Metrotel Express San Pedro Sula

... who is living down here, and a fan of US soccer, so this was where all the people going to the game were planning to meet up. We spent the evening getting to know the other fans, finding our tickets, and making plans for the next day. Although the game wasn´t scheduled to begin until 8 pm, it was recommended that you arrive at the stadium somewhere between noon and four, but definately no later.

The next morning, as a result, we headed over ...

... in San Pedro Sula. The airport is closed until Friday, and so our new volunteer coming in has been held up in Miami for a few days. So, the worst thing for us is that we just can't travel anywhere.

I made a decision not to waste the day, so I have plans to spend some time increasing my Spanish vocabulary. I found a Spanish text book, and so will try and do those exercises and can look ...

I survived the first week of teaching!!!

The first week was an overwhelming blur of bawling, screaming, running, and traumatized children. In the mornings I help with the Kindergarten for 2 hours and then I have my wee lil preschoolers for 2 hours. The first day was a little heartbreaking to have to rip the crying children from their loving parents' arms and speak to them in a foreign language. They must have thought us adults were all crazy! But then again, they are the ones ...

... has been very sweet and helpful so far.

Tim – from Baltimore. Also a returning teacher from last year. He is very funny and sarcastic. His positive reinforcement chart is first all the kids start on a boat, then if they are bad they move to the water. If they are bad again they are eaten by the shark below. Hilarious.

Rebecca – from Houston, but studied Art at UC Berkeley. My partner in crime aka my co-teacher. She is very organized and has a lot ...

... a change from rice and beans (which is what I had for lunch!).

Today, I woke up late (the truck next door usually wakes me up at 6am each day) but managed to get to the market before it ended at 9am. The Sunday market sells fruit and veg as well as clothes, shoes and dishware. I wanted to buy some plastic wash buckets (wide, flat, plastic deep trays) to use at the ...

... has a dead bolt, as well as the windows having bars over them. Some of the other houses have been broken into, and its something none of us can afford to happen here. We would never walk around the town on our own at night. The town is relatively safe but we are just careful.

The town has a lot of facilities – a bank, supermarket, cheese shops, market stalls, internet cafes (high speed links), and small grocery stores are ...

... be fun!

Last week and for the next 4 weeks we are training all day. Two gringa teachers who teach at a bilingual school in Tegucigalpa came and are teaching us educational theory after educational theory. It is draining, but also interesting and important. For two days we trained with the 3 Honduran teachers that also teach at the school and it was nice to get to know them. One night we had a dinner with the Board of Directors of the school, which is ...

... the street and kicked me out in the middle of nowhere.

When he came down to $35, I said I'd give him $30, he took it and left. It was 9pm, I'd been on the go since 3am. It was over.

I checked into my room and had a quick shower, then I thought I heard some fire crackers or fireworks, then I realised these were actually gun shots. Every few minutes there would be a couple more shots. I was so tired at this point I just put my ear plugs in and went to sleep.

... a harmless-appearing, distraught Japanese couple are being detained for some unknown reason. For a moment, I clicked my heels and longed to be back at JFK...hurried, busy, frenetic, but familiar JFK. It was only a week earlier that I'd booked my ticket on a lark, lured by a friend who had been traveling for over a year in Latin America. Of course, I hadn't heard from him in 3 days and was wondering ...

... left us at San Pedro Sula (new bus station) where we just jumped into another small bus which sped all the way to Omoa. Our desire was to stay as little as possible at San Pedro given it has nothing touristy to offer and its the worst criminal hub in the area (perhaps in Central America?). So the less time the better. Omoa is a local beach resort and has not ...