Lots of laughs

There are a ton of things I could tell you about my new life in Honduras, but it's a bit difficult to know where to start.  So I thought what better way to share my life than to share my laughter.  

• With not knowing how to get anywhere quite yet, I've now gone to the grocery store 4x in one week (its a block away).  Which is a strange statistic for a girl who doesn't cook much.  It has also led to the following:
• I bought what I thought was conditioner and shampoo.  After using both for a couple days, I realized that both were conditioner- as my hair was quite greasy.  I laughed even harder about the fact that both bottles had labels in English.
• I bought a spatula for all my cooking endeavors, which broke off the handle after 2 days of use.  I now flip things over with just the square metal piece... just one example of my modified version of domesticity 
• I am getting very good at washing pots & pans because I have no microwave (yet) and no dishwasher.  This also means that I sometimes prefer cold leftovers
• It's also been interesting to see all the things I can find here.  Generally you expect more limited options abroad, but my grocery store carries Annie's Organic Mac n Cheese, Ghiradelli chocolates, French's onions and 4 different brands of capers (not joking).
• Additionally, you're able to find a plethora of American fast food chain restaurants here, including Popeyes, McDonalds, Little Caesars, Baskin Robbins... even Dunkin Donuts is in Honduras despite not yet making it out to the West Coast.  I have also learned that I can refer to Denny's as a landmark, as there is only one in the city.
• Which brings me to another funny lesson: directions here consist of landmarks, which you have to memorize to know how to get anywhere.  So my drive to work feels more like a treasure hunt than a route.  To make things easier, my copilota and I have started naming streets based on landmarks.  There's Calle Cristina based on the Cristina hairstylist sign on the corner and Calle Peligro (Danger) based on the large traffic sign in the road.  However, I have to be careful because if the landmark moves (as usually happens with traffic signs) or if I have to ask anyone other than my copilota for directions, I will  be lost.
• The most memorable landmark is the Chinese restaurant near the factory.  Little did you know, Chinese food is the most popular non-traditional Honduran food and there are Chinese restaurants everywhere.  This particular restaurant is suspected for money laundering, as it has swimming pools, bumper cars, fishing ponds and hotel rooms.  These rooms may be part of a brothel.  I know all of this because we ate here on Friday for a coworkers birthday, which led to quite a bit of revealing conversation.  I also learned that Chinese food in Honduras comes with a plate of bread (like straight out of the bag, pre-sliced white bread)... no real explanation why but it's apparently true of all Chinese restaurants. My coworkers found it hilarious that I thought that was strange!
• For a driving update, I now know 2 routes to the factory, 2 grocery stores, 2 gas stations, 1 mall and 1 church.  Everything else is a bit hazy, but that's progress.  Earlier this week my coworker borrowed the car to help fix one thing and ended up rolling down the window that then wouldn't roll up.  So I drove it 40 mins to the factory with my copilota the next morning, quite breezy.  We took the route with less stops and I stayed in the center lane so that only opposite traffic could see the gringa driving.  It's fixed now, except that you push down on the button for up and pull up the button for down.  Remind me to buy a car with manual windows once I stop using the company car!
• Driving here is always entertaining because you never know what you're going to see.  A motorcycle going the wrong way up the highway entrance, a taxi crossing over the elevated 10 ft dirt median to cross the highway, a man juggling machetes to entertain cars stopped at the light (in hopes of earning a bit of money)... and I've only been here 2 weeks!
• It's currently the "coldest" time of the year (50 degrees at worst) so you'll see people wearing thick coats and hats, which cracks me up.  This was especially funny when asking my copilota about the truck of police guys wearing full face masks - creepiest thing I've seen yet.  Apparently, these masks are used to protect their identity on drug-raids... but may also be worn this time of year when the police are cold. ;)
• My copilota once remarked that she traveled to the US and asked where all the police were... as she didn't see any in plain view.  The difference here is that the police stay put, rather than paroling the roads.  Plus there was a new law saying that police need to work in teams of 8 to avoid corruption.   But this also means that you will never be stopped by the police for speeding, because they're all stationary.  My coworkers also said the police have to pay for their own gas, so even if they start pursuing someone, they give up pretty quickly.
• I actually feel quite safe driving, as its the only time nobody can tell I'm a gringa.  The tinted windows prevent anyone from seeing in.  However, I won't be driving at night, not because its necessarily unsafe, but more because I feel like I'm wearing my sunglasses at night.  Cue song...
• Speaking of songs, I've found that my empty tiled house has one benefit... you know how amazing you sound singing in the shower?  My whole house is like that.
• Last comment: While I'm not quite fluent in Spanish (it's painful to tell stories or jokes), I am entirely fluent in Spanish sounds.  What do I mean?  I find that my Ah! or Wow! exclamations are very easily replaced with Oi! or Ay!  It happens so naturally that I find myself exclaiming loudly "in Spanish" and then chuckling at how ridiculous I am.

That's all for now folks.  I'll see what I come up with this next week, including some pics.