Un Dia Normal (6/11/2023)
On a normal day we wake up shortly after sun-up (around
5:30) to the sound of birds, chickens, and dogs. It is the best time for
exercise as the day is at it’s coolest (~70F) so we walk to the entrance to the
Sepulturas which is the “residential” region of the Copan ruins.[1]
This gives us ~3.5 mile walk to start our day and we usually follow with a half
hour yoga session. We bought yoga mats in our first week and have a large room
upstairs that works perfectly for yoga. We are generally able to stream Beach
Body on Demand for Yoga sessions, but if the power is out, can just set a timer
and do yoga poses from memory.
We shower before breakfast which is at 7AM. The water distribution
system can be problematic. It is inconsistent and our shower probably has one
of the best water-saving shower heads known to humankind 😊.
One day Al did not get any water for several minutes and finally just used a
glass of drinking water to sponge off. Generally though we get a small amount and it
is amazing how little one needs to have a very refreshing shower. There is a
button to heat the water, but I rarely use it. In this climate, the cooler the better!
Breakfast is simple and always includes fresh fruit and
delicious Honduran coffee. All of our host family meals are prepared by Doña
Tina, who owns the house with her husband Jesus. Tina is an excellent cook and hostess and
makes sure to help keep us immersed in Spanish during our meals. She describes
the food in Spanish and lets us know whether it is “typica” or “rico”, the
different fruits (frutas) and many other items of interest. We are slowly
comprehending more of her mealtime conversation, but she always offers it with
a smile and a lot of gestures that help us get the gist of what she says. She
also gently corrects us when needed. As for exotic fresh fruits, we have been
eating mango, pineapple (piña), watermelon (sandia), and papaya
for a while now. Today we were introduced to maracuya (passion fruit) in juice
form and jocomico.
After Breakfast (Desayuno), we walk about 8 bocks to the
Guacamaya Spanish School which starts at 8AM and for the next 4 hours, with a
15 minute break half-way, have a one-on-one teaching session with our teachers
Enrique and Karla. Although Allen had
Nelly for three days last week as Enrique was sick. They are all excellent
teachers and we are slowly building our vocabulary and communication skills. We
are two weeks into our 5-week commitment; the time is going too quickly!
After class, we walk back to our casa homestay and have
lunch, often with other local workers or others who happen to be in town for
business of some sort who have dropped in for one of Doña Tina’s boarding house meals.
We spend the afternoon doing homework
and studying at either our homestay or at a nearby café. The cafes provide air
conditioning and wifi in addition to some delicious desserts or “postres” and
coffee. We also have some downtime to look at email & facebook, do sudoku
or crosswords, or read. We have dinner at 6PM, after which it is dark; sundown
is around 6:00PM here.
In the evening we might quiz each other on vocabulary, watch
a movie or show in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, or read. I found that we
could download “read-aloud” books in Spanish from our local library at home. The
book audio is read while the words in the book are highlighted. There are not many
books with this feature, but it is helpful to hear the pronunciation while
seeing the text. We have always been in the habit of early-to-rise,
early-to-bed and find that is easy to follow here as we usually fall asleep
around 9PM.
[1] A
note on the ruins which we toured a week ago (6/4/23) – they are ruins from a
great Mayan city that lasted from 400 to 800 AD. As
one of the most important sites in Mayan history, and because of its
outstanding, well-preserved architecture, Copán was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
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