La Feria

My trepidations about deciding to stay here are quickly being replaced with excitement of the daily adventures that come with living in a new country. I am finding that friends come easily. For example, I had two new ones the first week in my apartment, Harry the Spider and Mr. Cucaracha. That said, I eventually decided they were best left as outdoor friends, and they have since then departed. New friendly faces have filled the void of those that left and I am especially happy to have found another running buddy. I woke up at 4 am a few days ago to what sounded like gun shots and spent the morning plastered to my bed eyes-wide-open only to realize later when I asked about the event that it was the morning wake up call from the Copan Ruinas fair with fireworks. This is the big event right now which is akin to those at home with rodeos, games, rides, greasy food, princesses, and the like. It has been fun to explore throughout the week. I saw the little girl crowned princess who was maybe six and her dress was so puffy she had to be carried down the steps so she wouldn’t trip. One night, I danced for six hours to Latin rhythms and arrived at my home when the fireworks began. I danced that night from one fiesta to the other with a family of cowboys in the street to mariache music. The next day I ran in Copan Ruinas’ very first 5K run after two hours of sleep. People here work so hard when there is work and party so hard when there isn’t; I am not sure how they have the energy. I spent Sunday sleeping all day and feeling the previous night must have been a dream. I met with wonderful women this week to discuss potential work opportunities, and I am excited about what people are doing here in the community and the possibilities to creatively use my nursing skills in more preventative and educational ways. The only problem is deciding what project I want to commit to. There are so many things people need here, and there aren’t really rules about what you can or can’t do because there is so little governmental control and so much corruption. The freedom is a bit overwhelming. I feel like there is always work to be done, but no guarenteed outcomes or pay. It’s a bit like looking over a cliff and trying to decide if you could jump far enough to reach the other side. In the end, I think I just need to pick one passion and focus my all on that, and it will come to be. I am a strong believer in the power of positive thinking, and it has gotten me this far.