tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866875830230906442024-03-13T13:11:59.771-05:00Rob and Deb - Our Way...deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.comBlogger274125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-11683289007120787032010-10-10T13:59:00.000-05:002010-10-10T13:59:10.081-05:00Quick UpdateI'll start by saying that I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts. I am happy but staying very busy doing things that arent very interesting. There are tons of things that I would love to blog about but my free time is pretty limited and when I find a few minutes to sit at the computer, I just dont feel like writing. I used to write at night but now I am working at the bar pretty late and when I'm done with work, writing is the last thing that I want to do. Maybe I'll pick it back up later but for now, dont expect too much from me in terms of blogging. Just know that I am enjoying it here and actually very excited for my parents to visit for Thanksgiving. deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-6451948015272544082010-10-01T09:15:00.000-05:002010-10-01T09:15:47.545-05:00El Mochito Mine<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Its good to know people. One of our favorite customers is the GM of a big lead and zinc mine in the area and he took Vicky and me down yesterday. We went all the way down to 3050 ft. It was very hot and wet but very interesting.<br />
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FYI, my keyboard which had magically fixed itself is acting up again. Sorry for so few details on the mine but it is not easy for me to type like this.<br />
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<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TKXrpvJWL-I/AAAAAAAAIts/PPXBNXR5oMk/s1600/IMG_0008-1.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TKXrpvJWL-I/AAAAAAAAIts/PPXBNXR5oMk/s400/IMG_0008-1.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-44236477809568628472010-09-28T13:01:00.000-05:002010-09-28T13:01:15.079-05:00Santiago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have been dog sitting for the last few days for little Santiago, otherwise known as San Diablo. He is just so cute but kind of a little terror when he wants to be. I think he is probably a pretty normal Jack Russell, full of energy and a bit yappy when he gets worked up. He likes to chase guys on bicycles down the road and mess with the guys when they are working. He also loves attacking brooms and mops and anything else that is moving. I'm pretty much smitten with him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TKIsXnOrRlI/AAAAAAAAIsQ/kaOJit8sZXc/s1600/IMG_0002-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TKIsXnOrRlI/AAAAAAAAIsQ/kaOJit8sZXc/s320/IMG_0002-2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-90033680157264351822010-09-25T10:28:00.000-05:002010-09-25T10:28:38.689-05:00Hurricane MatthewWell the hurricane was a dud here in Honduras. We are in the middle of the country but only got a steady rain all night long and now it looks like it will be a nice day which is good because I need to dry some laundry and sun is very helpful for that. We have no guests besides a couple that is camping in their camper van. I have a feeling that we will get walk-ins today since the weather is better than was predicted. Otherwise it will be very quiet here.<br />
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The good news is that my keyboard seems to have magically fixed itself.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-20644530725423212172010-09-24T10:20:00.000-05:002010-09-24T10:21:00.141-05:00Music<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">I know this picture is dark but I didn't want to ruin the vibe. Bob is a great guitar player and singer and every now and then will get a jam session going. Since neither Rob or I is musical, we just sat close by and enjoyed the live show.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJzB27p_Y0I/AAAAAAAAIr4/a1v1iGfpbI8/s1600/IMG_0011-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJzB27p_Y0I/AAAAAAAAIr4/a1v1iGfpbI8/s400/IMG_0011-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-27153185013690517902010-09-24T10:16:00.000-05:002010-09-24T10:16:55.096-05:00Dogs Life....<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">There are 2 great dogs that live here. I'll post some pics of them another day. I walked by their food dish the other day and just had to take a picture. French fries, garlic toast, tomatoes and popcorn. I'm sure that they had already eaten the hamburger. If you have never been to Central America, you are not aware of how pathetically skinny most dogs here are. You can quickly spot a foreigner owned dog because they are healthy. People freak out (in a good way), when they see the dogs that live here because they are so healthy. They may end up with cholesterol problems but these guys eat better than anyone.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJzADdx5-sI/AAAAAAAAIrw/BFilgiFtEwY/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJzADdx5-sI/AAAAAAAAIrw/BFilgiFtEwY/s400/IMG_0009.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-91083276920548301672010-09-24T10:11:00.000-05:002010-09-24T10:11:12.113-05:00Rob's Work<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Here are some pics of Bob's house that Rob is working on. Its going to be so nice when its done. Today they are already painting the inside. Its so damp here that hopefully, someday the paint might even dry.<br />
