A Collection of Short Stories

Dinner for One

I´m not sure if Imentioned this in a previous post, but it seems that the Rottweiler at my home has a taste for bull carcas. Teddy, as she´s called, came home last week with the hoof of bull in it mouth. Normally, Teddy is a sweetheart, but with a delicious piece of beef in her mouth she turns into a wild animal. Instead of letting her enjoy her prize my host brother-in-law distracted her while one of the kids grabbed the hoof and buried it behind th house. Apparentally, the bull carcas attracts other animals and creates a bit a of a zoo ambiance on the front porch, sans the smell of elephant crap. Suprised and kind of grossed out, I thought that it was a rare occasion to see the dog with a hoof in its mouth, I was sorely mistaken. Last night, after I got off the phone with Leah, I made my way to the bathroom before going to bed. As I opened the door from my room to the porch, there was Teddy staring right at with a huge set of Bulls´s horns in her mouth. Needless to say, I was shocked at what I saw and decided that going to the bathroom quickly would be best. On my way back from outhouse Teddy was devouring the meat left on the base of the horns. As I passed her I couldn´t help but notice the look she gave me as if to say, you better get your ass back to bed. Latter that evening I snored peacefully to the sounds of other animals coming for a taste of Teddy´s treat.

Sounds of The Night

I´ve come to realize that most Americans, at least those I know, are under the impression that roosters actually caw at dawn. I am sorry my friends, but you are sorely mistaken. Im starting to believe that I live at the hub of the rooster population in Honduras. Most nights, the rooster caws at 1:30 am, 3:00 am, and 4:00 am, but recently they have taken a liking to the 9 and 10pm slots. There´s nothing like falling asleep to the deafening caw of ten roosters less than 30 feet from your bedroom...sweet dreams. If its not the roosters, its the dogs. Along with Teddy, there are 3 smaller muts that live at my house. (please keep in mind the concept of a pet dog is very different here. Generally, they are for protection and not cuddling). Wolfie, Betowen, and Betowen´s brother love to bark at anything that moves in the night. Most nights the three smaller dogs bark, and Teddy lies back eating bull carcas, but when Teddy gets into the mix its like sitting ïn front of a airhorn. The best part is that when Teddy barks, you know something big and scary is right outside, which means no going to bathroom! yay!

US Luxuries

Raise your hand if you have a washing machine...I´m not raising my hand. Next to the outhouse there is a huge concrete basin that is used as the primary water source for the house. We have running water, but the ¨Pila¨, as its called, is a necessary reservoir. On the left side of the pila there is ribbed surface used for washing clothes...and that is where I was my clothes by hand. It took me about ten minutes to wash a t-shirt. One t-shirt. My host mom was watching over me the whole time to make sure i was making the right washing motion, I felt like 3 yera old. After taking an hour to wash everything, I hung it out to dry. I did my first load four days ago and it took two days to dry. Washing is awesome.