Walking the Streets

The line was long, we were in the back, but here that doesn't matter to much when you are waiting for a taxi, because as soon as the right one rolls up to the side, the first person in gets it. I had been to San Pedro Sula downtown several times before, but this was the first time I had walked the streets. I was here with Miss Liza, the 3rd grade teacher I am an assistant to. She had wanted to take me to see the streets of SPS. SPS is known as one of, if not the first, most dangerous city in Central America, but I wasn't to worried because the lady I was with would scare anyone straight. For a woman in her fifties she still had fire and spirit. We walked most of the way around the downtown part of city, but at one point we wanted to grab a taxi, we saw one parked at the curb with its doors open, so we hopped in with the other passengers and took off. My western mindset had me smiling at how strange this experience was, yet how normal it felt. I love to see new cultures and different ways people live life, because it gives me a new view of God. These people represent another side of God. If you've ever been to another country and seen the big cities, they are very similar. People walk the uneven sidewalks, vendors sell various ítems, cars honk and traffic looks crazy, there is a very bad odor that fills your nostrils, but when you really look at it, when you stop seeing it through a forgieners eyes, when you stop comparing it to the place you come from, when you start to really see this is how people live, this is their life and it's a beautiful thing. That's when you can experience it for what it really is, how they really are. I leave Honduras for Guatemala in four days, and this may be the hardest move I've had to make. My heart is here, this is home.