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<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJy-xxeEiPI/AAAAAAAAIro/PCTAjLSehZs/s1600/IMG_0008.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJy-xxeEiPI/AAAAAAAAIro/PCTAjLSehZs/s400/IMG_0008.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: CENTER;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="-moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-72745640272206748622010-09-24T10:05:00.000-05:002010-09-24T10:05:31.664-05:00Old school working<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">Its pretty different working down here. Rob needed to bend some pipe and used this very low tech technique. Working here really makes you have to think outside the box which I think is really good for us.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJy-OncWPbI/AAAAAAAAIrI/HDmpu6r5dEw/s1600/IMG_0002-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJy-OncWPbI/AAAAAAAAIrI/HDmpu6r5dEw/s400/IMG_0002-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-52849124817638481792010-09-21T09:58:00.000-05:002010-09-21T09:58:50.302-05:00We will miss you EdWe have enjoyed the company of Ed, Bob the owner's brother. He just left to head home to Oregon and will be missed by all of us. He is such a cool mellow guy. We really will miss him around here. I wish he was staying another week but he had to head home to his cool house that floats right on the river.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-33083539460073710522010-09-21T09:45:00.000-05:002010-09-21T09:45:54.247-05:00Beware of falling avocadosEvery now and then, while sitting here enjoying the peace and quiet, there is this huge BOOM that sounds like a gunshot. Everyone jumps. It turns out that it is avocados falling from a tree. They are hard as a rock when they hit the metal roof over the restaurant tables. 2 have already fallen this morning while I've been typing here and drinking my morning coffee.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-28384079377821795342010-09-21T09:43:00.002-05:002010-09-25T23:50:45.289-05:00On the Lake<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">On Sunday, we went out on the lake for a nature tour with Malcolm. Malcolm is the guy sitting on the bow of the boat in the bottom pic. His specialty is birds and he knows everything about the birds in the area here and in most of the 3rd world. I won't take credit for these pics though. One of the guests here was with us on our trip with his great camera and he took most of these. <br />
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Here is a map of where we are at:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJTbaSxX_uI/AAAAAAAAIpc/dCrv68BnqoY/s1600/Honduras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TJTbaSxX_uI/AAAAAAAAIpc/dCrv68BnqoY/s640/Honduras.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-74999604662585331332010-09-18T10:21:00.000-05:002010-09-18T10:21:17.391-05:00Day 1Sorry. The internet is difficult here and I'm a little behind on the blog. When I cant get online, I try to still write and then post it later.<br />
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We pulled into town and everything came back to us. We knew exactly where to get off the bus. It is so nice to be in a familiar place. I can't explain it but I just feel so much more relaxed since we got back to Honduras. Life just seems simpler down here. I haven't quite put my finger on why since it seems a little counter-intuitive to be more relaxed in a place where we arent fluent in the language. <br />
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Well, we walked down the road from where the bus dropped us off and came in the gates of the hotel. It was all just as we remembered it. It took a while before the owner came around to see us and I was a bit nervous about what we would be doing and whether there is enough work for us. He has a manager here now who wasnt even aware that we were coming which only added to my anxiety. The rest of the day was a blur. I hit the ground running. First, I went into town on a grocery trip with Victoria, the manager and her sweet little Jack Russell, Santiago. I came back and relaxed and showered and then the dinner rush started. There were 2 groups of Americans totalling almost 20 people and they ordered drink after drink after drink. It looks like I will be waitressing which is brand new to me. Hopefully I wasnt too much of a nuisance. The nice thing is that by 9pm everything is done and boy was I tired.<br />
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Now I'm just kind of hanging out trying to figure out where I'm needed during the day. The lunch rush should start soon which is a little scary for me since that will be mostly local people and spanish interaction is still a bit scary. We'll see. More later.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-59467335206693824702010-09-18T10:20:00.000-05:002010-09-18T10:20:07.692-05:00Ahhh, back on Honduras bus<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">We awoke the next morning and got a taxi to the bus station. By this time, any anxiety that we had about traveling down here was gone. We knew exactly what to expect, what the bus station is like, what bus to take and everything. It all feels so easy this time around. Every single person that we have dealt with so far this time around has been so nice and helpful and I dare say that our Spanish is much improved from the last time which has made everything even easier. The scenery was beautiful and I sneakily took some videos on the bus to show you guys.<br />
