Old Journal Entries and Encounters

Honduran Mountains

 This morning, I came across some old journal entries from when I was spending two weeks in Honduras the summer I turned twenty one. It was fun to see my old entries, to-do lists, currency conversions and such. But I also rediscovered a section in my journal entries that had been forgotten called "Encounters", and in this section I would record encounters, meetings, or interactions that I had with people there. Some of these "encounters" were just me, observing something new I had never seen before, a cultural discovery of sort, or some wisdom I imagined gained. Some of these encounters I remember to this day, but I'm sure when I am older one day that I will greatly appreciate my old journal entries. 

"Ethan"

One of the encounters I had there, was with a little baby boy I met at an orphanage in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. I named him Ethan because I fell in love with him, and I could sadly never find out what his name was. He had some development struggles, but he had a bright smile and an endearing personality. I went to see him two times while I was there, and both times I found him in a room, in a crib, all alone. My heart practically broke. I was younger at the time, and couldn't take care of him, but I loved him while I could, as all children should be. 

Love em while you can!

Noah/Spiderman

Another encouter I had there, was with another little boy named Noah. He was the four year old son of the missionary couple I was staying with. I loved his bravery and strength even as a young boy. He didn't care he was the only white, blonde headed, blue eyed kid around. He was just himself, and loved to play and climb trees. This is one of my favorite photos of him as he confidently paraded around as Spiderman. 

The Thank You Card

Another entertaining encounter that I had there, was when my older, female cousin and I decided to write the guard who watched the gated community where we were staying (there are high levels of crime and gang activity in Honduras - thefts, drugs, kidnapping...) a thank-you card. We proudly presented it to him in broken Spanish. My cousin who had been staying there all summer, surprisingly and embarrassingly got a letter back from the guard declaring his love for her, and his desire to marry her even though they had never really spoken. Boy! Learned a lesson there. 

Another encounter I had, was when I flew into Tegucigalpa. Honduras had just went through a military coup of sorts, and a major leadership change just a week or two before I flew in. Basically, I was the only white person on the plane and I arrived to an airport surrounded by armed soldiers. That, was after bouncing around and landing in one of the most precariously, located international airports dropped in the middle of a crowded city and tall, jagged mountains. 

Anyways, all of this is to lead to the point that I would like to re-engage in recording different encounters in my life again, as a way to reconnect with others and to capture some of the youthful, enthusiasm that I feel I have lost over the past few years, even though I am still quite young. So stay tuned, and I will be writing up some new encounters for ya!