I lived in La Ceiba, Honduras a number of times. During one of my stays, the first full-time Honduran voluntary service worker (VS), Julio Pineda, joined our VS team. We lived in the same room that I had earlier helped to build in the basement of the VS house. We did a lot of things together. I remember riding around town with him on the VS motorcycle, dropping in at a local dive to drink cokes and talk about life. I also remember him being one of the biggest fans of softball; several of us VS boys were on local teams.
I had two watches during that time, wearing the one I favored, and leaving the other one behind on the dresser of our room. One day I noticed that Julio was wearing the watch I had left on the dresser. I was more than a little irked. By now I was fairly well-schooled in the language and the culture, so I knew that I should not accuse him directly of stealing—what I would have done in my home culture. I had to give him a way out; that is to say, a way to save face. I stewed on this for some time until I finally came up with an idea. When we were in an appropriate environment, I said to him, “that’s a really cool watch you are wearing, did you buy that here in La Ceiba or somewhere else?” I thought I was giving him a way out to say his mother bought it in San Pedro Sula and gave it to him for his birthday, or something else. “I didn’t buy it,” he replied without batting an eye. “It’s yours.” Now I was totally floored. He was openly admitting to what my culture would consider stealing.
I do not remember much else of the conversation between us, but this little incident caused me to reflect a lot on the differences between the two cultures on private property. I learned that in Honduras, what’s yours is mine. If we share the same living space, we share the same possessions. I had to admit that God had a little lesson in this incident for me. Perhaps Julio was helping me be a better steward of my possessions. I normally would not wear two watches at the same time, so one was being unproductive. Having two watches was wasteful. Julio was helping me to be more faithful with the things I own.
Wow. That is a very humbling story. How many pairs of shoes do I own when one pair would be enough? How many shirts that I wear only on special occasions? How many books do I have in my basement that I could donate to the library? Wow...
ReplyDeleteRobert . . . thanks for your comment. It is humbling. I wish I were more faithful to my own musings. But of course, it doesn't apply to books. :)
ReplyDeleteI can relate Don from my own C.A. experiences... I just wish I wouldn't have burnt so much energy with my silly frustrations of these very issues. Culture goes deep and when we're deep into another culture, we encounter the clashes. Those are moments to either burn up energy or adapt. I wish I could say I exercised the latter more than not. Thanks for putting into words your experience.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Phil. I still burn energy over these issues. Previously I suppressed them creating anger and resentment that eventually ended up in cynicism. Currently I try to transform them into vehicles of wisdom and understanding.
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ReplyDeleteProfe, es algo parecido lo que pasa en Colombia, hay un dicho popular que dice que las cosas no son del dueño sino del que las necesita. Sin embargo, yo misma lucho con ese tipo de cosas. Es bonito que hayas aprendido algo positivo de esa experiencia.
ReplyDeleteDiana, me gusta el dicho que citas. Es como la actitud de Jesús y es difícil de imitar.
DeleteThe beginning of October I visited with Julio Pineda in his home in San Esteban, Olancho where he has lived now for many years. It would be interesting to know if he remembers that experience. Thanks for sharing it. Interesting too is the fact that this reflects what I have experienced in other cultures as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Wilmer. I've often wondered what happened to Julio. I hope he is well. I doubt that he remembers the incident since it had less significance him than for me. He was a fun person to be with. Blessings to you.
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