Spiders as big as your hand
A family of small, jumping frogs
gathered outside your door
A constant supply of bug spray for the mosquitos

Cool, balmy nights
Mountains, volcanoes, gravel roads, rushing creeks
Rain, more rain
Low fogging clouds

Sizzling fried cheese and bananas
Sugarcane right off the stalk
A constant newcomer’s blessing: rice and beans
Drug store American ice cream

Dirt, sweat, a seemingly unnoticed lack of deodorant
Battered shoes, no shoes
Long skirts, longer days
Fever scares, Ibuprofen, cold showers

Playing tag, watching projector movies
Speaking English, Spanish, and a strange form of sign language
Wheelbarrows, self-mixed concrete, chain-link fences
Dirt floors, concrete floors, lots of fans

Church services in unintelligeable Spanish,
yet somehow more powerful than 
any I’ve heard in English.