Semana Santa in Comayagua

 Semana Santa is a BIG deal in Honduras.  This is the celebration of Easter and it lasts a Lonnnnggg time.  The kids are out of school for 2 weeks, everyone is off of work for a few days, families travel to the beach and other places and many people come to Comayagua to see the processions of the "Santa Via Crucis" or Stations of the Cross, and the saw dust carpets.  All week long there are church services, live re-enactments leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus and processions in the streets.  On Thursday night around
midnight, the Bomberos (firemen), clean the streets and different organizations, families, businesses, catholic groups and local families get to work.  They prepare the carpets until 9am in the morning when the Processions of the Santa Crucis trample their hard work- its amazing and very beautiful.  We arrived at the cathedral square around 7:15 and there was already a crowd.  Jose had to work so we wanted to get in early and see the sites.  All natural materials are required for the carpets.  Most are constructed with colored sawdust and some contained salt, rocks, seeds, coffee, cinnamon shavings, tamarind shells, and flowers.  Ladders were placed at many of them so that you could climb up and take photos.   Not sure just how many there were - they went on for blocks and blocks.  We saw the group of people (not sure what they are called) that would carry the crucifix and watched them march in hooded robes and carrying staffs it was a little creepy, and then we saw the beginning of the main procession right before we were leaving.  It was very cool to see - so many people were out and about.  The tradition and the cohesiveness of the Honduran people was awesome.  There was even a carpet that was a work in progress where the kids could pick a frame and then fill it with sawdust with the help of volunteers.

 Midweek we were invited to go to some friend's of ours' family picnic.  In our neighborhood there are oh maybe 50 houses or so.  A few Americans, but for the most part they are Honduran families, and most of them are related in some way or another!  We were very touched to get the invite to the picnic.  The father of many of our friends is the man who owns the whole golf course.  He started this neighborhood from a dream and it has really flourished.  He is the one who wanted to invite us.  It was a great day under a huge tree on another part of the Golf Course that isn't yet developed.  Kids had a ball, and we had a great time too.  The main dish at the picnic was fried fish- the WHOLE thing.  Eyeball included.  It was actually very good - I ate it and then Jose finished it up for me.  I wasn't about to eat the skin, or the tail!

 Later in the week (on Easter Sunday) we hosted an American Easter Egg Hunt here in our neighborhood.  It was the best!  With help from our good friend Uncle Stevie - we had hundreds of eggs and American candy hidden here in an area of the golf course.  The kids were so excited!  We probably had about 35 kids and their parents come afterwards we ordered pizza and the kids played in the streets and ate their candy.  Everyone is already talking about doing it again next year.

Tela

Last weekend we took a trip to the beach to celebrate my big 4 - 0 birthday!  It was awesome!  We went to Tela which is a sleepy beach town just over a 3 hr drive from here.  It was just perfect.  The place we stayed at was called VillaMar. In the 70's it was part of the Chiquita Banana plantation where the executives lived.  The boys were so happy.  We spent the whole weekend in the hot sun lounging on the beach or by the pool.  The resort property was pretty big.  It was all inclusive with several restaurants to choose from, activities, entertainment and a private beach with shade, chairs etc.  The beach was very clean and the water was super clear.  It felt a little Jamacia-ish with the Garafuna people walking up and down the beach selling Pan de Coco (Coconut bread), offering over and over to braid your hair (not sure how to say this in Spanish but I figured out what they meant), and young boys selling coconut water.  They carried fresh coconuts and if you bought one (which we did) they did some fancy cutting with their machettes cutting off the top so you could drink.  They even had straws. 

 It was neat.  One of the little girls selling Pan de Coco sat and chatted with us for a bit.  Her name was JoAnn and she spoke French, Spanish, and a little bit of English.  She was 11 and attended school.  We talked with another gal (didn't catch her name) but she wanted to braid my hair I kept telling her later and she would ask why not now?  She was 20, and had 2 small children.  Her little boy was one and her little girl was 5.  She also had a 5 year old sister.  Her daughter's name was Genesis.  When I first asked her I thought she told me the girl's name was Hennesy - I even repeated Oh Hennesy?... and she said Yes! Hennesy... I said you mean like the drink?  She said no, like the first book in the bible.  I was a tad embarrassed. Very nice people, and they were very interested in us as Americans.  Early in the morning the mamas would come walking out on the beach.  They were dressed in brightly colored sun dresses and carried huge baskets on their heads.  The baskets were filled with the Pan de Coco that would be disbursed to the younger ones to sell.   All in all it was a great trip and we've already made reservations to go back in April.  

