I wrote the above paragraph right after the plane landed in Tegucigalpa. I was looking out over the city and seeing all of the buildings as we were coming in for a landing and it just hit me that this was really happening. I was really here. There was no turning back now.
I had a slight mini panic attack after I got through customs and everything. I walk out and Dale and Carolyn were no where to be found. I couldn't get any service on my phone and for some reason the wifi wasn't connecting for me so I had no way of contacting them. It was scary. I was like, "What am I going to do? Did they forget about me? How am I going to find them?" Luckily, they did show up. They were just a bit late, but it was still scary being caught in a situation where you feel stranded and alone in a country you're not at all familiar with.
The ride to the Ruttan's house was so interesting for an observer like me. I saw a couple backpacks hanging in a tree at one point and every time we reached a stop light, people would walk up the road between the vehicles with different things they were selling (fruits, sunglasses, etc). Once the light changed, they would get off the road and walk back up to the intersection to wait for the next red light. I found this so strange and interesting considering you would never see something like this in Canada. Another thing about the drive was the fact that the streets are crazy! I honestly have no idea how Dale knew where to go because it was up this one street, down another, onto this ramp here and off over here with a quick exit there and so on and so forth. And I think the whole time we were driving, I only noticed one street sign. How the heck do you know where you're going? I would get so lost every time I got in a car to drive!
The Ruttan's home is so beautiful. I have a nice little room to myself that they recently redecorated. I have my own bureau and bed and a couple of night stands.
After a tour of the house, which revealed the most beautiful view from their balcony, I retired to unpack and take a nap. I had, after all, been up and on the go since I left Sault Ste. Marie Wednesday night on the 8:40pm flight. After enduring an all nighter in the airport, a flight to Atlanta, an hour and a bit layover in, and then finally a flight to Tegucigalpa, I was exhausted. Needless to say, I was out cold. It took quite a few tries to wake me up an hour later.
When I did wake up, I met the Ruttan kids: Elisa, Ben, and Jacob. Elisa is awesome. She's super talkative but really friendly and nice. I think we're going to get along great. Ben seems to be a very funny and sweet guy. He didn't say much at first, but he opened up more at dinner. Jacob I didn't even see until we got in the vehicle to go to supper. He seems to be the kind of person who keeps to himself a lot (he is currently playing video games in the room next to mine). I'm not sure how to read him yet, but what I do know is that he is a very creative guy. He creates his own music and it's actually really good! He told me that when his computer is fixed that he will show me how he makes the songs, so that'll be cool. Overall, I really like the kids. They have their sibling bickering but they all seem like a fun bunch :) I'm looking forward to getting to know them better. Dale and Carolyn have been so great too. Dale helped me get some of my money converted into lempiras and Carolyn set me up with some tasty food when we got to the house. And then there's Reuben (not sure how to spell his name). He was a bit unhappy with my arrival at first, but he's now my best friend! Oh, I should mention that Reuben is their dog :) He's a smaller dog, a lot like mine. He reminds me of Bandit <3 And he is such a cutie! He warmed up to me really fast and he likes playing fetch with me. And I think he may be a fan of my head scratches :P
For dinner, we all met up at the Team House (I have to mention that I was referred to as being "such a Canadian" for going to put on my seat belt as soon as I got into the vehicle. I guess seat belts aren't as huge of a deal here). I instantly felt welcomed the moment I walked in as there was a big welcome sign for me :)
It made me feel happy. Kathy is so funny and so nice. I really like her. She locked us out of the house at first because the sign wasn't up yet haha :P But yeah, really nice woman. And Judy was so welcoming and friendly :) Both of them gave me hugs and Judy has taken multiple pictures of me already :P She even got a picture of me eating my first meal with them! Which was lasagna, by the way. I was a little worried at first when I found out it was lasagna because I was so done with it because of caf lasagna, but this lasagna was really good! Finally some good lasagna! :P For dessert, Carolyn and Elisa had made this pie made of whip cream, cream cheese, and crumbled chocolate bars (I forget what kind it was). It was REALLY good! I wanted more! haha :P
Before supper, Judy gave me the tour of the Team House. It is a really nice building. But I'm still happy that I chose to stay with the Ruttans because this way I have others close to me and I'm not alone :) They're currently prepping the Team House for the arrival of a team from Essex on Saturday. They're going to give me the rundown on what this next week with the team is going to be like tomorrow. I'm also going to the marketplace tomorrow with Dale and Carolyn. I'm really looking forward to it! It's going to be a very new and interesting experience! But for now, I am signing off. It's been a loooong day and sleep is calling my name.
Until tomorrow!
~ Cass Haines ~
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