Tegucigalpa Hotels
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Always something new!
Entry 10 of 20 | show all | print this entry |
My weekend was fun for the most part. Friday night four of us girls went to Ruby Tuesday's for appetizers and drinks and then headed over to El Nilo--the main club that we always go to.
On Saturday I went to see Final Destination 2 with one of my new Honduran friends, Alan. It's really great having a local friend to speak Spanish with...my skills are greatly approving. Plus, it's fun to teach people about the differences between Honduras and the US. What was even more exciting is the cost of a movie ticket...a mere $2.25!!! And the theatres are new and have the nice big chairs just like at home. I explained to Alan that a date of two movie tickets plus popcorn and soda and candy can run up to almost $50.
Then I met up with 4 guys who work at the Embassy to go to the big soccer game. It was so much fun! It was Olympia (the local Tegus team) VS. Real Espana (the team from San Pedro Sula 4 hours from Tegus). They were currently the #1 and #2 teams so it was a big game. The National Stadium isn't too bad...the field had green grass and good lighting. Unfortunately, there was no Jumbotron to display replays, the time, and score...so you had to pay close attention. The stadium has not seats, just rows of concrete to sit on. The ratio was about 90% men and only 10% women. The fans are crazy
and jump in rhythm together during the ENTIRE game and let off fireworks and just general mayhem. There were fires going all over the stadium and it was like a show of prowess to run through these little fires. The two teams' fans are separated by intermittent rows of police in full riot gear. The vendors who walk around selling food and drinks are just independent people for the most part who come off the street to sell their goods. And apparently the national pasttime for Honduran men is to piss openly in
public on the walls in front of the bathrooms--rather than actually going IN to the bathroom. The other Honduran thing is to find a ride home in the back of a truck. This is actually how most people get around here...you'll see trucks loaded down with 10-15 people (standing room only!) in the back. So we hopped into a truck that took us to the main boulevard (MOM--no freaking out please).
So after the game I hung out with the guys for awhile and then three of us headed out to El Nilo's for the night. There we met up with a bunch of Hondurans who work at the Embassy and the Marines (of course).
Sunday I was supposed to go to Valle de Los Angeles to pick up some local pottery and other art stuff...but Joyce wasn't feeling well. So I met up later in the afternoon with Alan to do some shopping and meet some of his friends at a Chinese restaurant for dinner and drinks. The other good thing about hanging with Hondurans is you get to see more parts of the city that you wouldn't see otherwise (duh). So I'm hoping to get out to a few other places with them.
It's just difficult b/c security is the #1 priority of the Embassy. The RSO (Regional Security Officer) handles all of this stuff. But what I've learned, and what others have remarked on as well, is that they are just too much like an overprotective mother. They have so many rules and scare you to the point where you don't want to leave your house. How can anyone be expected to live like that? That ruins the entire experience overall and makes you feel like a prisoner. General common sense is just fine (my
parents would beg to differ--but I DO have some common sense). But we have it better than other postings. I've been told that the worst posting is in Beirut. The Embassy is in a huge compound, which is also where all of the US citizens live as well. They are never allowed to leave the compound unless they give 48 hours advance notice. Even then, they are escorted with security comprable to that of the President of the US. The other interesting one is the Tajikistan embassy...which is actually located in the next country over-Kazakhstan-b/c Tajikistan is so dangerous that they can't even locate the US Embassy there!
Okay, so my quick update has turned into yet another novel. But the main reason I was sending this is b/c I had my first cable approved by the Ambassador and sent out. Cables are like these reports that we write to inform the international Embassy community of what is going on at our Embassy. It's a huge process to research, write, and get approval for them. My first one was released yesterday afternoon about narcotrafficking in Guanaja (one of the Bay Islands). So that was very exciting for me. I'm working on another narcotrafficking report right now--so that one should go
out at the end of the week hopefully. Other reports I'm working on are the Religious Freedoms report and one on the border dispute with El Salvador. It's really not the most exciting stuff--but I'm learning a lot which is what matters most.
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