We've been here 2 months today and it's starting to feel like home.  The boys are doing really good in school.  Jordan got his first progress report and has all As and one B so we were happy with that.  We did just find out that he should actually be in the third grade here because of when his birthday falls.  Oh well - I think we will just leave things be.  We finally got a housekeeper.  Her name is Julie.  She comes twice a week and we pay her 200 limps (which is about 10.00) each time she comes.  Jordan was super excited to learn that she will cook for us, and he asked if she could please please please make him lunch on the days that she comes.  He said to tell her just to make him whatever she would make for her own kids.  The first day she came she made some tortillas and some kind of ground beef/potato mixture with their version of salsa to go on top.  He was so excited to get it at school because many of the other kids have housekeepers that do the same on a regular bases.  The problem is that she doesn't speak any English.  It actually stresses me out a bit to have her here because we have a very difficult time communicating.  She has only made lunch that one day.  One of Jose's coworkers uses Julie and that's how we found her.  Carolina is the coworker's wife.  She is from Chili and speaks perfect Spanish.  Carolina translates for me but that is quickly getting old....  We'll see how this works out.  Julie is only 25.  She has 4 kids.  9,7,4 and 2.  Her husband is a farmer.  She rides a bus an hour each morning to get to Comayagua then I pick her up on the side of the road.  She needs the work.

One of our new favorite things to do is to feed the stray dogs.  We look forward to it every morning.  The hungrier the better - we like em skinny!  We are often in a hurry in the mornings so the boys sometimes eat a bagel w/peanut butter, or a waffle on the ride to school.  Most of the time they don't finish it so we have leftovers for the dogs!  Everett will get in the front seat and point out the dogs to me and then we pull over and toss it to em.  Sometimes they get scared and don't eat it but most of the time they are happy pups.  Every time it makes our hearts happy!  Jose is not so excited about the idea so we usually wait till he is already out of the car.  Another thing that makes our hearts happy is Olga.  She is a housekeeper somewhere in our neighborhood and last week we started giving her a ride home.  It is so hot here and almost every day when we leave to get Jordan from school we see her walking up this big hill in the neighborhood.  I think she walks to the front gate and then gets a taxi from there, but from now on when we see her - we give her a ride.  Not sure exactly where she lives but she is so appreciative to get a ride to the school where we pick up Jordan.  She doesn't speak any English either but she is really happy and smiley and loves Everett.  He talks to her all the time (in English) but neither of them care.  Jose is not too excited about this either but we do it anyway!

Jail Fire

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/honduran-murderer-pardoned-saving-hundreds-deadly-prison-fire-article-1.1026718

As many of you know, there was a major fire at the jail in the town where we live (you can read about it in the link above).  The newspapers share conflicting information of what caused the fire but what is consistent is that hundreds of people died in there and a few hundred inmates have escaped.  The story is tragic either way you look at it.  We drive by this prison several times a day and even today you can see family members standing at the gates waiting for answers.  You can read the earlier articles which show the police having to spray tear gasses at the crowds and shooting in to the air.  What a mess.  They are so corrupt and unorganized in this country I doubt if the truth will ever be known.  The activity duty (American) military is not currently allowed to travel off the base and in to the town of Comayagua.  I suppose it's because of the fear of rioting in the town, i'm not really sure.  The immediate hours after the incident the whole base was on lock down - they were't letting people on or off of the base.  The American and Honduran military members assisted in the aftermath of the fire and on the first day the Honduran military protecting the base didn't even have any weapons as they had let the Policea in town "borrow" them... how crazy is that?  Last Thursday Jordan & Everett's school asked all of the families to send sack lunches to school to help to feed the families that were waiting outside the gates.  A friend of mine lives in another neighborhood in town and her security guard told her that he had seen two men running through the neighborhood in nothing but underwear at 2am the night of the fire.  A little frightening....  The   Policea  are positioned on many of the main corners in the town to make people feel better I guess - although they are known to be very crooked and corrupt themselves.

