After spending just as much time flying as I did with layovers, I finally made it to Roatan, Honduras. Man what a journey that was! From Sioux Falls I flew to Chicago where I landed at 8:30; downfall? My connecting flight wasn't until 3 am, it was in the international terminal, they didn't start giving out boarding passes until midnight, meaning I couldn't get to the gate and sleep until then and my choices of food were very minimal (esp since everything was starting to close), and I was pretty much the only American in that terminal....excellent! While on this first flight, I had the privalege of sitting next to a man that works for Pepsi and whom had been watching the a football game and drinking beers while waiting for the filght. Therefore he was just a chatter box, but it made my flight much better, because otherwise I would have been thinking about how I was on a plane to Honduras for the next year. In talking to this gentleman I learned a few things...drinking a Coke while sitting next to a Pepsi rep? poor choice haha! But he got over it after I told him I usually drink Mountain Dew, to which he filled me in on a fun fact: South Dakota sells more Mountain Dew than Coke or Pepsi. Who knew?! Then he also told me about this one time when he was flying to Boston: they were on the runway waiting for their turn to takeoff and the flight attendant welcomed them to the flight saying it was going to Boston. One man on the plane goes "Boston? I'm supposed to be going to Chicago!" So they actually turned the plane around to let the guy off, making people miss their connecting flights- all because this guy didn't pay attention to what flight he got on and because the airport attendants didn't stop him from getting on. Wasn't that what the hightened security was supposed to help prevent?!
From there, I boarded the plane, with mainly all hispanics so I learned just how much work I need to do with my Spanish skills. Once aboard this plane, I was taken to Guatemala City where I did not have to change planes, but others did. What could this mean, you ask? Well, it meant that I had to sit in the plane for an hour while I waited for them to clean the plane and for the new passengers to board. Next stop was San Salvador where there was a short layover before boarding the plane for Roatan. This plane with only 12 rows for passengers and it actually had propellors instead of the standard wing on other planes. There was only 14 people on this flight, and to my enjoyment, most were American!
So, what next you ask? I arrived in Roatan at 10:30 and was met at the airport by an expat volunteer from the clinic. As we were driving, the volunteer was telling me all about the island and the people that live here and important things to know. After looking at pictures of the island, I knew it was going to be small but get this: it's 34 miles long and about 1.5-2 miles wide depending on what part of the island you are on. (this information might show up on a quiz later so commit it to memory....oh Basche and Adv. Eng III...lol!) He took me by the clinic thinking that he would just introduce me to Ms. Peggy, the nurse that runs the clinic, and show me around the clinic before taking me to where I will be staying for the next year. Wrong! At the clinic I was indeed introduced to Ms. Peggy, but I was also put right to work, kind of. Today I learned to be a pharmacist which involved counting and filling prescriptions- soon to be part of my many job descriptions. I was introduced to many of the people that are at the clinic and was shown around. Clinic hours run from about 7/730 to 1230/1300 depending on how many patients there are. When we finished with patients, we went to lunch, then returned to work on organizing/cleaning up the birthing center rooms. It is amazing how much stuff has been donated, but it will definately take some time to get it all organized and put together so that the expansion will be ready to open; which is set for January if all goes well. In addition, I found my twin while at the clinic today. You may be asking what exactly I mean so let me explain. One of the other volunteers here is named John. Upon chatting, we soon realized that we both come from large families; in fact, we each are one of 10 kids. Crazy right?! It gets better. We are both the 3rd oldest! He's 21, I'm 22. But wait, that's not all. The age range of kids in his family is 26 to 3, my family is 26 to 4.5. Boy:girl ratios? There are 6 boys and 4 girls in his family, 5 and 5 in my family. Any finally, we are both Catholic. This was by far the craziest thing that happened all day...it was soo great!
After finishing up at the clinic, I finally made it to what I will call home for the next year. It is a 2 story house of which Ms. Peggy and I will be upstairs and another volunteering has the basement apt rented out. And yes, it is indeed beach front with our own little reef not to far off the dock. It will be rough, but I will try to manage; if it gets to bad, I might have to find a new home lol! This evening was spent relaxing as I was quite exhausted from all my traveling. We have a balcony/porch so I was forced to go sit out on it and watch the sunset, dangit! Although my living arrangements are quite nice, the poverty of the island is astonomical. As I see and experience it more, I will tell you more about it. As for now, I need to get on to some other things so that I will be ready for my first day working as a registered nurse tomorrow!
Blessings and best wishes to your days and week ahead!
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