Mi Casa - Honduras

Mi Casa - Honduras

San Pedro Sula, Honduras the best I can describe is very interesting. Culture shock? ….Uhh, well maybe a little, but I came expecting anything, so I was somewhat prepared. We live in one of the safer parts of the city, so that's good, but does not mean a great deal. We have security on our street, which means there is a guy at each end of the road with a chain who lowers it to drive over as you enter and exit the street. Most all the houses here in the city have gates or walls all around the property or house for added protection. The wealthier homes have barbwire or electric wire around the top of the walls, the poorer have broken glass, to detour theft in the homes. Security is everywhere, nearly every store, every restaurant, every establishment has security with side arm and shotgun in hand (yes, I said shot gun).

There is a wide spectrum of class in the city, from a very wealthy home on the corner to a little shanty shack right next door. SUVs and Hummers to very thin pitiful horses pulling little, rickety wagons. The roads for the most part are in horrible condition, and the driving is ridiculous and reckless. It is crazy, crazy, crazy on the roads here, I really can not stress that enough! When it rains, which it has a lot the past couple days, you can multiply the craziness by 10. Rain waters become little rivers rushing down the streets of the city. Within an hour, after most of the striking lightning had past we had to wade through shin deep, not so pleasant waters running down the streets of the city just to get into the car. Many streets were impassable by small cars as we watched others struggle to get there cars out of the mess. We dodged man holes as the waters flooded them and fountains sprung up from the holes, the lids lay aside them and might for weeks to come, so you always have to be on lookout for uncovered man holes. I mean what I say, it’s CRAZY!

For the most part it is very hot here, very, very, VERY humid. But the mountains are all around us, and they are gorgeous. Beautiful. The very green mountains meet the clouds, and the clouds dance around the tops of the mountains all day long. I can go out into the courtyard outside the house of the early mornings or sometimes in the evenings when we get in, look up and be greeted by their presence. No matter where you are in the city, no matter how dirty or how crazy it is where you are, all you have to do is look up and there they are, so pretty, and inviting you to come and explore (which is on the agenda soon).

All in all, this is by far Cleveland Tennessee. I am grateful for this experience and I already am learning so much: Culture, Spanish, Sign Language, directions, and on and on and on. It is one more learning experience and I feel privileged to be a part of everything going on here.