24 hours in Tegucigalpa

One thing I wish would do itself....... grading kids papers.  But I must say listening to James Taylor while doing it... eases the pain a bit..

I am a bit late on the recap from the weekend. Perhaps it is because it was so great that I am afraid words will not do it justice or I am simply coming to realize that this chapter in Honduras is coming to a close more quickly then I realize. Suddenly I feel a bit rushed and busy, so the blog was not a priority..... But alas here it is...

Last Friday our weekend started with the last rotation of family dinner. Matt and Thomas cooked an incredible meal with roasted chicken served over pasta with cheese. Emyle the preschool director came for dinner as well with her son. We decided to speak only Spanish for the night. So funny. Matt, stole the show reminding Emyle "Te Quiero Mucho" (I love you very much) and randomly speaking about the few things he knows in Spanish. It was a good dinner full of lots of good food and laughs. (Note: Family dinner started last fall, by random draw, two people were paired to serve a full meal for everyone. We did four rounds, dinner was each Friday. Only remains one final dinner potluck)

All of the girls were in bed around 8:30 pm (yes that is correct). Kylie, Faye and I had an early departure for Tegucigalpa in the morning. Below is a bulleted list of what I liked and the things I did not (mostly good)..... Such a fun weekend to say the very least

• I like leaving for the bus early in the morning so my roommates and I can admire the girl making baleadas. Like a champ. Honduran women are experts at pounding out some tortillas.
• I like having a local show me the city they grew up in. Fernando was an incredible host. (thank you again)
• I like the view as a passenger of a car, not on a bus or in a taxi. 
• I like hillside cities. Cities that are so perfectly placed on hillsides offering stunning views. The lights lit up the city at night like tiny stars.
• I like fancy hotels. Like this one. We stayed here. Having a cosy room, with views that overlooked the city and an amazing swimming pool. I like that. So wonderful.

• I like hotel piano players. Made us girls feel like we were on proper holiday.... Drinking out of real wine glasses and having gin and tonic on Saturday evening.
• I like cramps.... (picture below) Cramps is the name of a drink made famous by a bar in Tegucigalpa that takes an old mayonnaise jar, pours in gin, night train (form of sherry type wine), and sugar. They put on the lid, shake it up and pour it in your glass and you drink it. Strong? Yes Good? Surprisingly

• I like liquor stores that carry more things than just beer and cheap rum. Like a proper wine cellar. We got lost in the shelves and racks of wine Saturday evening. 

• I like Via De Los Angeles..... It was a beautiful cobble stoned village outside of the city with lots of small souvenir shops, incredible pupusas (El Salvadoran originated food, click here for more information) and a landscape that appears so much like Colorado ( i may or may not have said this a few times)

• I like the joke that the statue of Jesus that overlooks Tegucigalpa is compared to the statue of Jesus in Rio, Brazil. Jesus hands pointed out, "Wow thank you, look at this beautiful city of Rio. Jesus hands pointed down in Tegucigalpa, Thank you for this place, what is this city?" Just so you know, I loved Tegucigalpa and don't think its even close to the reputation it has developed. (picture below Tegus and then Rio, perhaps the landscape is a bit different)

• I like showing up to someones house and immediately feeling like you are at home. On Saturday evening we attended a birthday party with all of the people we had met in Utila during Semana Santa. We indulged in wine (beer or anything you desired), talked, danced and spent our evening at a beautiful house outside of the city. It felt like we have been friends with all of them for years. It may very well be one of my most favorite nights I have had in Honduras....

Our entire group...

• I like Sunday brunch at the hotel. Yum

• I like big swimming pools and laying in the sun, counting down till the last possible second that we could stay and not miss the bus....

• I like having a roommate that used to be a bartender and goes to the bar, helps the pool bar lady whip up some Bloody Marys with the few things she had there. Yum again. (picture below of us with our Bloody Marys)

• I like that we can go back on Friday.... even getting in a bit late. It is Hectors Birthday.... Better to arrive late then never.

What did I not like you may ask.......

• I didn't like having to leave on Sunday. We debated. Kylie insisted we stay. Faye said she had too much to teach her kids. We thought maybe we could pretend we were sick. I wanted to stay. We all did. But we had to come back.
• I dont like seeing a woman completely naked walking across the road. Yes this happened. One of the most bizarre, strangest things I have probably ever seen. Breaks my heart.
• I didn't like the fact that my rainbow sandals broke (my favorites, just got them at christmas)
• I dont like that it is over but I am so glad we get to go back on Friday.

Well suppose I should grade my kids papers..... Sweet Baby James please make it a bit easier to do. 

Thanks again to all of you for reading. This teacher is worn out and ready for a new day to start.

Warmest to you
Kristina