A Day in The Life of a Honduran - Herding Cows II

I had to Simpsonize B!

In the first installment of A Day in the Life of a Honduran (click here), I briefly spoke of friend from El Porvenir, Bairon.

Months after the cattle herding experience with him and many conversations about my life in Los Angeles, Bairon decided he would head north himself. No visa, no coyote, no map, no plan, just himself and a backpack. His only compass was a recollection of stories from other people that attempted the trip and failed, or others that made it and were later deported. I was shocked. Maybe I over hyped life in the States...

Bairon left El Porvenir, I didn't hear from him for over two months. Then, I get the call; "Ey compa, que onda?" asked the voice on the phone. I was puzzled as no one called me in Spanish at this time and replied with, "(enter upside down question mark here)quien es?". He calmly stated, "Soy Bairon. Estoy en Houston, Texas". I blew up like the players on the bench during an NBA All Star dunk competition. This call was the equivalent to Nate flying over Dwight. I could not believe it. He proceeded to explain that the trip lasted two months, hitchhiking the whole way through. I was filled with joy and relieve to know that the "Grupo Z" or Minutemen didn't kill him.

Despite having reconnected after he arrived in the US, we once again lost communication when my phone got jacked in La Ceiba. A few days ago I was talking to Rosa about going to El Porvenir in search for his family and a contact, Rosa agreed on the necessity of the trip. Later THAT SAME DAY, I log into MySpace and I have a freakin' message from Bairon. This dude never touched a computer in his life and now he's sending me a MySpace invite. That's wild!

THANK YOU INTERNET!!!!!!