September 16th 2009 8:30pm
I awoke to a clanging alarm, and a strong desire not to go into work this morning. As I pulled myself out of the shower, the phone rang, and when I answered, it was Freddy. He told me that the power company was doing some work near our office so we wouldn't have power all day. That meant no work today, which means that I haven't been into work since Saturday afternoon, which has been really really nice.
I tried to go back to sleep, but as soon as I drifted off, the cleaning lady tried to come in. In her attempts to open the door, I became fully awake and incapable of returning to catch up on some REM cycles.
I read some of my Hemingway before getting a little bit of breakfast ready and answering some emails. It was then that I realized that I had a whole free day ahead of me and that I should go to Valle de Angeles, literally the Valley of Angels. It is a small touristy type town about 25 kilometers outside of the city. I knew where the bus was to get there, so I flagged down my favorite cab driver and had him take me over to the bus station in San Felipe.
San Felipe was only about a five minute trip, and after I left the cab, I wandered around the outdoor market there for a while before getting on the bus. The bus is very clearly marked Valle de Angeles, and is a direct route to there from the bus station. I had no trouble finding the right bus, but I was worried about how much it would cost. It was considerably nicer than the buses that Luis Felipe and I take to work, and it was a significantly further trip as well.
I leaned over and asked a young woman sitting near me how much the trip cost. She told me 1740. WOW! I almost got up to get off the bus because I didn't have that much money. Then she clarified that when she said seventeen fourty, she meant seventeen lempira, and fourty cents. So...less than a dollar.
The bus was a little bit crowded, but not too bad. Just like in Chile, as soon as there were a few people on the bus, the vendors came aboard and it sounded like a baseball game. "Ice cold pepsi! Get your peanuts!"
Soon we were on our way, and I stared out of the window at the georgous scenery that became a blur as we sped our way past it. After about 20 minutes, we arrived on the outskirts of the town, and I was confused as to whether or not I should have gotten off the bus. It didn't look like how I had pictured it, but then nothing here has. I started to get up, when the young woman I had asked about the cost shook her head, and told me that this was not my stop.
I didn't know if she was being forward or if she was looking out for a clear foreigner, but I took her advice, and got off in a few stops. There was a large market, and lots of stores lining the streets when I got off in what was clearly the downtown area of Valle de Angeles. The girl was right. If I would have left earlier, I would have been about a kilometer or two away from the town itself.
Slowly, I meandered in and out of shops looking at various trinkets and souvenirs. I would really like a hammock because they look very beautiful and comfortable, but I'm not sure that my apartment is conducive to hanging one up. There were wood shops, leather shops, clothing stores, restaurants, ice cream stores, coffee shops, and more.
When I found myself in the park downtown, I realized that I didn't know where the bus station was to get back, as I had not taken the bus all the way to an actual bus stop. I began to wonder if I should start looking for the bus stop before continuing my adventure. I was rudely interrupted by my gargling empty stomach, and decided that I had better grab some lunch before going on.
I stopped at a local restaurant off of the downtown park. As I walked in, a young woman was walking out to join her friends on the outdoor patio and smiled at me. I sat down and ordered the "Typical dish of Valle Angeles." As I sat waiting for my food, I pulled out my book and began reading. Between pages, I paused and watched people cross in and out of my view of the park. It wasn't very long before the young woman that I had seen heading outside to the patio came and asked me if I was waiting for anyone. I told her no, and she asked if I wanted to join her and her friends for a beer.
I said sure, and headed outside to join them. The young woman's name was Marisela, and she introduced me to her four friends who were with her. I don't remember any of their names except for Andrea, and that is only because Andrea spoke English. I enjoyed my lunch in the company of my new friends who seemed to have a million questions for me. I had many for them too, and I found out that they were all college students in Tegucigalpa.
They had met at college, and had the morning and afternoon off before returning for evening classes. They all had different majors and different goals with what they wanted to do with their majors. None of them worked, and they were all considered upper-middle class. They ranged in age from 18 to 20, and were all surprised at how tall I was, how I came to be in Honduras, and how much I ate at lunch.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around the small town and they shared with me some of the fun things to do in Tegucigalpa. I hadn't told them that I could understand some Spanish, so Andrea was doing a lot of translating. I don't know why, but it was fun for me to listen to what they thought of me without them knowing that I could understand. It seemed more genuine. Now that I type it out, it seems kind of like a dirty trick, but then I just think of Jackie Chan in Rush Hour: "I never told you I didn't speak English, you assumed."
After walking around for a while, they offered me a ride back to their university, where I spent the rest of my afternoon. The colleges here are different in a lot of ways, but most noticably in their lack of dorms. Everyone lives at home, and close to all of the students are from Tegucigalpa. Apparently, this is the standard around the country.
Andrea dropped me off back at my apartment around 5:00, and I exchanged my email address and room number with the group so that we could keep in touch. They promised to take me out some time and show me some of the more fun places for youth to hang out around the city.
I spent the next hour on my balcony going over some of my Spanish vocabulary and conjugations. Slowly, but surely, I am learning more and more. I don't know if any one here can notice it, but I can.
Around 6:00, I ate a quick dinner of leftover chicken noodle soup and then headed up to the roof to work out for a while. It was a clear night, but there was lightning in the distance, which seems to happen almost every night here. I came back down to my apartment, and after showering, watched the lightning on my balcony and practiced more of my Spanish.
Tomorrow, I will return to the office for a monstrous three day work week.