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One of the best parts of the buses here is all of the food vendors that are constantly getting on the bus. We usually refrain from buying bus food but when I saw the guy with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">leechee</span> berries, I just couldn't resist. Here is a picture of one. They peel easily and on the inside is this fruit with a seed. I think the fruit tastes like a big grape and it is perfect bus food. Everyone here just throws their trash out the bus window which is a bit disturbing but I felt very Honduran throwing the peels and seed out the window as I munched on them. I highly recommend these if you are ever lucky enough to see these at the grocery store. I think they would make great kid food since they are so cool looking and fun to peel and eat. <br />
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</div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-30018023731433922992010-09-17T11:32:00.001-05:002010-09-18T18:42:02.261-05:00Arrival<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">Now that I have a few minutes, I thought I would post a few thoughts about our experiences in the last 2 days. I booked us on the the cheapest flight that I could get to San Pedro Sula which took us from Dallas to Tampa to Miami and then to Honduras. I was a bit worried with all of those connections but everything went very smoothly and we arrived in Honduras on time...although after dark. We landed at the airport and immediately hit the ATM machine to get some Honduran money called Lempiras. The ATM machine spit out some 500 Lempira bills which are equivilant to around $25 US. I quickly remembered the big money problem here in Honduras. The ATMs only give 500s but nobody here can ever make change for them. It can be a major pain for all involved. <br />
Our next step was to find a taxi to take us to our hostal. The taxi driver was so nice but was unfamiliar with our hostal. One of his buddies gave him some bad directions so we had a nice tour of the town while Rob and I looked for anything familiar to help get to the hostal. Eventually we found it, though, and were so relieved that they actually remembered us from our last visit there. The guy Carlos is even facebook friends with one of my friends from home from when she joined us for a week and remembered that he saw it was her birthday that day. We talked to him for a while about Honduran current events and the Dallas Cowboys.<br />
A nice little thunderstorm broke out on our way to the hostal and when we went up to our room, the little hostal schnowzer, Mikey, ran into our room and under one of the beds and wouldnt come out. He ended up spending the night in our room which was kind of nice.<br />
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</div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-75914349648278211522010-09-16T13:57:00.001-05:002010-09-16T13:57:38.336-05:00We have arrived...This will just be a quick post to let everyone know that we have reached our destination here at D&D Brewery. It is just as we remembered with a few nice improvements. We haven't seen Bob yet but he should be back soon and then we will have a better idea of what is going on and what he has in mind for us. I took some video on the bus and will post it later.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-17085307174983911192010-09-15T13:21:00.000-05:002010-09-15T13:21:34.712-05:00Tampa Airport - One step closerWe are here in Tampa for a short layover before heading to Miami and then Honduras. The weather is perfect so it looks like our flights today will work out ok. We will arrive in Honduras at about 8pm so we wont be arriving at our hotel until much later than that. I hate arriving at night but will just have to deal with it. Tomorrow we will catch a bus to D&D and our travel will be over for a little while. I'm not sure if we will have internet access tonight at our hotel but I will try to post as soon as possible.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-61596564463310543992010-09-14T09:47:00.000-05:002010-09-14T09:47:19.756-05:00Hitting the road againOur flight leaves tomorrow morning to take us back to Honduras. Yep, we know we are crazy but we have decided to go ahead and made a whole year of it. We contacted one of the hotels that we enjoyed our stay at and asked if we could work out a deal for us to trade work for room and board and he accepted so we are off again. This will be a very different trip. We will be working and staying in the same spot for the whole trip. <br />
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I'd been debating whether or not to blog this trip and obviously, have decided to go ahead and blog. It was a nice way for me to process my thoughts and some people really enjoyed reading it. <br />
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Today, we will be doing some last minute shopping, packing and cleaning up our room at my wonderful friend's house where we have been staying during our brief 5 weeks back at home.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-60771996914399734762010-08-06T09:36:00.000-05:002010-08-06T09:36:18.222-05:00Home...more or lessWe arrived home to Dallas yesterday afternoon. Our flight wasn't bad. The plane was pretty empty so nobody had to sit next to anyone that they didn't want to sit next to. They also gave us a surprisingly big breakfast. My mom picked us up from the airport and I was a little surprised at how great it was to see her. After a few hours of hanging out with my mom, we headed to Rob's parent's house to see his family. It was great to see them, too. Finally, we headed to our friend's house that we will be staying with until we get our act together. By 5pm, I was completely exhausted. After 7 months of travel, I'm not sure why it continues to surprise me how tiring travel days can be. It doesn't make a lot of sense that sitting around on a bus or plane would take a lot out of me.<br />
