March 31 - The Worrisome Business Of Waiting For Your $600 Deposit Back On The Eve Of Leaving The Country

Maximo is late
And I'm stressed. So very stressed.
No options: We wait

March 31 - Dinner With Brian's Friend Ben Leads Us To The Park At The Basilica, Where Semana Santa Week Activities Are Heading Toward Mild Frenzy

Holy Week heats up
Teams of artists craft carpets
From sawdust and sweat

March 29 - My Early-Morning Beach Walk Yields The Surprising Sight Of a Pig Who Really Loves The Ocean

This pig is joyful
He flops and rolls in the surf
Then digs deep for crabs

March 28 - We Crawl Toward Jiquilillo But Happily Forget It All Once We Get There

Slowest bus ever
Truck crash, pre-Easter crowds, life
that doesn't know haste

March 27 - Deny A Person A Decent Washup Long Enough And She Will Wax Poetic Over Anything Bigger Than A Drip

Tonight, a shower
so forceful, I wash my face
three times. I am clean

March 26 - A Break In This Long, Hard Work Day For A Perfect Toña, Which Surely Can't Be Bad For You On A 37 C. Day

Paul has perfected
The art of tropical beer
Cold glass, big cube, lime

March 25 - We Are Starting To Think About Canada

Shuttle tickets: Check
To-do list feels like the wind
Blowing us back home

March 24 - The Water Taps Come On Ever So Slightly In Leon And We Rejoice Like Wild Things To Have Enough Drops For A Sort-Of Shower

Once, this small trickle
Would have irritated me
Today, it's a gift

March 23 - Me And The Guys Who Drink Too Much, All Over The World

The drunk guy's waving
"Vecina!" he calls, hoping
I'll give him my change

March 22 - The Water Situation Goes From Bad To Worse As The Days Get Hotter

This time, we're worried
Doing wash at 1 a.m.
When the water comes

March 21 - Bus Ride Home To Leon Leads Me Back To The Dry, Dusty Border And The Nut Vendors

The first face I see
is Carmen, the cashew girl
Sure, give me two bags

March 20 - I Accidentally Wander Into Tegucigalpa's Centre While Looking For An ATM And Remember How Nervous It Made Me Three Years Ago

Oh, I remember
How this big square once scared me
Now, it's just people

March 19 - I Know I Should Be Listening To The Cacao Project Summary, But How Can I When All Those Yummy Sweets Are Sitting Right Behind Me?

People are talking
But the local chocolates
Are talking louder

March 18 - In Which I Visit A Co-Op Wood Shop Near La Ceiba And Find Myself Enamored With Suradan Hardwood

Perhaps Rosita
Will grace the floor of my house
Or be my table

March 17 - Let's Just Say That Not One Freakin' Thing Went According To Plan, And That The Beer With Erin And Her Guy Was Well-Deserved

Sometimes "shit show" is
The best way to sum up things
Flex. Adapt. Breathe. Drink.

March 16 - A Photo Shoot Near Comayagua Gets A Bit Too Realistic When They Misunderstood My Request For An Action Shot

Some poor little boy
Ends up stuck with a needle
To suit my demands

March 15 - A Return To Honduras, Having Hated The 7.5 Hour Bus Ride But Glad To Get A Break From The Dust

Tegus looks stylish
As seen from a nice hotel
With a hot shower

March 14 - I Don't Think Even "Fish In A Can" Begins To Describe How Many People Are Packed Onto The Bus To Las Penitas

People keep boarding
While the driver tweezes hair
Old ladies stagger

March 13 - Getting Paid Is Its Own Kind Of Fun

Head down, I must work
Up at 5, go until 8
Focused on money

March 12 - In A Confusing Turn Of Events We End Up Seeing A Film That Neither Of Us Particularly Wanted To See, But Sometimes Just Having Air Conditioning Is Joy Enough

The movie's quite sweet
But in truth, that's not the draw
We're here for the chill

March 11 - The Woman Next Door Comes To Tell Me The History Of Colonia 4 de Mayo

We talk about death
While the ants bite us, right here
Where it all happened

March 10 - The Weird Sensation Of Sitting At The Kitchen Table Talking Only To See A Bat Fly Behind Paul's Head

I'd grown suspicious
of bats flying through the house
Paul's no doubter now

March 9 - The Accordion Proves To Be A Novelty Item For The Wacky Collection Of Little Boys Who Play In This Street

A mob of children
Jeers at me through the window
The neighbour shoos them

March 8 - The Dust Continues. The Water's Still Gone. But We Adapt

When covered in grit
A bucket shower out back
Feels just like a spa

March 7 - Looks Like Dust Could Be My Haiku Theme Of The Month. Oh, And Did I Mention That The Water's Gone?

Fierce winds shake the house
The dust is unstoppable
Born of volcanos

March 6 - Nothing Says "Hey, Go See What's Going On!" Better Than A Pre-Dawn Tuba And Drum Band Passing By

Long work days ahead
But a 5 a.m. parade
Gets me out of bed

March 5 - Field Trip To Jalapa, Where I Discover There Are Three Grades Of Maize

Corn dust in my hair
The machines shake and rattle
Value-added noise

March 4 - My New Line Of Work Brings Me North To The Honduran Border, Where The Fried Chicken's Good But The Cold, Greasy Fries, Not So Much

Ocotal sunset
This feels like a resource town
Raw 'round the edges

March 3 - Leon In The Dry Season Blows A Constant Thin Layer Of Dust Through Our Open Windows

Our dusty footprints
Mark this foolishly white floor
Sweep all day, no gain

March 2 - Downtown Shopping Nets An Extraordinarily Flimsy Coffee Maker And Loud Green Cloth To Use As A Sheet, A Request That The Store Clerk Appears Familiar With

A 15-buck pot
will do the job. As for sheets?
Fabric for 5 bucks

March 1 - Once Upon A Time, This Wouldn't Have Been My Dream Kitchen. Times Have Changed. Leon, Glad To Be Here

All of this is ours?
I want to embrace the fridge
So tall and empty