Friday, February 3, 2006

We had planned to go to some museums today but ended up just messing around. Internet, peoplewatching, etc. Coming home tonight, something weird happened.

I should explain that our hotel is sort of buried behind a lot of wooden vending stalls. Really popular items for sale at these stalls are backpacks, especially Jansport, and all his bootleg cousins: Jimsport, Jeffsport, Joysport, Aspensport. The stalls are in the street, leaving the sidewalk clear, but creating a sort of tunnel that is fine in the daytime but somewhat dark and unnerving at night.

Just as we were about to turn down this dark alley tonight, some young guy who had been standing on the corner decided to do the same. He motioned us to go first. I started to walk and then felt very unhappy about the idea and turned back just as Michael called out to me to stop me.

I turned around and the guy was right behind me. Immediately I felt like someone had dumped a bucket of icy fear over my head. I scrambled around him and back to Michael and he continued on his way.

It may have been something, and it may have been nothing, but I will say this: in all the time since we rolled into Tijuana four months ago, not one person has stepped aside to let us go first, anywhere, ever.

Even when it makes sense to let us go first so that we'll be out of their way. If we stand back from a narrow path out of politeness, we'll be standing there all day while others jump for the open space. The idea seems to be to go immediately, go now, go first.

It may well be that this guy was just being nice. But for this miracle occurance to take place for the very first time at the mouth of a dark alley? Well. Hmm. All's well that ends well, i guess. But now I know how I will feel if something does go wrong: terrified.

I like Tegucigalpa. I'm always ready to stand up for the underdog city (the American guy we met in Perquin said he'd been through it on a bus and it was horrible and not worth visiting) and try to see something special in it. I like the energy and the feeling here. I'm glad we came. But I guess I needed a little warning not to relax too much.

There are glue-sniffing kids here too, lots of them, very young. They are much more blatant than the kids in San Salvador in that they carry their glue with them at all times. It's a gross mucusy orange color in the bottom of empty soda bottles and they walk around huffing on it almost constantly. Sometimes they keep it tucked into the their shirt with the top sticking out for hands-free access.

So it's a city with bad problems. Still... I like the energy. I'd come back. Just... maybe stay at a hotel that's not in a dark alley.

 

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Phones, Tegucigalpa.

Furniture for sale, Tegucigalpa.

Market stall. All ready to begin their innocent assualt on the developing self-esteem of little brown Honduran girls.

Vegetables.