Events in Honduras

For those loyal few of you who actually follow what Jenna and I post on the blog here, I'm sure that watching the news recently you have noticed the events taking place in Honduras. While Jenna and I left Honduras about 3 weeks ago now, we certainly did as well and as you might imagine we took quite an interest in them.

First of all I'd like to say that in my opinion, most of the world is taking the wrong view of this because they simply don't have a knowledge of the situation and what led up to it. I fully support what the media has called a coup and believe that it was the right thing to do. The US has said that the rule of law must prevail and I agree that it must, but Zelaya has been breaking Honduran law without regard to the consequences. His attempts to change the constitution so he could retain his power and be reelected were condemned and deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, the Congress, and the military. He broke the law and was removed from power because of it. I agree with La Gringa (http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/) for once in saying that while this is not the way it would be done in the US, this was the way it had to happen in Honduras to take a bad person out of power and overall in this case the end justifies the means. I hope that the Hondurans (all of whom I've communicated with agree with the actions and were quite frightened of Zelaya's idolatry of Hugo Chavez and apparent intentions to follow in his footsteps) are able to justify their actions in a way that makes the rest of the world understand what truly happened and why it was a good thing. My thoughts are with all of my friends, colleagues, and students down in Honduras in hoping that things turn out OK.

Check out the blog I linked above for an opinion and stories from an American who is living in Honduras. I'd like to leave you with a few pics from laprensa.hn which is the website for one of the newspapers in Honduras which help sum up the feelings of Honduras on the topic.
For those of you who don't speak Spanish, the sign says "Honduras, Out Mel, Out Chavez, Out Communism"

Good-bye Honduras! We will miss you.

Tonight, as I am listening to Jesse finalize his packing, and as my bags are packed and ready to go, I am getting a little misty-eyed (again, yes, again) about the two years I have spent in this country. I have made some incredible friends, some that will be for life, others that will be fond memories that I will never forget. I came to this country a green, brand new college graduate, and now feel like a (somewhat) experienced adult. I am very greatful to the opportunity I was given, for both years, to make mistakes, personally and professionally, and grow from them. I will be back in Wisconsin for 5 weeks, and then another big adventure starts- Jesse and I making the huge move to Paraguay. On my last night in this tropical country, I would like to reminisce about some Honduran adventures...
- the three day hurricane vacation, playing cards in the courtyard
- playing tourist in Tela the first weekend and being amazed at the ocean
- Jesse's doorknob with two twisty handles
- a moldy fridge and no electricity for two weeks
- endless hot weekends at the Copantl pool
- hospital food during my five day vacay at Hospital del Valle
- hiking Coca-Cola, then eating baleadas for breakfast
- taking Justin and Amy to Roatan
- the first Honduran soccer game
- my sandal getting stolen at the movie theater
- Juan in a million (just for you Alex!)
- caca de agua
- the goats that "mow" the soccer field grass
- the incredible road trip from Honduras, through Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico
- a flat tire in Choluteca
- my student accidently hitting himself, yelling out, oh my eggs....
- a flat tire in Belize
- playing cards at the neighbors' house countless, countless times
- Dick in a Box costumes
- hiking the volcano in Guatemala and burning ourselves getting too close to the lava
- the 8 hour turtle hike in Nicaragua, which resulted in only one dead, 1/2 decomposed turtle being sighted and four hysterical gringos
- mispronouncing words in Spanish class so they accidently turned dirty or silly
- Alex and Caitlin's engagement dinner
- the crowded streets after Honduran soccer games
- doing a phone job interview during a flood
- the earthquake, and Jesse telling me the S-waves we were feeling
- learning to scuba dive and spending my 23rd b-day diving
- seeing porpoises on our way to the Belize Cayes
- being terrified of Marco's driving, then not blinking as he flew around cars
I know that I am missing some huge ones, and that's okay. My time spent here has been an amazing experience that definitely has allowed me to laugh and cry- sometimes at the same time, be bewildered and enlightened, to grow and let go. This country has some problems, but it has some promise too. Honduras- you have made me a better person; I will never be the same. I'd also like to think maybe you've made me a little catracha too. Good luck Honduras, I will see you again some day.

Honduran Service Does Exist!

I know that I've fallen behind in blogging, and I will post earthquake photos soon I promise, however, I had to write about an incredible event that occurred today. Caitlin and I went to Yolanda's Hair Salon today for haircuts and pedicures, when it started to rain. As we're leaving, the security guard asked us where we were parked. We had taken Jesse's car and were parked about a block away. He proceeded to hand us an umbrella to use while we walked to the car so our hair wouldn't get ruined. As we walked to the car, we were discussing how we were going to get the umbrella back to the salon. The security guard must be well practiced in this type of situation because right when we got to the car, he ran after us to collect the umbrella and wish us a good day. Talk about service!!

Earthquake Survival Guide

So this last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, ar 2:25am, an earthquake hit Honduras. It was off the coast of the island of Roatan on a fault line in the ocean. It woke us up in San Pedro Sula, approximately 175 miles away. A 7.3 magnitude quake that caused tsunami warnings on the island and damage to a few hotels in the city of San Pedro, and 6 casualties. I'm starting to think that I am a magnet of natural disasters (been in: two hurricanes, one typhoon, and one earthquake. Seen: three funnel clouds form). This is not a major faultline, but it did cause a quake back in the late 90's. It woke everybody up, since it was still about a 5.0 when it hit San Pedro. Our bed was shaking pretty bad! Jesse loved it, since he taught earthquakes this year, and it wasn't too bad of a shake. School was cancelled the next day, but we couldn't make the best use of our time since the pool was closed. I'll post some of the pictures of landslides and earthquake damage later.