life

Sometimes it's hard to live here in Honduras. Don't get me wrong, I do love it. It was my hermanita's birthday yesterday and we had a party tonight for her. I love hanging out with the other students. I love my family and we get along really well. I get to see and experience so many things here. I am learning so much, and not only when it comes to Spanish. I'm learning a lot about life too.

Sometimes life's just hard here, but then, it's hard everywhere at some point. One of my biggest pet peeves is any time I leave the house. Because I am gringa, because I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin, and because I'm female, I am objectified. I am told "I love you, baby" "Hello gringa" "Hey Honey" "Beautiful/Bella"... and the list goes on. We get whistled at, honked at, and "kissed" at (when the men make kissing noises). I don't particularly like this aspect of life in Honduras. It can be hard to feel safe, but we are. We've got a Protector and an army of angels. So we rest in that.

Another thing that's hard is the loneliness. We have each other--the Calvin group, we have our families, we can use the internet and phones and snail mail, it's just different. It's hard to explain and the best way might be that we don't feel "known." But a friend told me that these semesters abroad aren't about being known, but about knowing others. So we build community as a group. We get to know our families, and become a part of the family. We get into local communities. I get out of ourselves and into the hearts of others. I think this is important. I think we're going to need to remember this at home too. I think it's necessary for the Kingdom. We're not called to live inside ourselves, to live for ourselves. We're called to be ONE, "just as [Jesus] and the Father are one."