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Published: August 2nd 2006
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Well, here I am... sitting at my laptop on my desk, in my room, at my new house in Honduras. It still seems weird to say that. Before I type this long entry, you should all know that I will be writing fairly detailed entries that could be very long and frequent. I'm doing this as it's my documentation of my trip for my own keepings, and a few people have requested it to be so. If you do not feel like reading the long entry, don't. lol... just don't complain about me doing them... lol.
So, the entire journey began lastnight when Ginny, Mom, and I went to a hotel in Mississauga for the evening. It was nice. We drank wine, watched TV and just enjoyed each other's company.
Wake-up call was 3:30am. I think I got about 3.5 hours of sleep. We then caught the shuttle for 4am to the airport. Jills' family arrived shortly after we did, then Stells came shortly after that to see us off as well. We got through the line pretty quickly and checked in. Turns out both my bags were WAY over the weight limit, so I had to paya heck
of a lot of money. I knew they were over so I was kind of prepared to be paying anyways.
Once we got through, we decided it'd be best to just go through security and customs to get it out of the way and make sure we had enough time... saying goodbye to my family and Stells was the hardest part. My mom was crying and wouldn't let me go. She kept saying that she loved me. I'm getting all teary-eyed just typing about it. I hugged my sister and Stells goodbye. Both of them were a bit of a mess too. I suppose we all were.
Jills and I got through customs, checked our bags and head for the gate. Once there we had some breaky then awhile later boarded. The flight was good. The feeling in your stomach as you take of is awesome. The feelings in my stomach due to nerves were not so awesome. The flight was about 3 hours.
Once in Miami, transferring seemed easy. We even sat down for some lunch. We met a guy from the US, who was heading down to an Army base in Comayagua. We ended up
chatting with him for awhile before boarding, and then gave him our e-mail addresses afterwards so that he could contact us to meet up at some point. The Miami flight was about 2 hours. Landing in Honduras was exciting. SOOOOO different than the other airports. So amazing while up in the air looking out. All we could see was green and mountains. Much better view than the busy highways and many houses and buildings of Toronto.
Honduras customs was interesting. They took a picture of us and took our fingerprints as well. Totally weird. Jills and I were laughing the whole time. I think the officer was amused as well. Waiting for our luggage though was brutal. I think ours were the last ones off the plane and it scared me so much when they weren't there for the LONGEST time.
By the time we got out and into the arrivals section, a young woman said "Sarah?" and then when I said yes, she hugged me and gave me one of those spanish cheek kisses. lol. Her name is Maria. She's cousins of the past director of the school. The director's brother Mario was also there to get
us. The two helped us with our luggage and we head out to the large pick-up truck for the drive from Tegucigalpa to Comayagua.
The scenery for the drive was beautiful. It was exactly how I pictured it to be. There were mountains with houses that looked like they were built right into the side of those mountains... I suppose they are. Most houses were concrete with tin roofs. The trees and mountains were beautiful as well. By the way, it's totally cooler here today than apparently you have in Toronto. It was about 30 today. Right now it's 26 Celsius, according to my handy "Weather Eye" from the Weather Network.
The bad part about the ride was the fact that there aren't really driving rules in Honduras apparently. They cut across traffic, pass in the left lane even when going around a corner and can't see what's coming. They also drive ridiculously fast. I looked and we were going 85 MPH at one point. What is that in KM? Let me google it... ummm.... 136.79. Ya that's fast, especially when the roads are all winding. Man oh man. It's a good thing I don't get motion sickness.
I was beginning to think that I might throw up, and was glad I didn't.
We got into Honduras and Maria and Mario took us to the school to see it. It was pretty close to the pictures on my website, except that it's a little smaller than I thought, and also in the middle of downtown really with buildings right beside it. From the pics, I thought it stood on it's own.
We met a few administrators, including Melissa, who has been our main contact all along. She was the director last year but is going to do her masters in Spain this year so they have hired a new director, who apparently Jills and I will meet tomorrow.
We got a tour of the school then were brought to the houses. Ours is the pink house (if you care to go back to the pics). Jills and I drew for rooms. I got the one I wanted and she decided to upgrade her other choice to the master bedroom. The master is intended for couples so it has a double bed, is bigger, and has a balcony. Because there are no couples this year, anyone
can have it. I didn't want it because it felt too big and felt lost in it. Plus there's no screen on the doors to the balcony so you can't leave it open at night to allow breeze in. It is really nice though. I chose the next largest room. It's not too small but not too big. There is another smaller room next to mine and an equal sized room on the main floor.
After settling in a little bit, and meeting our security guard who carries a huge gun that looks ancient, Melissa and her other brother (whose name I cannot remember) picked Jill and I up to give us a driving tour of the city. They showed us the gym, markets, pharmacia, hotels with pools (which we can use for about $3US), restaurants, bars, internet cafes, and stores. Apparently there's a shoe store that sells old styles of Pumas and stuff for about 80 lempira ($4US). Oh and there's a mini-mall with stores that sell jeans for about $7US, and the bank where we'll be opening accounts. Oh ya! And there's a Wendy's too. lol... only thing I really recognised, although there was also a Domino's
Pizza in Tegucigalpa, across from the airport. We were also shown the really old cathedral and their central park. It's really pretty.
So anyways, We also met one of the students at the school. His name is Daniel and he has a pool that he charges for people to swim in. Apparently it will be cheaper than the hotels, we we told him we may check that out. Daniel's going to be in grade 11 this coming year. The tour ended and they took Jills and I to an awesome Chinese Restaurant for dinner. Jills and I shared some Sweet and Sour Chicken and rice, with 2 bottles of Pepsi for $8US... not bad. It was a lot of food and we felt much better.
We then returned home, and did some more packing. Jills can't seem to get her wireless to work. So glad mine works. It's funny because I was able to get internet faster in Honduras than I could at my apartment in Mississauga... funny isn't it?
Well, I don't know what else to say. I think I've said it all. It's still all totally weird to think that I'm now where I will be for the next year. Perhaps it'll all feel more real once more staff members get here. Camp's always better when the campers arrive. Maybe the same will be true once the students arrive and we begin teaching.
Tomorrow we're being introduced to the new director, taken to the school again (for what I am not sure), and then opening our accounts. I think Jills and I will then spend the afternoon walking around, exploring, and taking pictures. Perhaps Thursday we'll venture to a pool. lol... small steps.
Anyways, right now I need sleep. I'm been up for 21 hours now. EWWWW. Night friends and Fam. Sweet Dreams.
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Cheryl Bernknopf
non-member comment
it all sounds so exciting!
I am so jealous of your adventure. I know that it will be a year that you will be able to look back on and realize what a wonderful choice you have made. Miss you a lot at camp! Take care. Cheryl