Tegucigalpa

Well, today started super early at 4:30. A few volunteers and me went to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, to renew some visas and to get some food item we can't get here in Guaimaca, which has less than one thousand people. We started walking from Orphanage Emmanuel to the bus station at 5:15. We made it to the bus station at 5:30. We were on our way to Tegucigalpa by 6:00. We rode a school bus, and the total cost for the two hour ride, was thirty-two lempiras, less than $2.00. We got off the bus in Tegucigalpa and got a taxi to the immigration office. It took about an hour and a half, but finally the two volunteers who needed to renew their visas got them completed, and we had to catch another taxi. We went to the mall, El Carrion. It is not at all like a mall from the United States, but it is very nice for Honduras. There is a grocery store in the mall where we bought a few groceries. We stopped at a little ice cream shop in the mall, and met a very nice man. He was the very first veterinarian in Honduras, and is now eighty years old. He studied at Texas A&M and in Mexico. His sons are now also veterinarians, one works on horses and the other does small animals. He was so nice, and definitely did not look like he was eighty. It was very cool to meet someone like that. Everyone in the mall kept on stopping and saying hello to him. I also got a chocolate Dunkin' Donut, at the mall. It tasted so good. The best part of all was being able to drink a diet coke. It was fantastic! I am just not a big diet pepsi fan, and that is all we can get at the orphanage. I am getting more and more used to them now. I was very impressed by my Spanish, and how easy it was to get around the mall. It is so neat. Gas here is a little over $4 per liter. There are 3.78 liters in one gallon. So, it is very expensive. You think gas prices are high in the states, you could be living in Honduras. Only the people who are over middle class drive cars, because it is so hard to afford the prices of gas. We had to stop by the orphanage post off box on our way to the bus stop, but conveniently they are next to each other. Each package that is under a kilo, you have to pay five lempiras to pick up. You do not have to pay anything to pick up letters and larger envelopes. Every package that is over a kilo, you have to pick up at the airport. It is quite a hassle. We did not have time to go to the airport today, so someone from the orphanage will go next week. You have to let your renewed visa paperwork stay at the immigration office for ten days before it is valid. So, you have to go back to Tegucigalpa to pick up the paperwork and the visa. We made it to the bus station and bought our tickets. Once again, it was thirty-two lempiras, less than $2.00. The bus on the ride home was like a run-down charter bus. It was nicer than the first bus, but hotter because it was the middle of the day and it had no air conditioning. We left on the two o'clock bus, and made it back to Guaimaca by 3:45. We got a taxi who took us all they way inside the orphanage to our volunteer house. He was really nice. Surprising;y all of our taxi drivers were really nice and for the most part, safe drivers. There are not really any traffic rules that are strictly enforced. It was a great, but tiring day. I am glad to be back at home, at the volunteer house. I love and miss you all!