Creatures

I like the little lizards around here. There are little green ones and little brown ones. The green ones like to climb on the firewood. Prairie calls the brown ones dinosaur lizards because they have giant back feet and they run on their hind legs. They have a wide black stripe on their head, and a bright yellow-green stripe down the length of their body.

When I sat down in the hammock earlier, I saw something move on the ground below me. It was a spider. A few moments later, I saw it again, and all of a sudden one of the dinosaur lizards darted out of nowhere, caught it, ate it, and scampered off again!

We also have a resident giant hairy tarantula in the house.

Isn't nature amazing?

Life at the monastery

Here's what we do at the monastery:

arise at dawn and do morning prayers while the sun rises
cook and eat breakfast
do laundry, work in the garden, or other physical labor
cook and eat lunch
rest, read, study, write
do afternoon worship
more resting or reading, etc. or housework and bathing
cook and eat dinner
read, write, study, chat
do evening worship
go to bed

So far I have learned to sort, wash, and grind corn; start a fire for the stove, bake a wacky cake in the oven; turn on the kerosene lamp; cut down trees; chop ocote for the fire; and ring the bell for worship. I was already familiar with sorting beans and hand-washing clothes from my previous experience.

There is no electricity, and the stars are simply amazing at night! If only we knew our constellations better...

biting bugs

Why do mosquito bites always itch worse at night? and why do they like my right side better than my left? It is a mystery. I have at least 55--I counted. They're not all mosquito bites; some are from no-see-ums, and others from ants. luckily, the ant bites don't itch, they just sting for about 5 minutes after you get them. yesterday I managed to get ants in my pants by stepping in a swarm of them--ouch. I am grateful to have strong bug repellent and a mosquito net on my bed--I would be absolutely miserable without them!

Monday in Limón

Monday is Limón day, volunteering at the Centro de Salud. That means we walk an hour down to the main road and then try to get a ride the rest of the way into town (it would be another hour on foot). Today, we headed out as early as possible after morning prayers and breakfast. A pick-up (jalón) gave us a ride for the last half.

When we got to Centro de Salud, I was given the job of sorting out the ingredients of a box of medicines and supplies that a missionary team had left a month or two ago. I had to check expiration dates, sort them by tupe, label them in Spanish, and put them in the correct spot on the shelf. Well, I did what I could! I didn't know the names for most of them, and I had no idea where to put them on the shelf. Once it was empty, I filled the tub half full again with expired medicines--what a shame.

We'll see what the other Mondays have in store for me!

Getting Here

I give thanks for smooth traveling! I only had a few minor mishaps... First, after I had checked my box, I glanced at the display case of prohibited carry-on items on my way to security: oops! I had bug repellent and sunscreen in my bag. The only solution was to check my backpack as well, which was actually preferable, since I didn't have to carry it around me with during my 3-hour early morning layover in Houston!

When I arrived in San Pedro Sula, wow it was hot and humid! The customs checkers wanted to check my box--which contained books, medicines, dried fruits, and chocolate--and then they had to find tape to tape it up again... Prairie and Beth were there to meet me, and a few hours later as we made our way to La Ceiba by bus I had the sudden realization that I had no idea where my sweater and long sleeve shirt were. Prairie swears she never saw them. Aparrently, they never made it out of the customs room with me! I just had to laugh at the fact that I was so hot that it took me so long to notice. Luckily, they did have an extra long sleeve shirt to loan me!

As the plane was landing, and as the bus made it's way through towns and countryside, I was caught by the thought that here I am, in this world again--the one I chose to study, to spend my time in. but why? I don't even particularly enjoy it! Everything felt so familiar, like all my memories. dusty, decrepit, dirty... and yet, somehow still beautiful.

We stayed in the town of El Pino, near La Ceiba, for a few days before continuing on to Limón and the monastery. I was ready to be out of the city and into the slow simplicity of rural life!

i have arrived (partially)

here i am in hot and steamy honduras! i arrived thirsty, parched, and tired; 12 hours later, i think i have recovered...we haven´t made it to the monastery yet, though--that's tomorrow. Right now we're in La Ceiba doing email and shopping--helping Beth prepare for her trip to the states. i'm looking forward to finally going to the mountain tomorrow, i don't particularly enjoy the city... right now, i don't really have much to say, but i'm sure there will be lots to write next time!

to see pictures of what the monastery is like and get an idea of where i am, check out www.flickr.com/photos/amigasdelsenor

i´ll be online again in about 2 weeks, and hopefully we´ll have more pictures (that include me!) to post.

A Temporary Monastic

Today is the day I take off for an 8-week stay in Honduras! I will be staying at the Amigas del Señor monastery, which means i'll be living in a small house in the hills of rural northern Honduras near the town on Limón on the Caribbean coast, with my sister. Life there will consist of arising at dawn, doing morning prayers, cooking on a wood-fired stove, gardening on a steep hillside, doing afternoon prayers, singing, reading/studying, journaling, walking to town every so often, hand-washing our clothes, eating, doing evening prayers, and sleeping. Not to mention swatting mosquitos and sweating a lot...and I'm sure there are things I've forgotten or haven't anticipated. It will be an interesting experience to spend such intense time with my sister as my only constant company--I hope we don't get sick of each other! If you want to write to me while I'm there, send letters to:

Autumn Cutting
Amigas del Señor
Limón, Colón, Honduras

mail takes approx. 4 weeks to arrive, so mail it by Feb. 15, as I return home on the 19th of March!

I won't get to the internet too many times while I'm down there, but at least a couple.