First day in Tegus

It is such a relief to finally be here. Everything turned out great; no problems with the flights, I got my luggage without any fuzz and when I got out of the airport I got to meet both my honduran mom Rosamalia and Nora from ICYE. We went home to have lunch together with the dad Guillermo and later on me and Rosamalia went to do some shopping and take a look at the city. Really nice people, I like them a lot already. I've started feeling the familiar frustration of having a different view of the concept of time. Hopefully I will adapt to this new time and space soon. Now Im sitting in my bed eating my fav snacks, plantain chips with chili, lime and salt flavor. Tired and a bit overwhelmed, but very grateful. 

First glimpse of Tegus

My new room

My new dog

Cruisin with Rosamaila

Rosamalia had her hair done

waiting for the bus

On my way to the big adventure

So, the journey has indeed begun!
The day started in a wonderful way with Hanna coming over for a breakfast-date before I had to go to the airport. She also followed me all the way to the station, she's such a lovely loving friend that Im going to miss a lot! 

 Lovely Hanna

Esteban, my collective bff who I will also miss a lot!

The first flight to amsterdam was problem-free, on the second flight I realized that I had forgot to bring one of those universal adapter thingies so I couldnt charge my cellphone or computer. Need to buy one tomorrow! Right now i made it all the way to my hotel in Atlanta, and I have already encountered the first culture clashes. First of all, the people over here are super friendly! They react with great patience to my weird ways. I forgot that you have to tip everyone here, and also, do not step into the seat next to the driver when taking a taxi! It is not appreciated!

Allright, now I need to go to sleep. I will be getting up early in the morning tomorrow, catching a plane to Tegucigalpa. Wow, allmost there!


Talk to you soon!

Tired watching Girls on hbo in my queen sized bed

 The morning after, american breakfast

Breakfast with Obama

One week left!

Today I started making my room ready for my friend who is going to rent it while I'm in Honduras, putting away all of my winter clothes. In one week I will be on my way, it feels hard to believe. I will be leaving these snowy surroundings and start living in a new reality. It's going to take a lot of energy trying to understand new social codes and conditions, but this is also something very interesting and exiting. I'm looking forward to get new perspectives and to discover new things. Im also sure that I will be meeting some very inspiring persons during my stay in Teguz. Exiting! Now I have one week to prepare the last few things and meet up with friends and family, that I know I will miss a lot. By the way, some days ago I was interviewed by Peace Works, you can find the interview here (the interview is in Swedish): http://www.peaceworks.se/intervjumedvictoriasarnhultsomtilldeladeszontastipendiet

The view from my home, I wonder how it will look like in a week..

The human factor

There have been heavy rains and floodings during the last week in Honduras, and some parts of the country have been heavily affected by the weather. In the northern part of Honduras, in the caribbean provinces of Atlantida and Colòn, over 20 000 people were left totally isolated. Hundreds of homes have been flooded. The government urged the people to stay alert to potential rockfalls and landslides caused by the rain. There have also been losses in crops such as cassava, bananas, corn, and in the palm oil industry because the plantations are flooded.

Picture from the floodings in Honduras

I wanted to look for more information about the situation and also googled around for pictures of the affected areas. The result scared me. Only the last couple of weeks there have been so many floodings and heavy rains all around the world. For example in Brazil, France, Gaza and Great Britain. Then I saw this picture and it put the creepy feeling i had into words. 

Long journey ahead

Travelling from Sweden to Honduras is a bit tricky. 

There is no direct flight, and the two-stop flights are super expensive. So; first I will fly from Stockholm to Amsterdam, then from Amsterdam to Atlanta, and finally from Atlanta to Honduras. This will be a nice little 30h trip, with a 13h stop in Atlanta. Maybe I should stop by the casinos and hope the gambling gods are with me? Or maybe Im better off praying to the luggage gods instead. 

Anyway, I kind of think this is a good way of starting the adventure! And the goal is very much worth a little effort! 

flying over the Andes in Colombia

First post!

Hola a todos, y muy bienvenidos! 

The purpose of this blog (my first one!) is to function as a link between me and my friends, family and others that are interested, during my stay in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.   
I will be living in Honduras for four months, working as a voluntary in Centro de Estudios de la Mujer (CEM) This is a women's organisation focused mainly on gender violence, political participation and social and economical sustainability for women in Honduras. 

This blog will be my way of sharing my thoughts, experiences and reflexions of my daily life in Tegus, I will tell you about the people I meet and of course also about the work in CEM. I will also try to document my stay with my camera, take a lot of photos and maybe even make some videos that I can share with you. (If you are curious about my older photos: my tumblr) 



I hope you want to join me! 

Hasta luego, 

Victoria