Whew, busy weekend

I'm really surprised at how busy I feel here.  Not stressed out busy but I'm having no problems staying occupied.  

The biggest thing that has been going on is that one of my very very good friends here is heading back to England.  She has been here in Honduras for 4 years and we worked and lived together at the brewery.  I doubt she will ever read this but I feel very lucky to have had her as a mentor on the ins and outs of living in this area of Honduras.  It seems to me like the gringas here at the mine are sort of prisoners here, afraid to get out to the nearby towns using the buses and mototaxis.  I haven't quite figured out why.  My British buddy taught me exactly how to handle myself.  I am well aware that I stand out here when I am off of the mine property.  There are very few gringas in the area, let alone, those of us that are young-ish and doing our shopping just like any other local and I get a lot of attention for it.  People take one look at me and know that I speak English and are quick to come up to me to practice what little English they know.  I also get my share of kissing noises from random men.  As far as I'm concerned, its not scary and is just a part of my new life.  I'm sure the kissing noises will stop very shortly as it becomes more obvious that I'm pregnant.  As far as practicing English, I'm happy to help and have a little conversation until I get to the end of their English knowledge...it generally doesnt take long.  "Hi, how are you."  "I'm great, how are you?  Where did you learn English?"...most of the time, this is where I get the blank look.  Or sometimes we can continue until we get to the place where I mention that my husband works at the mine.  "Oh, your husband.  Have a nice day".  The kissing noises are even easier to deal with..I either ignore it and keep walking or if I am feeling bold, I smile and wave.  These guys are not as outgoing as they want you to think..at that point, the laugh and blush and giggle with their friends and look away and get generally embarrassed and I continue on.  I've had a great teacher and she taught me how to have fun and where to find the best deals.  I've learned how to be comfortable as a spectacle so that I can be independent here.  I'm sad that she is leaving but happy to have a chance to show the ropes to her replacement and even to some of the other women here.

My other big event is that I went to the doctor on Saturday.  It was my first opportunity to use the transportation provided by the mine to get to San Pedro, the nearest big city where my doctor is.  My driver was great and a really nice guy.  It kind of sucks that it takes 1 1/2 hours to get to my appointment for 30 minutes with the doctor but that is life and once we are in our apartment, it will be a good opportunity for some big city grocery shopping.  I now know why I have been feeling so fat...it turns out that I have really let myself go.  I knew that I was and he confirmed it with his scale.  I've been making bad food decisions at the restaurants and am going to make a huge effort to cut out the fried food as much as I can.  So pretty much 90% of the menu is fried or something in a creamy sauce so I need to figure out what is good in the other 10%.  I also need to curb my snacking as much as possible or at least I will try to snack as much as possible on fruit.  Luckily, I live in a place with wonderful fruit.  As an aside, I am so excited about the fruits that are in season here right now.  Yesterday I bought, mangos, mora (like a rasberry), strawberries and some yummy green apples (imported from the states).  I got a ton of it all for just a few dollars and everything but the apples are local and fresh.  Yum.

Back to the doctor....after the bad news of finding out that I have put on too much weight, he took me for my ultrasound.  I'm not sure if every woman gets an ultrasound every visit but I do.  I think that my doctor does them himself because the ultrasound tech doesnt speak English and it is a good chance for him to play with the equipment.  What ever it is, I am fascinated with the technology.  We saw again that the baby is a boy.  Everything looks like it is forming well and I even saw his brain...thankfully he has one, and his little stomach, and his little heart beating away.  I saw little hands and feet and he is so active!  Then my doctor pulled out the 4D ultrasound machine.  To be honest, that was pretty freaky and the little guy is still so little and without any fat that he looks like of like a mutant.  He printed out a picture so here he is, guys!  I had to take a picture of the picture with my camera so its not the best but it is definitely human!