Un Perro, Un Pato, y Dos Gallinas…. A dog, A duck, and Two Hens

Wow! I made it to Honduras in one piece. I flew from Reagan National Airport with a connection in Miami , and arrived in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. From San Pedro Sula, I caught a charter flight to La Ceiba. Somewhere between San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba, my baggage was lost! Oh boy! I dreaded that this would happen, but prepared my mind for the possibility. I got to La Ceiba, where my driver was waiting for me to take me to El Porvenir. I arrived at the Volunteer House, saw people sitting on the patio along with a bunch of animals. Almost resembled a miniature farmhouse. “Where the F--- am I staying?” first popped into my head. I gave myself a quick Jasmine speech, inclusive of “Get your mind right.. Be nice… This is actually kinda cool” and approached the gate. A young lady, by the name of Natalie, came to the gate and let me into the house. I would later find out that Natalie, a hi-energy girl from Miami, would be my bunkmate and co-teacher at SOS. She then introduced me to the other residents; Amigo, the guard dog, Donald, the white duck, and Henrietta and Zena, the house hens. I then met Heide (pronounced Hedda), a chill girl from Belgium, and Rikke, the fire-engine, red head chica from Denmark. Rikke (pronounced Ricky) is a the house/program adviser. All were very nice and welcoming. Because I lost my luggage, they all were very quick to help; Natalie giving me bed linens and a pillow, and Heide giving me a towel to shower.

Our House

After I unpacked my only 2 items in my carry-on (tooth brush and chapstick), Heide and I went to the pulperia (mini-market) to buy food for dinner. We made breakfast burritos with rice, potatoes, carrots, and scrambleled eggs. We decided to experiment with the hot sauce. Bad idea! With only the little that we put on the burritos, our mouths were on fire. You cannot drink the water in Honduras, so we have a filtered water cooler next to the kitchen. I think both me and Heide went thru half a water jug after those burritos!

Once we hydrated ourselves, we went outside and sat on the patio with our neighbors Jorge, Romania, and their cute daughter, Estefany. They are really nice people. They were teaching us Spanish and we were teaching them English, all laughing and just having a good time.

First night in Honduras… not so bad. Even with the lost luggage and what not, I made 6 new friends, and 4 new animal friends… who would have thought!

Amigo

Donald

Zena... Henrietta was missing in action for the photo shoot