Good-byes

After swimming with sharks, following turtles, greeting sting rays, topping manatees, howling at monkeys, tempting tarantulas, surprising toucans, mounting thousand year old temples, gazing at the horizon over acres of rainforest, mounting an active volcano, smoldering at the heat which instantly set sticks on fire, viewing the obscure outline of lava and learning from various different indigenous Guatemalans, I landed back in my home of two years, Honduras, this time to say goodbye to it. As now familiar music coaxes me back to experiences had, I think about the things to which I need to say good –bye.

Today I said goodbye to baleadas, my favorite Honduran meal, a flour tortilla folded up with beans, mantequilla, dry and salty white cheese and sometimes eggs and avocado in it. I will very much miss that blend of flavors.

I say goodbye to the vendors on the side of the road, offering street food or vegetables in plenty at a cheap price.

I say goodbye to the unending amount of new fruits and bursts of flavor that
I have been able to awaken my taste buds to.

I say goodbye to the lively bus system, that forever challenges me in how many people they can fit in one school bus, and how many decibels of bassy music the ear drums can handle.

I say goodbye to the laid back mañana attitude, that I have come to know and love.

I say goodbye to a work atmosphere where I can come up with an idea and see it through, granted, that co-workers agree it is a good one.

I say goodbye to the free $100 view I get of the mountainous, sprawling city of Tegucigalpa at sunset.

I say goodbye to collectivos, my new favorite form of fast and cheap transportation.

I say goodbye to hospitality at its highest.

I say good-bye to dinamicas, the best social lubricant in Latin America, as if they needed it!

I say goodbye to futbol as its own emotion that can at least temporarily unite a country.

I say goodbye to high energy alcohol free parties, where you can expect delighted screams, exclamations, roaring laughter, and body language, a lot of body language.
On a more serious note, I say goodbye to the community that has supported me for the last two years, the organization I worked for, MCM and the church I went to, La Reformada; a group of people that believed in me and my abilities when I didn’t, and saw to it that I could fly, so I tried my hand at it. Amongst that group I will say good-bye to specific people who I have come to know and love, Karina and Franklin, my co-worker friends. Fernando, a youth from the community who had become a good friend and Dinora, a local cleaning lady and her two girls who I have come to know and love.

I say goodbye to the clients that I spent time getting to know, who always impressed and inspired me with their perseverance, ingenuity and constant laughter.
I say good bye to the Mujeres Valientes group, who never failed to complete a new project, and see it to fruition, inspiring all women within a stone’s throw to be a part.

I say goodbye to these and many more things, knowing that on the other side of every goodbye is a hello somewhere else. For a long time I have been saying goodbye to all of you, now I am able to say hello, and reignite my life in Chicago. I am looking forward to that, and would love to see you as I settle in. I plan on heading back to the Reed pad for awhile, do odd jobs while I’m looking for a permanent one and spending time with friends and family. Hope this note finds you well, look forward to seeing you soon.