I Say Banano, You Say Minimo - A Day in the Life at Honduran Youth Camp (part 2)

When everyone had arrived at camp, we had an orientation in the meeting hall, then on to dinner. For some reason that is still beyond my grasp, the two lines that the cooks had set up ended up being one line for guys and one line for girls, even though everyone was getting the same food, and there was no rule that it had to be gender separate, it was like all the campers automatically felt that that was how it should be… I still don’t get it…

Next was the culto, or chapel service. We had a funny skit, then worship led by Los Robles, then El Redentor skit by Germania. At this point, my brain was so overworked with Spanish, that I honestly don’t remember much about the sermon – sad, I know. But I remember it was good, I think it was Jeffry Gomez that night who was the speaker.

Later, like maybe 9:30ish, it was time for the big all-camp game event. All the camp leaders (13 of us) hid outside in the dark in the forest or around camp. Whoever got found would get a “penetencia” in front of all the campers. I didn’t know if it was just me, or if it really was kind of spooky to think about hiding in the pitch blackness of a cloudy night in the ponderosa forest behind the camp. Well, it wasn’t just me – Katy had the same thought about spookiness. So we decided to hide together.

We found a rock wall in the midst of some super-tall grass, out of view of any of the camp buildings. So we squatted down beside the wall, with the grass taller than our heads. We heard lots of campers yelling, laughing, and running around with flashlights. After several minutes, two guys walked our way and were shining their flashlights around. We thought for sure they’d seen us, so Katy whispered to me, “We should jump out and yell. It would freak them out.” So I quietly counted to three, and we jumped up and screamed. It did freak the guys out, then they explained that they hadn’t seen us! So we had to go get penetecias.

After about 15 or 20 minutes, all the campers and leaders came back to the meeting hall. Five gringas had been caught – all of us but Teagen – plus Luisa, Yvonne, Belinda, and Ingrid. Samuel, Nestor and Maresa hid well enough to not be found!

The penetencia was this: the leaders had thought up some crazy concoctions to do as a penetencia (punishment). The campers got to choose a number and we would get the corresponding penetencia to that number. Michelle went first. She got a baleada made on her head. For some reason, when I pictured making food items on someone’s head, I imagined people simply dumping the cheese, butter, and beans on the head, and cracking the egg over it. No. Cheese, butter, beans, and egg, all smeared in her long blonde hair and smooshed into her scalp. I think the perpetrators (Vivi and Zenia) took all Michelle’s hair and got every ingredient on everything that was sticking out of the garbage sack! What a sight! We got to wear garbage sacks and goggles though, so that was good.

I was next. They picked “banano liquado” for me. I was relieved, as I knew what all the penetencias were, and that one wasn’t too bad in comparison. Danny and Mario smeared the banana – yes, it was squished into every hair follicle on my head, or so it felt – on my head, then poured milk on me – which successfully made its way inside the garbage sack, through my shirt and into my pants. Sugar was next, and let me tell you, it was sticky running through my clothing! Ice was last. It made the same trail down me as the milk, but went down the front too!

Next came Katy. She got Guacamole’d. Avocado, onion, and butter all over. Luisa got the cake, which was the one I really didn’t want – egg, flour, water and sugar made a stinky kindergarten paste that successfully glued Luisa’s hair into a matted mess on her head. Marlia got “pelucaria” – an entire extra-grande jar of hair gel, and a can of hair spray. Her hair was molded into a nice sculpture. Jess got “chicken lays an egg” – she had to bok like a chicken and sit on an egg. Then David and Emil, who were running the show, threw an egg at her head, making sure it dribbled all into her hair. Ingrid was last, with the tied-for-worst-penetencia-in-my-opinion – the hamburger. No meat, just ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard in every hair. Yuck. And we didn’t have time to nail Belinda and Yvonne, but they were glad.


After taking pictures and running around the meeting hall getting as much stickiness and grodiness as possible on David, Nestor, and Emil, we hit the showers. Luisa and I were in adjoining, no-sirve-el-calentador, showers. We were laughing so hard trying to get the banana/sugar/milk, and flour/egg out of our hair. We both found ingredients in our hair even Sunday, after the camp

I slept well that Friday night!!

Written 15 August 2005, about 27 June 2003