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Thankfully, we left some fresh clothes here at our friend's house. I am so ready to put on something different. I'm also going to make a run to Target for some new clothes today because...dammit...I deserve them! Most of our stuff is in a storage unit, including some of my favorite summer dresses. Hopefully, they aren't hidden too far in the back of the unit because it is hotter than hell outside and probably twice as hot in that storage unit.<br />
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Dallas is super hot! Far hotter than anywhere we have been in Central America. Thank God for air conditioning and cars. We will be busy for a while catching up with everyone. Rob is well connected and it looks like he will be back to work very quickly. For me it will be different. I've thought a lot about what I want to do next but have made no decisions and made no steps towards anything definite.<br />
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I laid in bed last night for a while debating whether or not I should continue the blog. I have loved blogging the trip. Sitting down to get my thoughts out has been really therapeutic. I've never been one to bare my soul publically, though. Blogging about the trip was easy because I had a topic to focus on. I can easily continue blogging my life as a continuation of our adventure...especially as long as we are staying with friends which, so far, kind of feels like being at another hostel, although it is the nicest hostel we have stayed at and is not very well known since we are the only ones here. My issue is more that now that we are in Dallas, I feel like my adventure is tied very closely into my career and I worry about perspective employers reading about my feelings about working. I still need to put a lot of thought into this. I'm sure that my posts will get a further apart but I would like to keep up the blogging at least a little as we work on getting settled again here in Dallas. Who knows, maybe our next foreign adventure will pick up faster than anyone could expect.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-54984929696757525762010-08-06T09:16:00.000-05:002010-08-06T09:17:09.618-05:00Diablo Rojo<div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center">No blog about Panama City can be considered complete without a post about the Diablo Rojo (Red Devil) buses. These are the normal city buses. From my understanding, they are privately owned and decorated to lure customers onto the buses in a highly competitive industry. I love that the buses are brightly painted but these buses are also so rediculously noisy. Our hotel was on a small hill and starting from 5:30 in the morning, we could hear these buses trying to get up the hill. You can't have a conversation on the street at all. They are fun looking, though!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYQoHcTI/AAAAAAAAIoY/HPOobzCX0as/s1600/IMG_2264-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYQoHcTI/AAAAAAAAIoY/HPOobzCX0as/s400/IMG_2264-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYlM9YEI/AAAAAAAAIog/Q29ebgxzwMM/s1600/IMG_2269-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYlM9YEI/AAAAAAAAIog/Q29ebgxzwMM/s400/IMG_2269-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYyt05OI/AAAAAAAAIoo/xZahuRvvCmA/s1600/IMG_2271-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZYyt05OI/AAAAAAAAIoo/xZahuRvvCmA/s400/IMG_2271-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><br /><div style="MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZZE20QoI/AAAAAAAAIow/vTXlsny3g9A/s1600/IMG_2274-1.JPG"><img alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7nckWKDg8qE/TFwZZE20QoI/AAAAAAAAIow/vTXlsny3g9A/s400/IMG_2274-1.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-57522177155406320242010-08-03T22:52:00.000-05:002010-08-03T22:52:56.075-05:00Ugly AmericanWe witnessed a really ugly American today and I can't stop thinking about it. The ugly American is a stereotype that you hear about all the time but we have been lucky enough to run into it very little. Most of the travelers that we have crossed paths (Americans and others) with have been exactly what you would hope that they would be...patient, nice and most of all respectful of the people whose countries we are guests in. We understand that the cultures in these countries are different from ours and we generally act like students, learning about people and trying to have as little of an impact on their society as possible. We know that as gringos we stand out without doing anything. Besides our pale skin, we dress differently, we act differently and often we can barely communicate in these people's language. It can be awkward but we have all been to places that have been ruined by tourism and the last thing that we want is for the local people to resent our presence as tourists. We know that people assume that we are rich to be able to travel at all but we know in our hearts that we are not as rich as people think we are as we try to make our small budgets stretch as long as possible. We spend most of our times in this precarious balance constantly being taken advantage of and on our guards to not get completely ripped off while still trying to contribute to the poor economies and to help out the people whose society we are invading.<br />
