Arrival in Honduras

We have arrived! Yes, finally after over a year of consideration and months of planning and preparation we are on the ground in Honduras. We arrived last evening after a long day and somewhat indirect route – leaving Ft Collins at 6:30am, where we were visiting Steve & Lara and the grandchildren, to fly from Denver – to Miami (5 hour layover) – to San Pedro Sula. Long trip, but thankfully no snags in the weight-of-luggage department nor problems with carrying on of sewing machines. The x-ray operator in Denver gave a pause as he scanned that bag – looked at Kathy with a perplexed smile and asked if she liked to sew. I guess sewing machines are not yet considered a dangerous tool.

It was dark when we arrived in San Pedro, so we didn’t get to see the coast or the banana plantations as we approached. Immigration and customs was a snap – once we located our last hidden bag – which was a bit stressful. As we walked out into the heat and the waiting crowd (no they weren’t all there to greet us!) we saw Darrin with his son Simon waving from the back. That was a huge relief. Our children will remember the experience of first arriving at the airport in Haiti and how intimidating it was to walk through the crazy crowd clogging up the exit. Last night, there were a lot of folks and it was noisy and chaotic, but nothing at all like that experience. We both laughed and commented we could easily handle this.

We spent the night at the home of Darrin and Julie, the leaders of the MCC unit in Honduras. They are a young couple (30’s) with two young children, Simon (3) and Lucia (1). That’s the age of our grandchildren – and when I heard Lucia crying during the night, it was like we were back in Ft Collins. But, alas when we awoke, there were two really cute kids there, but (sorry) not the same as being with your own grandchildren.

We are currently in orientation with Darrin and Julie at the MCC offices near downtown San Pedro. Being here feels very comfortable – as I explained to a friend - sort of like putting on an old forgotten shirt. Familiar sights, sounds, smells, and temperature (HOT!). The one unfamiliar thing is the technology – cell phones, internet, email, “Skype”, and of course blogging. The face of development/relief work, even of life, in the developing world has changed significantly. At least in the big city, although Darrin and Julie tell us we will see this throughout the country. No more communicating with family via Ham Radio!

We have a bit of downtime right now as Julie takes care of an unanticipated matter (that’s why I can blog during orientation!!). We plan to walk around town this afternoon and do a training run on the public transport system. This morning we received our MCC-issued laptop computer, reviewed financial procedures, and learned how to order lunch. I would say we will be good to go by evening! Oh yeah, I forgot, we still have language school.