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Our Family - click the pic below for more pictures
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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Thoughts while I was in Honduras

I thought it might be fun to post my quasi journal entries I had when I was in Honduras.  They're more like notes and I'm not sure if anyone really cares, but it's kinda fun to look back, right...?  Added a few extra words to help it make sense in some parts...

Saturday
Arrived.  Pretty rough traffic in the city, Tegucigalpa (Teguc - sounds like tay goose).  We had to drive a long way outside the city to reach the place.  The roads were not good, but Gen said they were in good shape.  We probably wouldn't leave the surrounding village too often because it's far from anything, including store.
Electricity is currently little to non-existent, but will have solar and wind power by the time we'd come.  Internet will hopefully be here when we get here as well.  Spotty right now.
Food is pretty much the same for most meals today; beans, tortilla, egg, avocado, agua.  There actually was chicken, pork or beef as options at the hotel we ate at.
There is little water pressure in the sinks/toilets, but should improve with higher tank, and there will be hot showers when we'd return.
Need to learn Spanish - Olivia too!
People hang out in the dark because there is no electricity, but they are nice comfortable houses.

Sunday
Got to play futbal with the locals.  It was pretty warm and I was tired, but it was fun.  I played while Joe went to church.  Primarily the woman and children go to church, and guys play soccer.
We had a little more variety today with the food, but have tortillas with every meal.  Dinner was sort of like a fajita...real good.  Had some rice with chicken for lunch.
Joe and I jumped in the river off some cliff today.  It was cool, but water was cold.  It was pretty hot today...got some red shoulders from being in the sun.  Have to make sure our babies are protected from the sun.
Dinner was with the 2 cooks, both women and they were very nice.  Joe spoke enough Spanish for us (him) to hold conversation.  It actually was very good.  Helped me feel more at home so to speak.  I think Sarah would like them.
Glen also left us by ourselves for the day and will be back tomorrow night.  Its been a little weird, but it's forced us to try and communicate, so that's been good.
I worry a little about Olivia and having stuff to do (considering all she's involved in, in the states), but it'd be awesome is she could learn Spanish at a young age.
I miss my family.

Monday
Today we helped build the foundation for what may be Joseph's house.  It's interesting to see the way construction is done here...at least the part that we saw.  Glen said yesterday that they would also build a house for us if we decided to come.  After we worked for a few hours we had lunch (spaghetti and chicken), then went for a walk to check out a huge waterfall.  It was very beautiful.  We were forced to try and speak to the cooks again in Spanish.  Joe did most of the talking, but it was good.  They were the ones who took us to see the waterfall.  They like American music.
Tonight after dinner, we played some card games that the cooks taught us.  We also played with David who taught us a casino game.  Not sure how or what I was doing, but I won, and now he owes me a coke!
Glen came back tonight with 2 others, David and Weldon...funny characters.  One is snoring right now...
Forgot...Joe and I went swimming again today.  We jumped off the high cliff and I went poop in the river (don't judge me) because our plumbing wasn't working in the house.  We also bathed in the river (don't worry it was up river).  It was more fun than a shower after getting real hot from work and the hike.
I also had a siesta in the hammock on the front porch.
There seems like a lot to explore, but not sure how easy with Olivia and a 6 month old.  Would most likely need stroller for the little one.

Tuesday
I've begun to feel very welcome and liked here.  The people are very friendly towards us and seen to enjoy talking and hanging out with us.  Its been very fun and challenging trying to hold conversation in Spanish, though I feel like I've gotten a tiny bit better since we arrived.
We worked on the farm today, fixing pipes that bring water ti the buildings and beginning to work on installing the pump for the water filter.  Glen gave us responsibilities while installing the pump, but didn't just tell us what to do.  This was good, I thought, because we actually had to solve the problems.  In other words we were challenged and had to use our brain, so if we moved down here, I know that we wouldn't do boring jobs, but we'd be allowed to solve problems ourselves.
Joe and I also went down and bathed again.  We had 3 boys watching us.  It was pretty funny and a little awkward.  Whenever we bathed we had boxers or shorts on, but still awkward to have 3 others watching u bathe in a river.  Maybe it's a cultural thing :)
Lunch was very good.  Some potatoes in a tortilla thing and tomatoes and cucumber and onions on top.  Sounds strange but it was yummy.  I think Sarah would have to get used to the food...I think Olivia especially would be shocked when we came here...no ice cream, no chocolate, no sprinkles, etc.  Yes we could get some, but not as readily available.
If I was single, I would be here in a heartbeat, but I just don't know about Sarah and Olivia.  They're in a good place and I don't want to break that up.  Saying that, I can see us living here.
One more thing.  We learned how to ride motorcycles today from the farm manager.  We had a lot of fun.  Everyone else had a lot of fun when I crashed.  It wasn't bad, and more funny.
I love you guys (Pregnant Sarah and Olivia) so much! \

Thursday
Yesterday we kind of worked in the morning with the guys on the tower/platform that will hold the new water tank for the bedrooms.  We did a little work and a lot of talking.  Again, it was good for us to continue learning the language and getting to know the guys a little better.
After work we ate lunch and packed our bags to go back to the city.  We wanted to leave the night before our flight to make sure we didn't get caught in any delays.  We stopped by Profe's house, who I think Sarah would work with if we come down.  She's very well known and respected in the community.  She was very nice and gracious as well.  Her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident not too long before we got there and she was confined to a wheel chair in the same accident.  She was actually using a walker when we saw her yesterday though, so she is recovering.
After that we stopped by Douglas (pronounced dooglas) house.  He had surgery a little while ago to remove his appendix.  He has been in bed for a while w/o ability to eat solid foods.  We prayed for him and gave him and his family some money.
We finally got to the city and checked into our hotel.  We walked around the city for a bit and then through the markets.  It was similar to the markets in Rwanda, but most of the vendors were on the main street.  It sounds like the prices arent too inflated (even for whites) and bartering isn't as common as say the Mexico flea markets.  It was fun to see everything.  We then went to a popular eatery called El Patio.  It had very good food!  Then back to the hotel room, but we were also able to see a lot of the city because the first place we went to was closed down.  The city is pretty large.  I think it's about 1 million people.
hotel in the city was about $40 for 2 single bed and $32 for 1 single bed.

Today we woke up and basically left to go to the airport.  We were there very early b/c Glen had some stuff to do, so we actually walked over to Burger King for breakfast.  All the American franchises connect to the states through internet, so as a service to their customers they have free wifi.
Then we headed back to the airport.  When we went through the security, I think I mistakenly told some young females Joe and I were gay...oops.  They were laughing and said something really fast that we didnt understand, so we just kept walking...and I'm still cracking up about this.  Anyways, the Tegucigalpa terminal pretty much sucks.  The food court before you get through the terminal is ok though.

Well, hope that was a little insightful...I know there was at least 2 funny parts that should have been worth a laugh!

1 comment:

  1. Oh man, I was cracking up tonight as I was reminded about you pooping in the river. Funniest. Thing. Ever!!

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