rule #1

The first rule of driving in Honduras...




there are no rules!

Make your own lanes (as seen above), drive on the sidewalks, drive over medians, drive in reverse down ramps, ....I'm telling you people I've seen it all. If you can drive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, you can drive ANYWHERE!

dear soptravi,

Since you regraded the road I take to work, I really like you...







Pave it, and we could be talking love...

I got pulled over today...

The officer approached my car and said, "Su licencia y revisión, por favor." (License and registration, please.)

I said, "What? Yo no hablo espanol," with the gringo accent turned way up.

"SU LICENCIA! LICENCIA!!!" he said like he was talking to a deaf person.

"Ohhh, my license?!?" I asked in English, playing dumb.

"Yes," he replied in English. For a moment I panicked and thought OMG he speaks English...this isn't going to work!

But then he said, "y la revisión??"

"My what?! I'm sorry, yo no hablo español!" I said, still playing stupid.

"La revisión del vehiculo. DEL VEHICULO!" he said slowly.

"Ohhh...this??" I asked, pulling out my registration.

"Yes," he replied in English.

He walked to the back of the car to consult the other officer. They both laughed. He came back, handed me my license, and sent me off with a smirk and a "que le vaya muy bien."

"Grassy-ass," I answered with a grin, and drove away WITHOUT a ticket or having to pay a bribe.

So for future reference...learn from my past mistakes and current success:

Being mean, being nice, and crying do not get one out of a ticket in Honduras.

Pretending to not speak Spanish...now, that does the trick!

finally

I picked up my carné de residente (ID) today!! I'm an official Honduran resident! Wahoooo!

i knew this would happen

What did I tell you? I knew I wouldn't keep that resolution. But a girl's gotta try, right?

I've got lots to say...just no time! HELLO, I have a new baby. Everyday is a new adventure. But there's not a lot time when you have one of those. AND, I feel like I would bore you all to death with only baby news.

So how's this?

I spent way too much of my baby-is-sleeping-so-you-can-get-stuff-done time looking at the urban outiftters website tonight. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of almost everything. I love eccentric things. I mean, just look at that scarf strips shag rug! No one in Honduras has one of those. And those Alice drawings! So unique!

But, oh my, would you look at this headboard??

I saw it and fell. in. love. My heart said YES. My wallet LAUGHED. And my brain said HEY maybe YOU can make that!

What do you think? Should I give it a try????

And, of course, the obligatory cute photo...

silly goose

A few weeks ago Nicholas spit up all over himself (the story of his life). I said, "Don't do that, you silly goose! Now we have to change your clothes AGAIN!"

My husband asked, "Why do you always call him that? Silly goose? That makes no sense."

"It just means he's being silly."

"But why goose? That makes no sense."

Hmmmm. Good point.

So off to Google I went. It took a little while, but I found the answer.

According to Brewer's Dictionary of Fiction and Fable, calling someone a goose/geese means that they are foolish or ignorant due to the "alleged stupidity of this bird."

And now you know the rest of the story.

And now I REALLY want this book.

Your obligatory cute photo of the day...

our trip back to los EEUU!

I really thought traveling with a baby would be more difficult. Nicholas was SO wonderful on all 4 flights...even the flight attendants commented on how well he behaved! :)

We really enjoyed our time back in Kentucky. My family was thrilled to finally see Nicholas in person (vs Skype!). Everyone thoroughly spoiled him. :)

And as much as I like it in Honduras these days, it is so nice to visit the states where the streets are straight, quiet, and SAFE! When we were landing in Atlanta, I told Jose... "It's funny...I know it's not like we live in the jungle or anything, but I really feel like we're coming into civilization for the first time in a year!" The first day we were out and about, we stopped at a major intersection in my town. I rolled down the window and said, "Listen Jose...it's so quiet!" We were surrounded by about 30 cars, and there was complete silence. No children begging at the windows, no one selling cell phone chargers, no one yelling the newspaper headlines, and NO HONKING HORNS! So strange after a year in Tegucigalpa, ha!

While we were there we shopped and shopped and shopped....and then shopped some more. The first thing I wanted to do when we got there was go to Walmart! We spent hours there, just walking up and down the aisles. I kept saying, "oh my gosh look at how many types of ___ they have!" Or "oh my gosh look how much/little those ____ cost!!!" Funny, because I hated that place when I lived there. Now I wish I could pack up Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx, and Hobby Lobby (really, I could keep going...) and bring them back to Honduras with me!

We also had a list of places we wanted to eat while we were there. Arby's, Starbucks, Olive Garden, Mariah's, Rafferty's, DQ, White Castle, PANERA!....we probably spent the majority of our budget just on food! But SO worth it. Yum!

And while it was good to be "home" for 10 days and visit family/friends that I haven't seen in a long time, it actually felt good to come back to Honduras. I never thought I would say that! But this is home (for now) and I think I sort of missed the crazy chaos of the streets, I definitely missed my maid and nanny, and absolutely missed my dear friends. :)

And ps, Nicholas grew into a new size while we were there! Already in size 6 months!