them and many businesses closed their doors.This devastating financial blow became a force in the ripple affect of the sinking U.S. economy. The pressure caused by each one became a heavy weight on the rising middle class; an important ingredient to lifting any country from poverty level.

The end of May startled Honduran residents with the first earthquakes the country had experienced for over twelve years. Residents along the Caribbean Coastal areas as well as the Bay Island rode the waves of land undulations from the quakes and resulting aftershocks for over two weeks. The 7.+ earth movements must have been the tool to awaken people from their dispirited state. Within two weeks s the Congress of Honduras put their foot down by removing Manuel Zelaya from the office of president and then from the country.

The ensuing drama reminded me of behavior of my youngest brother. He would tease or incite a situation and when others would retaliate he ran squealing to hide behind our mother. She would then protect him just to have peace restored. And so it was with Zelaya, only mama’s skirts were worn by U.S. President Obama. Although the removal of Zelaya was in accordance to the Honduras Constitution it was viewed as unacceptable. Obama justice was dealt out with a heavy hand. An embargo was placed to try to starve people into submission, then visas where revoked and ambassadors removed from the U.S.

The interim president placed by the Congress, Roberto Micheletti, has been a model of propriety and consideration. He has been open to offering cooperation to mediator’s efforts to resolve what some of the world sees as a problem. However he will not compromise the country’s constitution by surrendering to economic pressure from the outside. He may be a politician but he is also a patriot. His priority seems to be to keep peace in the land while defending the Constitution.

An interesting synchronicity has become apparent. Twenty-seven years ago the Congress of Honduras established its current constitution. Possibly the surge of honor and veracity felt with those freedoms was carried onto the soccer field in 1982 to qualify for the World Cup finals. This year the same constitution was challenged yet steadfastly defended. Did the country’s faith in their constitution awaken that same sense of honor and steadfast belief? We are seeing history repeat itself; Honduras has reclaimed its place.