Dear all,
Hope you are all doing well. I wanted to give you a sense of where I'm staying.
Benque is a relatively large town near the Gautemalan border. It has about 10,000 people and is pretty set in the middle of the jungle, although there are other towns nearby. Reaching the town is an interesting propisition. There is no such thing as a true highway to Benque; there is pedestrian traffic, bicycles, semis, buses, and every description of vehicle all sharing the same two-lane road. Interestlingly, the atmosphere of the town itself reminds me of the beachside community my family visits every summer. The people are generally laid back and there is never any particular sense of urgency to anything. 15 minutes late to meeting is considered on time. I have seen only one wall clock since I got here.
What has impressed me the most is the beautiful smiles of all the natives here. Everyone, especially the children, breaks into a wonderful grin at the mere suggestion of smile on my part. Yesterday I played frisbee with a group of young kids and they could hardly contain their excitement when I was about to throw them the disc. Soccer, or football as it is called here, is the most popular sport. Hopefully I will get a little better while I am down here.
So far, so good!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Rensch
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