People in Honduras don't know how to act.
And before people take my head off for that statement, please understand I mean that literally. I'm trying to shoot a documentary... and what people are able to eat/cook is a big deal when trying to describe levels of poverty there. We stopped by a home to video tape the family eating, and they had finished and cleaned up by the time we got there. Trying to figure out some way to show what this typical family would eat at any given meal, we asked the mother to re-enact cooking dinner. You know, make a few tortillas, stir the pot on the stove, etc.
She looked at me like was nuts... then walked over to the stove, stirred the pot twice and the looked back at me like "anything else?"
"CUT CUT CUT! NO! I need feeling! Emotion! Drama!"
This woman had never seen TV or heard a radio. I might as well as asked her to type me an email.
I was forced to rethink my diary from yesterday based on a comment from someone. "Never, ever romanticize poverty!" I wasn't thinking of romancing poverty when I wrote the journal yesterday - but I ended up there anyway. Not in a "I wish to God I was poor!" kind of way... but a "I love the fact that poor people are happy" kind of way. I know - well actually I imagine that these people have worries and face horrors like I will never know.
I still stand by assertion that these people are happy. They are poor... extremely poor, but they are not Sally Strothers poor and destitute. That hell is reserved mostly for the war torn parts of the world and the refugee camps.
The homes I lived in had a sense of family... and things seemed normal there. I guess my point was that people tend to adapt to their lives and generally find some periods of happiness.
I agree completely that I did not see their true lives. I was an American visitor in their homes... and for some odd reason, that's a huge deal there. We had kids from the village watching us at every meal. I felt like the Gorilla at the zoo. They were completely fascinated with us, and they were unbelievably honored to have us in their homes and take their pictures. We had several 5 minute formal speeches to that fact.
One more point about video taping their meals... the father would eat each meal with us and the women and children would eat somewhere out of sight. The idea of asking them to eat while we taped them... while that was exactly what I wanted, it would never happen. They would feel horribly rude and they would never understand why I asked them to do that. I wanted to see reality - and that's what I got. In their real world, they would never have guests WATCH them eat. I am at a loss to figure out how to get that part of their lives into the documentary.
So - to the point of not seeing their true lives - and therefore not seeing their true pains or the despair they face, that is correct. They would never be rude enough to trouble me with their problems. However, their outlook on life was very good. They ARE happy people... content with their lives. Also, in comparison to so many Americans I know, they are richly content. Maybe it's the contrast that has made these farmers in Honduras seem so at peace with their world.
But like Chris Rock said: "There's not a single white person in the audience tonight who would trade places with me. And I'm rich!"
I do not want to be a Honduran farmer... or poor for that matter. I don't have the depth of character for that. I'm just a soft American who loves AC & hot water. I do, however, plan to continue to help there in anyway I can.
One more point - the fact that people I stayed with families who ate 3 meals a day and were generally happy is a direct testimonial to Sustainable Harvest International - the nonprofit group who works one-on-one with these farmers for 5 or 6 years. These people live much better lives than many around them - they eat better food (fruits and vegetables) and they are healthier for that. SHI builds special stoves in these homes that take less wood (so less time for the women gathering wood) and these stoves are vented - so again, much better for these people's health. I had not thought of the fact that staying with "SHI" families would prejudice my views in Honduras... but I know now, at a deeper level, the true benefits that these long term, sustainable ways of life bring. http://www.sustainableharvest.org/
Also - if anyone wants to see a few images from the trip: http://www.facebook.com/...