I awoke to a clanging alarm, and a strong desire not to go into work this morning. As I pulled myself out of the shower, the phone rang, and when I answered, it was Freddy. He told me that the power company was doing some work near our office so we wouldn't have power all day. That meant no work today, which means that I haven't been into work since Saturday afternoon, which has been really really nice.
I tried to go back to sleep, but as soon as I drifted off, the cleaning lady tried to come in. In her attempts to open the door, I became fully awake and incapable of returning to catch up on some REM cycles.
I read some of my Hemingway before getting a little bit of breakfast ready and answering some emails. It was then that I realized that I had a whole free day ahead of me and that I should go to Valle de Angeles, literally the Valley of Angels. It is a small touristy type town about 25 kilometers outside of the city. I knew where the bus was to get there, so I flagged down my favorite cab driver and had him take me over to the bus station in San Felipe.
San Felipe was only about a five minute trip, and after I left the cab, I wandered around the outdoor market there for a while before getting on the bus. The bus is very clearly marked Valle de Angeles, and is a direct route to there from the bus station. I had no trouble finding the right bus, but I was worried about how much it would cost. It was considerably nicer than the buses that Luis Felipe and I take to work, and it was a significantly further trip as well.
I leaned over and asked a young woman sitting near me how much the trip cost. She told me 1740. WOW! I almost got up to get off the bus because I didn't have that much money. Then she clarified that when she said seventeen fourty, she meant seventeen lempira, and fourty cents. So...less than a dollar.
The bus was a little bit crowded, but not too bad. Just like in Chile, as soon as there were a few people on the bus, the vendors came aboard and it sounded like a baseball game. "Ice cold pepsi! Get your peanuts!"
Soon we were on our way, and I stared out of the window at the georgous scenery that became a blur as we sped our way past it. After about 20 minutes, we arrived on the outskirts of the town, and I was confused as to whether or not I should have gotten off the bus. It didn't look like how I had pictured it, but then nothing here has. I started to get up, when the young woman I had asked about the cost shook her head, and told me that this was not my stop.
I didn't know if she was being forward or if she was looking out for a clear foreigner, but I took her advice, and got off in a few stops. There was a large market, and lots of stores lining the streets when I got off in what was clearly the downtown area of Valle de Angeles. The girl was right. If I would have left earlier, I would have been about a kilometer or two away from the town itself.
Slowly, I meandered in and out of shops looking at various trinkets and souvenirs. I would really like a hammock because they look very beautiful and comfortable, but I'm not sure that my apartment is conducive to hanging one up. There were wood shops, leather shops, clothing stores, restaurants, ice cream stores, coffee shops, and more.
When I found myself in the park downtown, I realized that I didn't know where the bus station was to get back, as I had not taken the bus all the way to an actual bus stop. I began to wonder if I should start looking for the bus stop before continuing my adventure. I was rudely interrupted by my gargling empty stomach, and decided that I had better grab some lunch before going on.
I stopped at a local restaurant off of the downtown park. As I walked in, a young woman was walking out to join her friends on the outdoor patio and smiled at me. I sat down and ordered the "Typical dish of Valle Angeles." As I sat waiting for my food, I pulled out my book and began reading. Between pages, I paused and watched people cross in and out of my view of the park. It wasn't very long before the young woman that I had seen heading outside to the patio came and asked me if I was waiting for anyone. I told her no, and she asked if I wanted to join her and her friends for a beer.
I said sure, and headed outside to join them. The young woman's name was Marisela, and she introduced me to her four friends who were with her. I don't remember any of their names except for Andrea, and that is only because Andrea spoke English. I enjoyed my lunch in the company of my new friends who seemed to have a million questions for me. I had many for them too, and I found out that they were all college students in Tegucigalpa.
They had met at college, and had the morning and afternoon off before returning for evening classes. They all had different majors and different goals with what they wanted to do with their majors. None of them worked, and they were all considered upper-middle class. They ranged in age from 18 to 20, and were all surprised at how tall I was, how I came to be in Honduras, and how much I ate at lunch.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around the small town and they shared with me some of the fun things to do in Tegucigalpa. I hadn't told them that I could understand some Spanish, so Andrea was doing a lot of translating. I don't know why, but it was fun for me to listen to what they thought of me without them knowing that I could understand. It seemed more genuine. Now that I type it out, it seems kind of like a dirty trick, but then I just think of Jackie Chan in Rush Hour: "I never told you I didn't speak English, you assumed."
After walking around for a while, they offered me a ride back to their university, where I spent the rest of my afternoon. The colleges here are different in a lot of ways, but most noticably in their lack of dorms. Everyone lives at home, and close to all of the students are from Tegucigalpa. Apparently, this is the standard around the country.
Andrea dropped me off back at my apartment around 5:00, and I exchanged my email address and room number with the group so that we could keep in touch. They promised to take me out some time and show me some of the more fun places for youth to hang out around the city.
I spent the next hour on my balcony going over some of my Spanish vocabulary and conjugations. Slowly, but surely, I am learning more and more. I don't know if any one here can notice it, but I can.
Around 6:00, I ate a quick dinner of leftover chicken noodle soup and then headed up to the roof to work out for a while. It was a clear night, but there was lightning in the distance, which seems to happen almost every night here. I came back down to my apartment, and after showering, watched the lightning on my balcony and practiced more of my Spanish.
Tomorrow, I will return to the office for a monstrous three day work week.
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