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Today on the beach, we witnessed a horrible display of ugly an ugly tourist and were horrified that this American would represent us so poorly. On this beach, like many others that we have visited, some entrepreneurial locals support themselves by renting umbrellas and beach chairs. A few others had built champas (temporary structures built of wood and covered in branches) to rent out to larger groups. A solo American guy had camped out in the shade of one of these champas near us. We soon heard an angry local woman speaking loudly to the guy in Spanish and then heard him cussing her out in English. Our Spanish is still poor but our ability to interpret situations is strong. We immediately knew that she was trying to tell him that he needed to give her money to sit under her champa or move to another part of the beach. We have been in his shoes before but the interaction was always different. When it happened to us, we offered an apology and moved away. It was always friendly and no big deal. This guy was irate that she would treat him like this. It was obvious that his Spanish was as bad as ours or worse that that he didn't really understand what she wanted from him. He was saying truly awful things that I cannot repeat on this blog. She was calling him things like pinche americano. The guy had a Canadian friend who I don't think was traveling with him but maybe they had crossed paths before. He looked over at us and Rob politely explained that she just wanted money for the use of the champa because that is how she supports herself and when the ugly American walked over to him after a while, he repeated what Rob had said as an explanation. Well that just set off the ugly American even more. He went back over to the lady and started yelling in English that she didn't own the beach and that the beach belongs to everyone. We were relieved when he finally moved on down the beach talking under his breath about how awful "these people" are to tourists. A few minutes later, we were listening to a group of Panamanian teenagers that were hanging out in a nearby champa. They were talking and laughing about the whole dramatic incident and then we heard them repeating some of their newly learned English phrases..."piss off, b&*h" was their favorite. <br />
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I'm so glad that we have witnessed so few interactions like that but I recognize the huge amount of damage that this behavior causes. Even though every other American on that beach was polite and respectful, this lady and everyone else on the beach will continue to think that all Americans are rude and think that they are entitled to special treatment thanks to this guy. Its people like that who give all of us a bad name and I honestly wish that the ugly Americans would just stay home.deblet76http://www.blogger.com/profile/04074535696335046803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-286687583023090644.post-62571285092708983372010-08-03T20:25:00.000-05:002010-08-03T20:25:01.345-05:00FOOD!!I've been thinking about this post for a long time. As the trip draws to a close, I want to do some summary posts about our trip and the most important one for me is this one about the foods from our trip. We love to eat and there are some foods that will always remind us of this trip. <br />
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<ul><li>Spicy Onion Vinegar sauce - This will be a staple in our kitchen from now on. We have seen variations all over Central America and we practiced it in Roatan and ended up eating tons of it over that month. Basically, we take water, white vinegar and sugar and boil it. Then we slice up onions and the hot pepper of our choice and pour the liquid mixture over it and let it sit for a few hours. We will be making it by the gallon because it is great with everything.</li>
<li>Tapado - I can't wait to figure out how to make this delicious Caribbean seafood soup that we ate in Livingston, Guatemala.</li>
<li>Ceviche - This was our staple food on Roatan and was perfect because all of the ingredients were cheap and readily available and as a bonus there was no cooking required so it didn't heat up our kitchen. Its great with some mango cut up in it. We eat it with slices of avocado and chips or crackers.</li>
<li>Sushi - I never would have thought that sushi would have anything to do with this trip but it will forever remind me of Volcan Arenal, Costa Rica where we learned how to roll our own sushi. I've been dreaming about sushi parties with our friends ever since and can't wait to perfect my rolling techniques.</li>
<li>Rondon - This is another Caribbean seafood soup that is thicker and creamier than the tapado. We ate Rondon in Cahuita, Costa Rica.</li>
<li>Jen's stuffed onions - Paradise Gardens was not just about the animals. We also shared some incredible meals with people who love food as much as we do. We can't wait to make Jen's stuffed onions for Rob's family on Christmas. Imagine hollowed out onions filled with a mixture of cream, chopped onion and bacon, wrapped in bacon, garnished with rosemary, topped with asiago cheese and baked until yummy and delicious. </li>
<li>Irish Stew - This is another great Paradise Gardens recipe that was cooked for us by a real Irish girl. The secret is red wine and guiness beer...we will have to figure out the rest.</li>
<li>Yuca - We have been eating yuca all over Panama. The are best fried but can be used just like potato. I think it will be delicious in winter stews or even mashed.</li>
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