Hola Humidity!

Wow, well I've been in Honduras for almost two days now and it seems like I've been here for a lot longer than that. It has definitely been a whirlwind of events since I got here. I walked off of the plane into a wall of humidity and then into a mass of people waiting to get through customs. There is only one way to leave the airport from your gate and it is through a small hallway to customs. The hallway was not that long but it was filled with people and it took more than two hours to get through the line. There were only two lines open and then at one point there was only one that was open. But we got through eventually and I found my bag, thankfully it made it there safe and sound.

Then we walked into the waiting room and I wasn't sure who exactly would be there to meet me but I saw a sign with my name on it. Two people from Providence were there to meet me, Duglas and Jorge, and Jenna's contact was there to meet her as well. So we walked out to the parking lot and that is when we split ways. We said good-bye and gave each other a look that said "good luck!" I spent most of the day in San Pedro Sula because Duglas and Jorge had several errands to run to prepare for a mission team that would be coming in the next day. So for lunch we went to a store that is exactly like Costco, which I thought was funny. And I had a great time with the guys and we were joking and laughing like we had known each other for years. It also helped that they spoke fluent English but they told me that they would only speak in English my first day. They would give me a break since it was my first day, but after that it was only Spanish.

Later in the afternoon we left San Pedro Sula for Siguatepeque, a two hour drive through the country. It was beautiful! Everything was so green and you could see bananas, coffee, pineapple, and mangos growing right on the side of the road. So the two hours flew by as I stared out the window and they would point out different plants and trees along the way. When we arrived I was able to see the Providence campus because they had to drop some supplies off there. It was a very nice campus with the school/dining hall, two family homes, and the medical center. The school/dining hall was very big and all of the buildings were made with beautiful brick. So I am definitely looking forward to the time I will be working there in a few months.

Then it was off to meet the family. They were down the street at their church, which is not even two blocks from their house, and so I dropped my bags off at the house and then joined them. They were having a church event as a celebratation for the students at the church, and when I walked in there were definitely several pairs of eyes staring at me as I sat down. I met the family, which is Loli (mother), Pati (23 year old daughter), Gabi (17 year old daughter), and Ever (13 year old son), and many of their friends and extended family. We stayed for only about half an hour, which I was thankful for since I hadn't slept in about 48 hours. I tried to talk with the family as much as possible but it was difficult for me to understand their Spanish because they often spoke fast. And when I didn't understand they would talk really slow and over pronunciate the words, which I found kind of amusing but it probably helped me understand. So I unpacked a little and then headed off to bed and had no problems sleeping since I was exhausted. And that was my first day in Honduras!

I won't go into that much detail about everyday here, so I'll just give a brief overview of what I did yesturday. I went to lunch at Wendy's (of course!) with some other people who work at Providence, one of which is Roberto and who I spent most of the day with. He took me to several of his friends' houses and they were all extremely welcoming. My Spanish was definitely tested and I actually felt like a did fairly well. They all told me that my Spanish was good, although I think that is just because I hadn't run out of the simple phrases that I already knew how to say, but I'll take it! Then I went to church that night with the family and met some more family and friends. Oh, and I also took my first shower using buckets of water! (They don't have running water). So, needless to say, it has been quite an experience already!