Obviously a lot has happened since the last post, and conveniently, none of it happened around internet access. After an 8 hour date with Miami Interntional Airport, Dad and I made it to San Pedro Sula Wednesday evening. The next couple days were spent setting up the apartment. Dad did get to meet my bosses (science department head, secondary school principal, and superintendent) as well as our friend from Michigan. Since I have already been hired and signed a contract, we figured it would be a good time for me to fill out an application for my file. (I also filled out an application for the apartment after living in it for two days. So backwards. I love Honduras.)
Our first stop of many deserves its own special paragraph, because it holds a very special place in my heart. I knew that many things would be very different here, and I had braced myself for this as much as possible. One thing that I did not anticipate being the same is a wholesale supplier. Within 24 hours of being in the country, I was a member of the Honduran version of Costco...PriceSmart. It is amazing, and even though it may sound ridiculous to a lot of you, many of you can appreciate how much easier this makes the transition for me. Their tubs of minced garlic are not as gloriously large as the ones at Costco...but they have Dr Pepper. They also had a lot of the furniture/storage stuff that we got to augment the furniture supplied by the school. Now my stuff doesn't have to sit in a huge pile on the kitchen floor! (Mom...not a word...)
The apartment that I live in is very nice. It is a brand new building, and I am the first person to live in my unit. It is a gated apartment, which means there is a big cast-iron gate at the end of my hallway that I have to unlock to get in and out. A lot different from what I envisioned when I first heard about the place. I have three big windows in the apartment that give a full view of the cinderblock security wall and barbed wire across the top...but my landlord said I can put flowers outside, so that will hopefully improve the view a little. There is also a security guard in front of the gate during the day. So I feel very safe at home, which is definitely a plus. There are a couple other houses on the street that are very nice as well. In very stark contrast, however, a couple of the neighbors live in lean-tos that are made from scrap metal and wood, and the church on the street does not have a roof. It is kind of mind boggling to see all of that in one street as I walk down it. All of the neighbors (building and street) are so nice, though, and the kids are the CUTEST!
Dad and I spent Saturday setting up furniture and running some last minute errands. There was a big political demonstration downtown that day, so we avoided that area and traffic was backed up all over. Apart from that, though, the political climate has been really calm, and everyone is hoping that it will settle down internationally soon as well. A lot of government employees (not officials, but city workers) have been severely affected by the political stuff, and haven't received a paycheck since the craziness first went down. In an already poor country, that definitely doesn't help. I don't know how widespread this problem is, but in San Pedro Sula it seems to be because the mayor (a Zelaya supporter of sorts) has been MIA with Mel. I haven't had internet/news access in nearly a week, so please forgive any vagueness or inaccuracies with the situation.
Right now I am at the school library, soaking in the internet and air conditioning. hahaha. Electricity is very expensive down here, so most places use open windows and fans as a cooling system. By most places, I am including my apartment, although I have a window AC unit I can run if it gets ridiculously hot. Tomorrow I start new teacher orientation. I thought it started today, so I got to sit through part of the admin orientation today. So as a new teacher, I got to help plan my orientation, hahaha.
My boss is about to take me to the grocery store. If I have internet at home tonight I'll put some pictures up. Otherwise I will get more out as soon as I can. Probably tomorrow. If there's anything you are wondering about, let me know...there are a lot of things I can say, but I don't want to just splat a 20 chapter novel out everyday.
Our first stop of many deserves its own special paragraph, because it holds a very special place in my heart. I knew that many things would be very different here, and I had braced myself for this as much as possible. One thing that I did not anticipate being the same is a wholesale supplier. Within 24 hours of being in the country, I was a member of the Honduran version of Costco...PriceSmart. It is amazing, and even though it may sound ridiculous to a lot of you, many of you can appreciate how much easier this makes the transition for me. Their tubs of minced garlic are not as gloriously large as the ones at Costco...but they have Dr Pepper. They also had a lot of the furniture/storage stuff that we got to augment the furniture supplied by the school. Now my stuff doesn't have to sit in a huge pile on the kitchen floor! (Mom...not a word...)
The apartment that I live in is very nice. It is a brand new building, and I am the first person to live in my unit. It is a gated apartment, which means there is a big cast-iron gate at the end of my hallway that I have to unlock to get in and out. A lot different from what I envisioned when I first heard about the place. I have three big windows in the apartment that give a full view of the cinderblock security wall and barbed wire across the top...but my landlord said I can put flowers outside, so that will hopefully improve the view a little. There is also a security guard in front of the gate during the day. So I feel very safe at home, which is definitely a plus. There are a couple other houses on the street that are very nice as well. In very stark contrast, however, a couple of the neighbors live in lean-tos that are made from scrap metal and wood, and the church on the street does not have a roof. It is kind of mind boggling to see all of that in one street as I walk down it. All of the neighbors (building and street) are so nice, though, and the kids are the CUTEST!
Dad and I spent Saturday setting up furniture and running some last minute errands. There was a big political demonstration downtown that day, so we avoided that area and traffic was backed up all over. Apart from that, though, the political climate has been really calm, and everyone is hoping that it will settle down internationally soon as well. A lot of government employees (not officials, but city workers) have been severely affected by the political stuff, and haven't received a paycheck since the craziness first went down. In an already poor country, that definitely doesn't help. I don't know how widespread this problem is, but in San Pedro Sula it seems to be because the mayor (a Zelaya supporter of sorts) has been MIA with Mel. I haven't had internet/news access in nearly a week, so please forgive any vagueness or inaccuracies with the situation.
Right now I am at the school library, soaking in the internet and air conditioning. hahaha. Electricity is very expensive down here, so most places use open windows and fans as a cooling system. By most places, I am including my apartment, although I have a window AC unit I can run if it gets ridiculously hot. Tomorrow I start new teacher orientation. I thought it started today, so I got to sit through part of the admin orientation today. So as a new teacher, I got to help plan my orientation, hahaha.
My boss is about to take me to the grocery store. If I have internet at home tonight I'll put some pictures up. Otherwise I will get more out as soon as I can. Probably tomorrow. If there's anything you are wondering about, let me know...there are a lot of things I can say, but I don't want to just splat a 20 chapter novel out everyday.
Donde estan el pictoras? I probably butchered that! I miss you chicky!!
How are you getting around? Do you walk to everywhere? How far?
Compra pollo con zapatos?
Es una fragancia formidable. Se pica la nariz. Voy a ser honesto con usted, Brian, que huele a pura gasolina.
Wendy Said or tried to say... ¿To Buy/Shop Roosters with Shoes? ¡i guess i don't know SpanglIsh lIke i thought i mIght?!
I'm not even gonna try to figure out what Senór Brian is doing with stinky perfume and female gasoline?
eyecarrumbya, ;-P
WampGrIngo ©