On a lighter note.... I have started taking Spanish class on the base.  I love it.  I go 4 days a week for 4 weeks in the evenings.  I'm really learning a lot and it feels good!  So much to learn though.... I had a test last night which the boys thought was cool - Jordan made me a sign for when I got back home congratulating me on the "good work".

Remember our car window that was broken out?  Well it STILL isn't fixed.  We have had the pleasure of visiting many auto parts stores and what an experience it has been.  I usually have the car during the day (taking the kids/picking them up etc) so on several occasions I have had to get Jose at lunch and a Honduran coworker that is going to help us and we have to go here, there etc.  Every day it's a different story.  This store doesn't have it but they can get it by this date, then we go there on that date and they tell us to go to this other store and then that store is closed so we go back the next day and then they tell us that they can't get it but this store can so we go to that store and they have to order it and it will be here this date and then on that date it comes and it's the wrong window and so they have to order the right window and then we go to pick it up on that date and the place is closed etc etc.... you get the picture...  The good news is that we GOT the window this morning!  It looks right and just maybe we will get it put in today!!  I am hopeful!
The fun thing is that i've had the opportunity to experience the auto parts stores.  You would not believe it!  They have just about everything you can think of!  Seat belts, steering wheels, headlights, hubcaps, rear view mirrors, and the list goes on and on and on.  The one place we actually got to drive in to was oh maybe 3 acres and they had everything so organized!  All by type of part.  The parts were arranged in containers all over the place.  The containers were Truck Beds!  No truck - just the bed of the truck, no axle or anything else.  I tried to get some pics but they just don't do it justice.  There are also seats, doors, etc all lying around too.  Kinda like a junk yard but a little different.  And of course there were chickens wondering around........

Lessons Learned

Jordan and some of his new friends

Sorry it's been so long since my last post!  It's not really like we are too busy - I have just been unmotivated.  We've done a little exploring and a little shopping, and have had a few setbacks....  So I had my first pedicure here and i'm just now okay to talk about it.  It's been about three weeks and I think I can say I have fully recovered.  What a horrible experience.  I knew it might be different, but what I had expected was for it to take a long time and cost very little.  Jose gets his hair cut for $4.00 for crying out loud and they spend forever on it but do a great job.  I had my friend Nikky take me so her place so I figured it couldn't be that bad.  The place was inside of a hair salon in a little shopping strip and it looked okay.  They put some warm water from the shampoo bowl into a bucket and had me soak - the water quickly got cold but that was the least of my worries. After a few minutes, a gal came back and took some tools out of a plastic bag and got to work.  She had a small desk lamp that she kept plugging in in different outlets so she could see my toes that were on her knee.  I was totally uncomfortable the whole time trying to keep my leg from sliding down her knee but that wasn't the worst part.  The "tools" were an old pointy nail file which she used to push my cuticles back, and a tired old callous file thing!  Not only were they UNSANITIZED but they were PAINFUL!  She made three of my toes bleed and poured nail polish remover on them to stop the bleeding (which didn't work of course).  I was in so much pain but for whatever reason I stayed and endured the whole thing, telling myself to grin a bear it. Uggh!  Finally I had her switch feet to give the first side a break.  My friend from the other part of the shop was giving me the thumbs up sign and saying Muy Bueno Si?  Of course I didn't want to hurt her feelings so I flashed her a smile and just got through it.  I couldn't wait for it to be over, and when it was - she put the used (and bled on) tools back in the bag, and back in the box to be used for the next victim.  I said very little to my friend on the way home, and barely stopped the car for her to get out at her house.  I was anxious to get home to a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.  I doused my toes three times a day for two weeks before they felt better.

Dog on Roof - Security?

