Cocoloco
Dana Hibbard
May 5, 2010

Ciriboya

Roosters crowing, throngs of children scampering past my window, pleasant exchanges of ``buiti binafi`` (good morning) and the soothing sound of crashing surf, so begins another day in Ciriboya.  Summer has arrived in Honduras and with each passing day the heat feels more intense.  It is some consolation that it is not just the foreigners who are feeling the heat; our local friends join us in mopping their brows and muttering complaints against the mid day heat.  On the hottest of days nothing offers as much relief, nor boosts office morale so much as a coconut fresh from the tree full of sweet milk and soft white flesh.  

One day this week when the heat seemed unbearable and the coconuts high up in the tree in our yard were calling my name I set about trying to get myself and Jen a coconut to enjoy.  Twenty minutes of wildly whacking a coconut with a long stick while perched precariously on a ladder only left me hotter and sweatier than before-and no closer to my goal of obtaining a coconut.  Jen joined me in my struggle but to no avail, we were still sin coco (without coconut). 

Eventually we realized that our neighbours had gathered in their yard and were highly entertained by our antics.  After having a good chuckle and sending a few teasing comments our way one of them took pity on us and came over with a long wood pole with a hook on the end of it.  Immediately we realized that our valiant efforts were about to be trumped by local skills and indeed they were as Nicolas promptly dropped three coconuts from the tree.  I emerged from the house with our sole kitchen knife hoping to prove my independence by opening my own coconut.  After a few laughable whacks on the coconut Nicolas shook his head and trotted off to get his machete.  He returned, machete in hand, and with great ease he split open the coconuts and then left us to enjoy their bountiful milk and meat.

While I assure you that as interns we do more than simply play in our yard and eat coconut it is moments like these that make data entry in 40 degree heat tolerable.  As well, having time to learn yet another trick of the trade from our neighbours and share a few moments of laughter and learning goes a long way towards making us feel more at home in Cirriboya.