The night before we flew out, our parents and my brother came to the apartment for an early birthday party for Jake and Elisa. My parents bought pizza and my mom's yummy "three step salad; a salad with candied almonds and mandarin oranges and a tangy dressing. My in laws brought ice cream cake...yum!!
It was our final goodbye with them. One last hug, until who knows when. I didn't want to let go when I gave them a hug goodbye at the door. After they left the tears flowed. Elisa and I were a mess.
Sleep evaded me all that night. So many emotions and thoughts swirling around in my mind. I had a lot of what ifs... what if we have too much luggage? Thirteen bags, do they even allow that? What if the bags are too heavy? What if they confiscate some of our food items and don't allow us to bring them in? What if the kids don't do well on their exams? What if, what if? I was also afraid if I fell asleep I would sleep through the alarm and not get up in time. The alarm was set for 2:45 and needless to say I didn't sleep at all.
It was early afternoon yesterday when we arrived at the airport in Tegucigalpa. Four of us with our thirteen hockey bags, four carry ons and two lap top bags. Jake is arriving later on because he is doing ministry at Braeside camp with the Rubber Chicken Company. One funny thing at customs was Ben's question " hey...why are there only four passports?" He has his blond moments and that was one of them..:-)
We managed with all our luggage without getting too stressed. We were able to load them up high on two small luggage carts. Dale and Ben steered them and couldn't even see over the top.
The only mishap was a large container of baking powder I brought. Somehow the lid came off and though I had secured in a tied bag, the contents went everywhere! What a mess.
Not long after we arrived at the team house we had a lunch of salad and sandwiches. Then Randy took us to the bank to see if we would be able to set up a bank account. The bank was so impressive. (Except for their logo. It looks like angry birds.) Apparently that is the running joke in Honduras. That's according to the lady behind the desk who heard our conversation and understood English. Armed guards everywhere at the bank. Very modern and high tech. We entered at a "private" entrance and were given a card that you swipe. Without it you can't get anywhere in the bank. Security is that high.
After what seemed like forever, we had our bank account. It took almost two hours. I've heard from more than one person that was fast! I was getting inpatient wondering why on earth it was taking so long. I realized that is pretty much the norm and I need to get used to that. God is going to be teaching me patience. I am going to need it because I am not one to like to sit and do nothing.
After this we headed to La Colonia; the grocery store. We purchased a few supplies to last us a couple days until we get to the market on Saturday. I found the prices more or less comparable to Canada with the exception of a few items. Milk was more. Cereal was more. Crackers are almost five dollars a box...so I guess that will be an occasional treat. We were told not to buy our meat there, but to buy it at Price Mart. ( Cosco)
Their are certain things to remember. Things like not flushing the toilet paper. Following up with hand sanitizer after you wash your hands. The way we wash dishes. Washing in hot soapy water and then rinsing in bleach water. The way we prepare fresh produce is quite a procedure. It's different ways depending on the fruit or veggie. I really need to write it all down so I can refer to so it's engrained in my mind and becomes like second nature. I don't want my family getting sick!
Please remember to keep my kids in your thoughts and prayers this afternoon as they do their entrance exam for school. I have no idea what it entails but I can't help but feel nervous for them.
In closing I just want to say that as we were flying into this beautiful land of Honduras yesterday I didn't feel like I was a tourist or that we were just passing through. I felt like I was coming home.
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