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In June of 2009, my traveling companion Baby Lion (or 'BL') traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras covertly in my luggage. Airport security was none the wiser. Had they found BL, I'm certain he would have violated several import restrictions - being fierce and lionish and everything. Plus I would probably have had to buy another airline ticket and that would just be expensive. However, he was not discovered and the whole thing was so uneventful that I failed to take pictures of any of it. Too bad for you, all you get here is text. After arriving at the hotel and unpacking, our group decided to toddle over to the local mall, conveniently located on the other side of the most dangerous intersection in the city of San Pedro Sula. Fortunately there was a crosswalk bridge. You knew immediately that this mall was different than those here in the US because there was a guard with an automatic weapon stationed at the front door. Seeing the gun, BL hid in my pocket as we passed through the doors. It was pretty standard mall with all the fast food joints you're used to seeing here and some stores you'd recognize except the window advertising was all in Spanish. One upscale department store was called "Carrion" which BL thought sounded like a good place for lunch. However, he got completely distracted by the Sanrio store (below left) and forgot about checking out the Carrion. He espied a pillow featuring a character named "Kuromi" that had Hello Kitty! skulls on it and he had to have it (below right). Fortunately my sister habla Español and we were able to arrange this purchase. |
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While Baby Lion's purpose in going to Honduras was to hunt the local pecarries, mine was to meet the little girl I sponsor there named Sulma. Sulma is 14, but she is only in the 3rd grade because the first few years of her life were too unstable for her to go to school. She lives in San Pedro Sula in a house with 19 other girls. My sponsorship allows her to attend school and take extra English lessons. At right, a pecarry - BL's would-be prey. I was told Sulma was very shy, so I thought that BL might be helpful. Wanting to bring something for her, I eyed BL's Kuromi pillow. Patiently explaining that we needed a gift for Sulma, I convinced BL to give up his skull festooned pillow after only 3 hours of begging and pleading. |
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None of the girls at the casa spoke Inglés, so my sister was once again tasked with explaining Baby Lion (león bebé) and his weird keeper to the girls. After much eye rolling, this was accomplished and Sulma graciously allowed me to have a photo taken her, BL and me (below left). For dinner, we held a pizza party for the girls, a rare treat for them. I was told were used to a steady diet of rice and beans. Tom, our Rotary contact for the girls (below right, in the middle - with his back to us) worked with my sister to arrange the pizza over the phone. Once arranged, some of the girls took us on a walk to the local market to buy soda pop. Baby Lion trailed along (below right). |
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| Returning from the store laden with bottles of pop, we found the pizza delivery guy waiting at the gate. So we paid for the pizza and hauled the hot treasure into the casa. The girls retrieved dishes and the pizza party started in earnest. BL was looking forward to stalking and capturing a slice of the pizza, but he had the girls to contend with - you have not really seen pizza stalked and captured until you've placed it in front of 19 eager young girls who are mostly used to eating beans and rice. I sat with Sulma, her 6-year old sister Tania (wearing a blue striped shirt in the photos below ) and her friend Blanca (in the pink shirt). |
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As you can see, BL was preparing to attack Blanca's pizza (above left), but he was thwarted by Tania who placed him on Blanca's head for some reason. Tania was a ball of energy and excitement. Some of the girls at the other tables spotted BL and were concerned because "Él es tan flaco!" ("He is so skinny!") To remedy this, they stuck him in the middle of a plate of pizza. BL was happy -- not to mention filthy. |
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After the pizza party, the girls gave a tour of their casa. New energy and interest in their home began when Rotary District 6400 got involved with helpingthe casa a few years ago. I was told the inside of the house was originally painted gray and the girls were sullen and dispirited before getting sponsors. They have since perked up and even got excited about fixing the place up. They helped to paint the walls (apparently with their hands - below left.) Other rooms had been pained in vibrant colors and themes. After the tour, the girls announced that we would dance. I resisted. They insisted. I resisted. Below center, you see me dancing with Tania. (Sorry that this is such a horrible shot, but it's the only one the girls took of me with my camera.) Fortunately, this only lasted for a few songs. (I believe this is the first time I had danced in 11 years.) As things settled down, Blanca made it her mission to teach me the alphabet in Spanish (below right.). She also wanted me to listen and correct her English version of the alphabet. We spent at least an hour going through Spanish phrases in their picture dictionary, the alphabet and the numbers. (Blanca told me she wants to be a lawyer.) Blanca, Tania and Sulma promised to study English so we could communicate better next time. They also made me promise to learn Spanish. (Habla un poco.) |
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Even the trip home proved eventful; particularly for my brother-in-law
John. I was told that we weren't in the greatest neighborhood,
particularly after dark. We were only able to hail one cab for
our group of 7. This left three of us - including John and I - walking to
the nearest big intersection to try our luck finding another cab. On the
way, we offered a ride in the back of a little pickup truck. Such an opportunity could not be passed up!
John had been lived in Mexico for two years working on a construction project for GM. While there, he had never had the opportunity to ride the way the locals do - in the back of a pickup truck. You used to be able to do that in the US, but the people have since seen fit to stop this practice. But in Mexico and Honduras, I've noticed that it's the way to go! I saw pick-up trucks with special bars installed so that more people could in the back of the trucks ride standing up like cattle. My favorite Honduran truck scene involved a guy riding atop a garbage truck , barreling along at a brisk 40 or 50 mph. Now that's truck-back riding! So we got to ride in the back of a truck back to the hotel. Below you see me with BL at left and the BL's eye view at right. For all you people who worry about the safety of such behavior...phhhhhbt!! |
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