Two weekends ago, we visited a nearby town called  Siguatepeque (try to say that fast a few times) Say Gua Te Peck Ay is how it sounds... kind of a fun word to say huh?  We'd heard that they had pretty good shopping so we ventured out.  That day we saw some interesting sites.  As we traveled over the mountain we got stopped in traffic for a tow truck that was pulling a car up from off the side of the mountain.  Jose got out and took some pics - the mountain roads are very windy, I could totally see how that could happen. There are some good restaurants in  Siguatepeque and lots of roadside stands with pottery, honey, hammocks, and birdcages.  We came home with a hammock - which is our all time favorite purchase, some plants, and a ceramic pot for outside.  We have also had some discussion about a bird.  Our last stop was where we bought the ceramic pot.  There were two small kids playing outside and helping their dad.  One of the boys was about Jordan's age and he was filthy dirty.  The other was 2 ish and he had absolutely no clothes on.  Jordan, Everett, and I  stayed in the car while Jose talked to the dad.  My boys were in awe - mouths hanging open wondering why that boy didn't have any clothes on.  My guess would be that he was not potty trained and they can't afford to buy diapers so to be naked is the easier option.... Sad - very sad to see.

Early last week when Jose was coming home from somewhere he had a little run in with a herd of cows.  There was a young boy taking them down the road and one turned his head and broke the passenger side mirror off the car.  I asked if the cow was injured and Jose said - "well he kept walking".  Crazy.  Later in the week (last Friday) we had our usual happy hour with some of Jose's co workers and a few of their spouses.  It's become a regular thing and I really look forward to it since I feel like i'm on house arrest the rest of the week.  This happy hour ran long and we ended up moving from the poolside site at the Golf Club where we live to a social club in downtown Comayagua.  Jose and I drove our own car and met everyone there.   We parked in a well lit spot at the Cathedral and I decided that rather than to risk getting mugged on the street I would leave my purse in the car. Our windows are very dark black tint and the purse was on the floor board very close to the seat in the back seat.  Needless to say - when we came out 2 hrs later our window had been smashed out and my purse was gone.  What a bummer!  Several credit cards/bank cards,  Military ID, Drivers License, etc all gone.  Lesson Learned #2.

Sleeping Boys

Not too much else going on.  We are taking a trip next weekend to the beach to celebrate my big 4 - 0 birthday.  We're really looking forward to that.  The place is called Tela.  I will be sure to Blog about that when we get back.

Transportation

Windshield Cleaner 

For the first few weeks I was simply a passenger in the car just observing the sites as we drove in this foreign place.  I've since decided that I LOVE to drive here.  It's FUN!  You can drive anywhere you want as fast as you want passing anyone and anything that you want.  In our town most of the main roads are paved and there are some traffic lights and traffic signs, but here everything is just a suggestion!  Nothing is enforced.  Everyone drives crazy and everyone honks their horn!  Dogs, pedestrians, cattle, sheep, chickens, kids, donkies, bicyclists, motorcycles you name it - they are
sharing the road with you and there are lots of them!  It is crowded everywhere you look.  On one of the main roads there are always young boys trying to wipe your windshield for 1 limpera (which is like not even a penny).  In the market area there are so many people in the streets selling things, buying things and asking for handouts the driving can be quite tricky - you always have to be aware.  No more Sunday driving or trying to apply makeup while driving thats for sure!  Another thing that's strange is that there are no street names and no addresses!  I might have told you all that in an earlier post but if you ask directions to somewhere you are often told - "it's on the main boulevard" or you are given a hand sketched map.  The public transportation here is hopping in the back of a pick up tuck and holding on to an iron frame that was designed for passengers riding in the back.  Now this isn't official "public transportation" it's just that you frequently see trucks picking people up on the side of the road and they tend to get super full of people- all ages too!  They do have busses here that take people to the neighboring towns.  They are most often discarded School Busses from the United States!  They are everywhere and it's not uncommon to see them for sale.  Many people rely on bicycles for transportation.  Most times you see a bicycle you will see more than one person on it.  You will often see the main rider transporting a passenger sitting sideways on the bike.  Sometimes  you will even see a whole family on a bike!  Tons of people walk everywhere they go too.  They are often carrying heavy loads - women might be seen balancing a load of something on her head!

