That's what the natives call it - I'm in Honduras for 2 weeks of business meetings. A 3 a.m. trip to the airport, 2 plane rides, and 3 meetings later - it's 8 at night here, and I'm ready for bed! But first, here are some first impressions for this Central American capital:
-sunny? yes!
-sweaty? a bit.
-Tegucigalpa is in a valley, so to get from one place to another, you literally have to go down one mountainside and up another. Some streets are so steep, I wasn't sure we would make it up!
-narrow, narrow streets- many too narrow for 2 cars to pass one another - to me it is charming.
-flowers pouring over little walls, which are typically covered in politically relevant graffiti
-dudes with AK-47s outside McDonald's (remember the same in El Salvador?)
-the beautiful centro-american courtesy - it is ingrained in the culture, and I am trying to figure out how people get from this beautiful language, hospitality & kindness to kidnappings, drug killings, and hostage situations - maybe the class disparity? I think people have written books about this - I need to get myself to the biblioteca!
-colors on buildings - not gaudy (like I often think of in Africa), but they are a gentle reminder that no, you are not in the United States
-the streets are paved! my colleague Olga said, "Abigail after Gulu, of course Tegus is charming!" but somehow I'm trying to still be objective.
-walking is not allowed (for a gringa like me, anyway). Despite my new dark hair, if people can tell you're a foreigner, you are immediately a target for the moto-taxi gangs. don't worry, Mom, I'm not walking anywhere.
Would you believe I forgot to bring a camera? Hopefully one of my colleagues has one-- I'll post more soon!
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