Week One: cont topics

I dont want to spoil you all with additional posts, but I have one more topics to cover.

Weightloss

first of all let me start by saying that I have lost quite a bit of weight since arriving in Honduras and Im pretty sure its from the...unstable stomach lets say...i´ve had since my arrival. I never thought that the one thing I would miss the most would be a solid BM, but i guess nothing is perfect. As far as being el gordito, my family here in Yarumela has made it abudantly clear that im mildly overweight. A few nights ago my host father asked me straight up how much I weighed, which was followed by a ¨wow¨and Ï was concerned when my son weighed 215 and he´s 6´1¨. It was a great conversation and I feel as though we got a little closer that night. The next day there son Mario ,that lives on the border with El Salvador, came to visit. That evening I saw Mario talking to his father and they both kind of glanced at me and continued with their convo, naturally I thought nothing of it. When we sat down for dinner I gave the usual grace (thank you for this food...AND THEY´ER OFF!) that is often followed by a nice awkward silence as everyone inhales their food. As we were eating Mario decided to speak up. Basically and as random as it gets he says. ¨Yeah I´ve been losing weight slowly over the past 3 months, are you planning on losing weight here?¨ I was pretty shocked and surprised at the sudden interest in my weight, but then again Hondurans are known to be blunt with their decriptions of people. Unfortunately, it doesnt end there. Yesterday some volunteers and I went to nearby pool for some bonding time with family and friends. Since its so freakin hot here I decided to got for a dip. Please keep in mind that the pool is actually a 10x10x4 cement basin with about 8 kids screaming inside of it. Within 5 minutes of getting in the water a little kid jumped on my back and started screaming ¨llevame gordo!¨, which translates into ¨carry me around fatty!¨. Even though it hit a sore spot, it wasnt meant malicously so I laughed it off...and cried on the inside. You may be thinking wow I cant believe these people are so blunt. Well, it doesnt end there. This morning as I was on my way out the door for class Mario stopped me with a calculator in hand. As if in a rush he asked me how much I weighed, so I told him. Next, he asked me how tall I was, so I told him. At this point I was getting a little suspicious, so i asked him what the hell he was doing...to which he replied hold on, hold on. After waiting a couple of minutes he says to me, ¨JOEL! your body mass index is 35! have a great day.¨

I really didnt know how to respond so I said thanks and walked off. This experiences may piss of some people, but they are pretty funny and serving as great motivation.

Talk to you all soon.

J