Les Presentamos Nuestra Familia Anfitriona

Our host mother, María, met us at “el centro” to take us home. She is about 5’2”, brown skin, and big brown eyes. After brief introductions, she said we needed to wait until someone from her family could pick us up. After about 15 minutes of waiting, a neighbor offered a ride home in the back of their pick-up truck and we accepted. There were other woman in the truck, all sitting on the edge of the truck bed but Max and I sat on the floor. The ride was bumpy on the unpaved road to our new home, but it was exciting to finally begin our new Honduran life.

Once home we met Gabriela (Gaby) the 16 year old daughter and Doña María, the 87 year old grandmother, and were escorted to our room.

We sleep in a tiny, lime green room that belonged to one of their sons, who now lives in Los Angeles with the family’s other son. There is a double bed, two shelves, and a small wardrobe. On a first impression the room looked small but cozy, definitely a place we can get used to, but appearances are often deceiving. When we started unpacking we noticed the dead bugs all over the floor and on the bed, the mildew on the bed cover, and the strong smell of humidity and mildew. By then we were tired from a few long days and sweaty from the heat, all we wanted was a shower and go to bed... I was sure a nice warm shower would make everything better. However, the bathroom was worse. Mildew on the floor, bugs walking on the shower, a pair of mildewed flip flops we assumed the family uses to shower, and roach eggs on the walls. Taking a shower in that bathroom was the grossest thing I have ever done. We cleared the bed of the bugs and dirt and went to sleep. We would deal with the rest later.