Roosters Rule the Night
Roosters rule the night in Cane, Honduras.
By two a.m., the birds from all across the village were calling to each other.
And it didn’t stop. Bird after bird crowed to each other in succession. One was right outside our window.
Needless to say, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to go milk a cow.
That’s right. For the first time in my life, I milked a cow. Senor Martinez and his 9-year-old helper, (Ramiro) wake up every morning before the sun rises to hike to the pasture and milk Martinez’s # cows. This milk is then delivered to another family member to be made into cheese.
For many in this community of 3,500 people, the lifestyle is somewhat primitive. The house our group is staying in, for example, has no running water inside. There’s no air conditioning, sunlight filters through the roof, and most inconvenient of all, there is no bathroom. Or, should I say, esta es no bano. For your sake, I won’t go into details.
But this house is nice compared to some others I’ve passed along the dirt roads. According to national statistics, 49 percent of Cane’s 3,500 people are in poverty level. The rest of the community is in the level of surviving people.
Despite the poverty, Cane’s residents seem content. I’ve been here less than 24 hours and haven’t had adequate time to get a good feel for the community’s attitude, but I don’t sense despair. Life seems slow and peaceful.
Watching some neighbors drive mule-driven buggys and others drive trucks down the narrow roads is not strange to them. Children carry fresh cow milk jugs on their backs while other children stride down the road with Coca-Cola bottles in hand.
This land is different than my own, but I’m beginning to love it. The roosters, though, I will never love.
Comments
Wow, sounds like you guys are off to an.....exciting start :) I love the picture of you milking the cow, that's priceless. Congratulations on making it through the first day. I hope you're able to keep up your tolerance of the differences in the culture and living arangemnets over the next week. I look forward to seeing more posts. Keep up the good work and God bless!
Posted by: Josh | January 3, 2006 10:32 AM