A message to those of you who give a damn
Sara, Gavin, Zeke and myself arrived on Roatan over a month ago, and we are still getting our bearings. We are all sunburnt and bug bitten, and occasionally hung over. There is much to tell about what we are doing here, why we came, and what our plans are, and all of that should probably be explained at another date. For now, pictures:
See that white building with the red roof? I live just to the left of that. Yeah, it's a rough life.
West End, Roatan, looks like a shanty little pirate town full of colorful characters, a variety of bars, restaurants, dive shops, scooters, crabs and drunks. Just the other night I was one of those drunks on my scooter and I ran over a crab. A little white guy with its claws up, looking all menacing and ready to fight. I was so impressed by his moxie that I tried to avoid the little bugger, but judging by the (rather satisfying) pop! that I heard, I think I may have snagged his leg. Little crab, if you're out there reading this right now, I'm sorry.
We are still trying to get our bearings. We had come here three times before to visit my parents, who live here, but while we were here we were in vacation mode. We only had two weeks to get as much sun, drink, smoke and eats as we possibly could before we were shipped off back to the hampster wheel that we were accustomed to. Knowing this, when we arrived on January 6th, none of us were in any hurry. So we really didn't do much the first couple of weeks. Slowly, we would venture out and put our feet in the local waters, to get an idea of what it's like to consider yourself a resident. As it is, while I don't have the nagging feeling that any day now we are going to leave, I still don't feel like I live here. I probably won't for a few more months. Eventually, it will hit me, but right now I'm just taking it one step at a time.
The beaches of Roatan are a breeding ground for little bloodsucking sand flies called Noseeums (cuz you don't seem um), and I have been scratching my arms and legs constantly since I've been here. It's just recently gotten to the point where I consider it no longer a nuisance, but more of a fact of life, like the fact that I have toes or eyebrows. Mosquitos love me too, as shown in the picture above, who are planning on building a nest in my hair (perhaps I should shower occasionally).
Scooters, being our main means of transportation, is how I take Gavin to school every morning. He loves the speed, the hills, and the fact that Zeke isn't big enough yet to ride with me on the big roads. Sara and I figure we save at least 2 hours a day not having to commute in cars, and the daily scooter rides are a great way to break up the day.
Gavin's school is, on the surface, a run down abandoned hotel on the edge of a swamp, teeming with mosquitos and goodys. In reality, we really couldn't have asked for a better learning environment. The teachers are passionate and energetic, and he is surrounded by a bevy of good natured kids, some of whom are islanders, some who are Honduran, some who are gringos. The curriculum includes all the normal reading and writing fare, as well as Spanish, which we are excited about. Why weren't we taught Spanish in the states? It's inevitable, I guess.
There's a lot more to say, though I've hit my limit for the evening. I'd like to keep this up, but it's hard! The internet is so slow, and every day is so beautiful. Sara uploaded a bunch of pictures, for all to see, which can be found here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=65obnknf.5xaryq6v&x=0&y=-fb37yh Until then, to all of our friends in the land of the free, take it easy!
See that white building with the red roof? I live just to the left of that. Yeah, it's a rough life.
West End, Roatan, looks like a shanty little pirate town full of colorful characters, a variety of bars, restaurants, dive shops, scooters, crabs and drunks. Just the other night I was one of those drunks on my scooter and I ran over a crab. A little white guy with its claws up, looking all menacing and ready to fight. I was so impressed by his moxie that I tried to avoid the little bugger, but judging by the (rather satisfying) pop! that I heard, I think I may have snagged his leg. Little crab, if you're out there reading this right now, I'm sorry.
We are still trying to get our bearings. We had come here three times before to visit my parents, who live here, but while we were here we were in vacation mode. We only had two weeks to get as much sun, drink, smoke and eats as we possibly could before we were shipped off back to the hampster wheel that we were accustomed to. Knowing this, when we arrived on January 6th, none of us were in any hurry. So we really didn't do much the first couple of weeks. Slowly, we would venture out and put our feet in the local waters, to get an idea of what it's like to consider yourself a resident. As it is, while I don't have the nagging feeling that any day now we are going to leave, I still don't feel like I live here. I probably won't for a few more months. Eventually, it will hit me, but right now I'm just taking it one step at a time.
The beaches of Roatan are a breeding ground for little bloodsucking sand flies called Noseeums (cuz you don't seem um), and I have been scratching my arms and legs constantly since I've been here. It's just recently gotten to the point where I consider it no longer a nuisance, but more of a fact of life, like the fact that I have toes or eyebrows. Mosquitos love me too, as shown in the picture above, who are planning on building a nest in my hair (perhaps I should shower occasionally).
Scooters, being our main means of transportation, is how I take Gavin to school every morning. He loves the speed, the hills, and the fact that Zeke isn't big enough yet to ride with me on the big roads. Sara and I figure we save at least 2 hours a day not having to commute in cars, and the daily scooter rides are a great way to break up the day.
Gavin's school is, on the surface, a run down abandoned hotel on the edge of a swamp, teeming with mosquitos and goodys. In reality, we really couldn't have asked for a better learning environment. The teachers are passionate and energetic, and he is surrounded by a bevy of good natured kids, some of whom are islanders, some who are Honduran, some who are gringos. The curriculum includes all the normal reading and writing fare, as well as Spanish, which we are excited about. Why weren't we taught Spanish in the states? It's inevitable, I guess.
There's a lot more to say, though I've hit my limit for the evening. I'd like to keep this up, but it's hard! The internet is so slow, and every day is so beautiful. Sara uploaded a bunch of pictures, for all to see, which can be found here: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I
posted by Dustin Haynes @ 10:29 AM
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