Andy Manthei
Monday, July 18, 2011
World‘s apart: Honduras
Features
Worlds Apart : My crash course in Honduras, gangs & humanitarian work
By Andy Manthei
There are some things that I will never understand about this culture, I thought to myself as I was dragged from the shower after a long day’s work in the blistering heat of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
At first, I thought the kids were seeking vengeance for my having chased them around the job site (with a live tarantula in hand) earlier that day while laughing incessantly. I quickly learned, however, that the kids were trying to protect me from myself.
They began to explain to me, through a translator, that if I were to take a shower after being in the heat of the sun all day, my bones would become brittle and fracture which would clearly lead to paralysis. After an hour of debating the absurdity of their claim, which was unanimously taken for fact by all the Hondurans, I went to bed showerless and bewildered.
By Andy Manthei
There are some things that I will never understand about this culture, I thought to myself as I was dragged from the shower after a long day’s work in the blistering heat of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
At first, I thought the kids were seeking vengeance for my having chased them around the job site (with a live tarantula in hand) earlier that day while laughing incessantly. I quickly learned, however, that the kids were trying to protect me from myself.
They began to explain to me, through a translator, that if I were to take a shower after being in the heat of the sun all day, my bones would become brittle and fracture which would clearly lead to paralysis. After an hour of debating the absurdity of their claim, which was unanimously taken for fact by all the Hondurans, I went to bed showerless and bewildered.
©Copyright 2013 by Northern Express | Privacy Statement | Terms Of Use
