Fame...

Before coming down here, I wrote an essay for Peace Corps about dealing with unwanted attention. We also disscussed the topic countless times throughout our three months of training. My frame of reference for this type of attention was always the time I spent in Peru. I have very clear memories of being in rooms and having (literally) ALL EYES on me. This certainly happens here as well...However the difference is that my time in Peru only totalled 3 months. I have now been living in Honduras for more than 7 months and can assure you that the attention has neither lessoned, nor gotten easier to deal with. I have much more sympathy for how celebrities feel in the States, I've caught people here taking pictures of me (and other volunteers) with their cellphone camaras! So I just want to say, I'm sorry Angelina and Brad, I will never again buy an US Weekly without thinking about what the paparazzi put you through to get those photographs. It's truly exhausting.
I don't ever feel in danger or threatened by the attention. It's simply overwhelming. When we were in training in Yarumela, everyone in the small town knew everything that was happening with the trainees. One morning I woke up to my host mom telling me how one of the other trainees had gone to the hospital during the night because she was sick. I still have no idea how she found out so early in the morning... perhaps a phone tree for stories about the americans? :) There was also constant attention in relation to our bodies...height, weight...etc. I don't want to constantly have my stomach (or other body parts) touched and/or commented on: It can be very difficult. So how do we deal with it? Well, the reality is that I am in a different culture from my own, and I stand out. I can't ask them to stop noticing...so I have to figure out ways that I can adjust and deal with the attention. Sometimes I don't leave my apartment for a day, just to take a break. Sometimes I walk around with headphones on so I can drown out the catcalls and dirty lines. And, sometimes, I just walk around knowing that life is too short to get caught up in all the silly little things.... and if a man yells at me and says I am a "beautiful woman" I can't help it if I smile back.