Top Ten RPF

December 30^th, 2011

            Again I am slacking on the Random Post Friday, but I mean give me a break it is the holiday season. In the spirit of the holiday season and the New Year and all of those great top ten lists that seem to appear around this time of the year I think I am going to give you all a top ten list. The big issue of making a top ten list however is that:

A) you have to come up with a topic

B) you have to come up with 10 things in this list

C) you have to put them in an order that makes sense

So I have gained a lot of respect for the writers on Dave Letterman who do this every night (I think…?). I have literally been thinking about what my topic should be for at least a week, ever since I decided that I was going to write a top ten, and I still have no good ideas. My first idea was that I could go through my blogs and repost my top ten blogs, that idea then transformed into I could make a list of my top ten RPF’s however I do not have ten RPF’s (only at 9, this would be number 10) to choose from. Which leads me to the current predicament being that I have not gotten past the first step of the “how to make a top ten list.” Finally, I went to my last resort and started asking other people and I got in a conversation with Michael Wille (yes from washing duty fame). I threw a few ideas off of him and finally came up with the idea of doing a top ten list of things that I miss about the United States. So without further ado, here it is:

11. Drying Machine (BONUS): Just because I am sick of having to time my laundry around when there is going to be enough time for my clothes to dry in the sun as well as around a time when my host family is not using the washing machine or the clotheslines. And yes this is on here because I have been having trouble getting this perfect storm to work lately, how long you ask? I am currently around 3 weeks without doing the wash, don’t judge me please.

10. Flushing toilet paper down the toilet: Now this is not really a big deal or anything I just think after six months it is going to be cool to be able to flush toilet paper down the toilet instead of placing it in a garbage can next to the toilet.

9. Punctuality: I believe I have previously discussed the lack of punctuality here in Honduras and being from the Dave Stephens school of thought that if you are not 5 minutes early you are late (for me it is more like 20 minutes early in most cases) obviously Hondurans concept of time bugs me sometimes. For example, I was walking home past the local postal office the other day at noon. The lady who works there stopped me to tell me that I had a package and that if I came back in the afternoon she could give it to me because she was about to eat lunch. I of course did not have a problem with that as I was also going to eat. I showed up that afternoon two hours later at a little bit after 2 in the afternoon only to be told that I needed to come back in the afternoon because the lady had still not eaten. Now what she was doing for those 2 hours is anyones guess but to finish the story, I came back another 2 hours later at 4 and was finally able to pick up my packages. So needless to say it is going to be cool to be in the States when 2 o’clock means 2 o’clock.

8. Snow/seasons: I have always been a lover of snow and I do not think I am surprising anyone when I say that Honduras is lacking snow so I miss the snow. I also miss seasons, you know the changing of the weather. I have been in Honduras for almost half a year and the weather has basically been all the same usually about 70 degrees and sunny or rainy. It is nice weather don’t get me wrong but I like seeing the leaves change and snow fall.

7. Lack of different cultures: I think as Americans we really take for granted just how many cultures we have in the States and just how cool that is. Here in Honduras everyone is Honduran, that may sound like an obvious statement and that is because it is. What that means is that everyone looks the same, talks the same way, and does the same things it can get a little boring and repetitive after a while. I am really excited to just be able to see an international airport with so many different types of people.

6. American movies and TV: So it is possible to stay up on American movies and TV while down here in Honduras but it is really hard, we were able to see the new Harry Potter movie that came out during our training but other than that I have no idea what movies have come out during the past year. On the same note, I have no idea what is going on in American TV. As a huge Office fan it has been a little tough not being able to follow the series as closely as I have in the past.

5. American food: While I really do enjoy the food down here in Honduras there just is not much variety and everyone knows that variety is the spice of life (same exact issue as the lack of more than one culture). I am really excited to each all of the typical American foods while I am back. I dropped about 25 pound off my survival pouch (aka weight I put on before leaving because I had an excuse to eat) and lost 4 belt loops in my time here in Honduras so I am excited to see how fast that balloons up once I am back in the States.

4. Chicago sports: It has not really been a banner year in Chicago this year and has mostly been filled with disappointment since I left. Still I have missed those Sunday afternoons screaming at the television about why the Bears just ran a screen pass on 3^rd and 20. Luckily for me I did not have to miss much Bulls games so far because of the NBA lockout (I might have been one of the few people who was kind of rooting for the lockout…).

3. Being able to speak English with basically everyone/being able to communicate myself really well: Living in a community where you do not speak the native tongue and are still learning the language can pretty much be described by one word, exhausting. It is really cool that I have been able to learn the language well enough that I do not have to think about what I am going to say before I say it (most of the time) and I can actually  have real conversations with people. None the less it is going to be really cool to be able to speak English with basically everyone. I am not sure if this point can be adequately expressed to anyone who has not lived in a culture where they are speaking a second language; simply put speaking your native language is awesome.

2. Friends: During college you learn (among many other things) to live away from your friends and realize that you can make new friends while still keeping close ties to your old friends. You realize that you can go months without talking to your true friends and then pick up without missing a beat, as if those last few months did not actually happen. You also realize that you true friends will always be around and will make the effort to continue that friendship. During my time in Honduras my friends have done exactly that, they have always kept up with everything that is going on and they have been a true comfort and help to me and I cannot wait to see them soon.

1. Family: Being away from your family, especially during the holidays, makes you realize just how much you actually miss and love them. This whole experience has really showed me first-hand how much I love my family and how much they love me; it has really been a beautiful experience if only for that. They are my everything, they are my support system, they are my family and I love and miss them very much!