Missing home or true comparisons?

I’ve already told you about Ses, who reminds me of Samantha in both personality and looks. Well, little by little, I’ve found other Honduran twins of people I know and love at home. Some really jump out at me (I’ll start with those), and others are a stretch, but either way it’s comforting. So besides Ses and Samantha, I have the two nurses in the health center. One reminds me completely of a friend from Edison named Nicole. They both talk in the same excited way that just makes you laugh along with them. I noticed it all morning I spent in the center and was finally so relieved when I realized who she reminded me of. The other nurse reminds me of my Aunt Donna. It’s mostly in looks, but it’s there. The sort of funny part is that the real Nicole is currently studying to be a nurse too and my Aunt Donna works in a veterinarian’s office. Strange coincidences.

Other ones that are more of a stretch: Profe, my main counterpart, at times reminds me of Coach Dennis. They’re both good at making speeches, inspiring people, and generally being the only guy around a sea of women. They can both be funny, too, though I have to get better at understanding the Honduran sense of humor. Pammy, my host sister, reminds me of my real sister Kaitlin, in the way that they’re both such sweet, nice people that I worry about them. I was trying to figure out why Pammy’s boyfriend made me a bit worried for her, since he really does seem like a great guy, and I realized it just has to do with Pammy, not him. She’s just so eager to please and seems to hold her happiness with the happiness of other people too much. It’s the same way I worry for Kaitlin – such a sweetheart, eager-to-please girl that I worry people will try to take advantage of her. At the same time, it makes them both great sisters that I’m lucky to be close with.

Finally, there are always kids around that remind me of kids back home, but the moments are fleeting and I hardly ever know anyone’s names. Today I dragged myself out for lunch at the house of a student at the school that always really clings to me and finds me to smile at and generally is just interested in me all the time. I went over with her and her sisters (all three between the ages of 8 and 13) and we all hung out and ate lunch together with her mom and their little cousin. I don’t want to sound too cliché or anything (I Studied Abroad in Africa, anyone?), but they really are such an awesome family that has almost nothing but is really happy and loving. They were so excited for me to come over and so open and friendly about everything. By the way the kids act, you can just tell they’re so loved; their mom is such a warm person that really oozes kindness, always eager to hug and happily remark about everything. At the same time, they live in a house with dirt floors and only two real rooms (one narrow room with a wood stove that’s used as a kitchen/dining room/foyer/living room and one bedroom, separated by a curtain, that they all share). But being there just made me feel really a part of a family and I wasn’t at all uncomfortable, except when I got about triple the amount of food as everyone else. I’ve felt like a part of the family in this way with several different families I know back home, and it’s a great, great feeling to have.