Viaje to the Big City!

Friday after school Greg, Jenny, and I all hopped on a bus bound for Tegucigalpa. We arrived in the capitol city around 5:00pm and were greeted by our friend, Laurie (a fellow Norte Americana). She picked us up at the Esso Gas Station then we headed for her apartment. She lives at this really, really nice place! It was hotel that is now building an addition of brand new, fully furnished, top of the line apartments. Complete with a flat screen TV, wireless internet, air conditioning, an oven, granite countertops...you get the point! It is nothing like I have ever seen in Honduras before! :) Another thing this place has is a double sink. Double sinks pretty much do not exist here, which does make it more challenging when doing dishes. (Dish washers? Yeah right!) So, we have actually enjoyed doing dishes here, totally different experience with two sinks.

After we arrived at Laurie's place, we dropped our bags and realized that we were ready for dinner! There are several American chain restaurants here, so we were totally pumped for some good old USA grub. We decided on Fridays. The food was pretty good, however, the service was quite lacking (not to complain, just sharing the reality of the experience). You see, most restaraunts (even the American ones) already include the propina (tip, usually about 10%) in the check, therefore, often times servers don't feel the need to be overly helpful or even just plain accommodating. We were prepared for that in advance, so we tried not to let it sour our experience! Overall, we had a good meal and good fellowship, can't ask for much more! Afterward, we pretty much crashed back at Laurie's place. We had to get up early on Saturday to get Greg to the airport for his 7am departure to Los Angeles (for his lacrosse game on Sunday - his second of the season http://www.lariptide.com/).

Once Greg got off okay on Saturday, quality girl time began! :) We hit the mall around noon for some more American eats. I had an awesome salad from Quizno's - so good! Then we walked around and did some shopping. I have literally gone clothes shopping twice since I have been in Honduras (this trip included) since last August - that is HUGE for me! We each bought one thing, I got a dress and Jenny bought a jacket. (See us modeling our purchases, left) It was fun female bonding time!

Later, we hit up Hyper Paiz, a Wal-Mart like department store (it is actually owned by Wal-Mart). They carry a lot of the Sam's Club and Equate brand items and Wal-Mart quality products. They do have a really great grocery area though, which was awesome! I made 3 food purchases that I was super pumped about. First, Sweet and Salty Chex Mix (Honey Nut flavor). I am pretty much obsessed with Chex Mix. Once in a while I can find the regular flavor at gas stations or occasionally at the super market in Comayagua, but never different varieties. I typically only purchase it for road trips (Chex Mix is road trip staple for Greg and I, mainly me) but this time I made an exception! And, as you can see from the photo, the bag is already empty! I shared, I promise! Next, I was able to find canned pumpkin! Yeah, that is a super random ingredient, but it has been something I have been on a mission to find since Thanksgiving! I don't necessarily need it right now, but, I was so excited to see it, that I splurged, spent the $2 and bought it. Every once in a while I have a craving for pumpkin cookies, and now I can actually make them. In fact, I might fire up the toaster oven and make some this week! Finally, my most exciting discovery and purchase at Hyper Paiz....FRESH BLUEBERRIES!!!!!! They had a fabulous produce section, I was truly in fruit and veggie heaven! I picked up some yogurt too, and on Sunday we had granola, yogurt, blueberries and honey (that comes in a water bottle!) for breakfast. So tasty! Greg and I plan to make blueberry pancakes this week...my mouth is watering just thinking about them! I can't wait! We were also able to use a donation we received to pick up some toothpaste, toothbrushes, and deoderant in bulk (at good prices) to deliver to the orphanage back in Comayagua. Hyper Paiz was definitely 'bringing it' on Saturday!!! In the evening, we put Laurie's great kitchen to use and made BBQ chicken sandwiches, corn on the cob, broccoli, pasta salad, and 2 kinds of muffins. It was awesome to cook with state-of-the-art appliances!

Later that night, the Honduras National Futbol Championship Game was being played, live from none other than Comayagua. A team from San Pedro Sula and one from Tegucigalpa played for the title. Olympia from Teguc ended up winning 1-0 and the live footage showed people going nuts, partying, setting off fireworks, etc. all in Comayagua. Jenny and I were glad we opted to stay another night with Laurie in Tegucigalpa because we probably would not have gotten any sleep. Besides, one more night in the lap of luxury? Yes, please! We had a very relaxing, refreshing and fun-filled weekend here in the big city! It was fun to feel a little more 'connected' this weekend too, with access to the internet and modern conveniences many of which are not available in our quaint, colonial town. As great as city life is, I am actually looking forward to returning to our tranquil and calm hometown this afternoon! Of course, after we soak in one more bit of American culture....lunch at Ruby Tuesdays!