Magnolia

Magnolia

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Getting Ready for Tegucigalpa

It is now a little less than a month away from boarding the plane to leave for Tegucigalpa, Honduras, my new home for the next 2 years. I'm sitting here with a very sore left shoulder. This morning I got the last of my shots, a tetanus booster and one to protect me from typhoid. I'm told the worst should hit me Sunday. Jeez...I can barely lift my arm now so I can't imagine how great it will feel by Sunday.

Tomorrow I will do some major shopping. I'm told many of my favorite everyday things are available in Teguc, but are a bit more expensive. I'm trying not to go crazy spending money on my favorite toothpaste or my nice soft kleenex tissues. But I have the opportunity to shop here, getting some great prices, and add the items to what I'm having shipped when I leave. Seems more logical to just buy some extra and be done with it. That way I won't have to worry about it shortly after I get there. Of course, it will probably take 4-6 weeks for my belongings to get to my new home. Until then, I'll just muddle through! I've also decided to wait until I arrive at post to buy a car. There are lots of people leaving for other countries so there should be a few cars available for purchase.

The more I read about Tegucigalpa, the more I look forward to my move. There is an abundance of wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables but you have to soak whatever you can't peel in these pills to get rid of the bacteria that is in the water and thus, still on the outside of the fruit or veggie. I can deal with that. The arts and crafts look wonderful and they don't have to be soaked! Have I mentioned the Mayan ruins??? Or the wonderful scuba diving? I plan on seeing it all, experiencing as much as I can and documenting it all here. I can't wait!

I'm grateful that my training coincided with the gorgeous blooms of the cherry blossom trees here in Washington DC. I took quite a few pictures and one of them is shown here. Everyone should come to DC this time of year...it's just amazing!