Lady Cooking

Dinner Stop

This week we've passed around a stomach bug - not fun!  Jose is the only one who hasn't had it yet.  Even Sancho was eating grass today.  Jose said we got it from eating Mangos from the little boy that sells bags full outside of Jordan's school.  It's one of my new favorite treats!  The boy is there every day.  He calls out "Mango Mango"  he charged 10 limps (about .50) for a bag full of cut up and peeled GREEN (not ripe) Mangos.  They are doused with "salsa negra" which is Worcestershire sauce and salt.  It's the best thing I just love it!  Jose has been joking us that they were "an unauthorized food source" and probably made us sick!  I think not.  Speaking of unauthorized food sources.  All of the eating places here are dine at your own risk.  Which I guess means that there are no health regulations governing food preparation.  All over town you will see ladies on the side of the road cooking things from a hot pot or fire or something.  Some of them have a table or two set up for passerbys to stop and have a bite.  Not really sure yet what they are cooking and I guess it varies from day to day but just overall strange to see.  On our drive to Tegucigalpa which is over the mountains on winding roads there is a lady just there selling roasted corn.  I suppose she just comes down from her home in the mountains and cooks.  She must do some business because she is always there.  One of these days we might just stop!

Teamwork

Horse on the Road

Delivery Moto

Cute Little Truck Thing

Fancy Bus With Vendors Selling Snacks

Bus Parking Lot

Fruit

Ugly Couches for Sale

Movies Anyone

Fruit for Sale

Market

Busy Market

Market

Wheelbarrow

That Looks Heavy!

Volunteer Firefighters

Carpool

Power Outage

What a slacker i've been!  Several days since my last post.  So much to tell about!  

Jordan's Stack of Books

Jordan & Everett's School

The kids are getting adjusted to school and we are finally in somewhat of a routine. 

 Jordan is still getting used to the ways of his classroom - how to know what is for homework etc...  he has a ton of books and a ton of supplies.One of the strangest things 

on his school supply list was Toilet Paper!  The things we take for granted huh?  Jordan said when you want to go to the restroom you have to ask for that Bathroom Pass and then you are given Toilet Paper and Hand Soap.  Last week he had a "uniform inspection" 

and he was sent home with a Warning Notice!  He was out of standards!  Missing from his handsome little get up was: a belt and the appropriate socks.  He is required to wear black dress shoes and we had no idea that there were specific requirements for the socks so we put him in black dress socks - can you believe that the socks are supposed to be white athletic socks?   The warning was sent home for the FATHER to sign.  All of the paperwork that comes home requiring a signature asks for the Father's signature!  Jordan almost missed recess on Friday for failing to bring back his weekly report - we of course had no idea that this was to be signed and returned each week.  

Street View

 Street View

The square downtown

Sunday around 9AM the power went out and we had no idea why.  It appeared as though it was out in the whole neighborhood so we decided to go site seeing in down town Comayagua.  There are beautiful old buildings there, a really pretty cathedral and that's 

Cathedral Downtown
Comayagua

about it.  The streets were quiet.  It was almost lunch time when we found a really nice little restaurant/gift shop set back in an awesome courtyard.  It appeared to be closed but when we peeked in the gate, the owner came out and asked us to come in.  She was a beautiful woman who spoke great English and of course Spanish too.  Turns out she is a native of Comayagua but shares her time living in Cleveland, Ohio for 4 months and then 3 months here and so on.  She explained to us that power was out in all of Honduras because there were Political Conventions of opposing parties going on.  The electric company is run by the government so to minimize viewership they turned off the power to prevent the people of Honduras from watching it.  Power would most likely be out until 4pm that day she told us.  Wow - what a Democracy.  She was able to be open and fix us lunch because she had a gas stove.        

We finally got a vehicle after a month of a rental car - a 2000 Ford Explorer with new tires and 105k miles.  Sounds crazy but this car is quite the luxury!  Vehicles are hard to come by here and all of them cost a fortune.  We got lucky and bought this one from an American guy that was working on the base.  

Our New Ride

We also got a kitchen table!  The table was handmade by a local artisan here that makes beautiful furniture.  It is made of Honduran Mahogany wood and is super heavy.  Next in line is a handmade desk from the same guy. 

Our tiny new table

Walking Stick on our porch!