We've arrived in La Ceiba!

After arriving at Chicago O'Hare at 1:00 am (thanks to our parents!) and taking 4 flights, the first of which starting at 3 am, we finally arrived in La Ceiba yesterday afternoon. The small planes we took were really not bad at all and all of our luggage arrived which we were thrilled about! We were greeted back Hector, an employee of Dole, who helped us get to the house that my school rented for us for the first month. Our last flight flew from Roatan Island to La Ceiba and we were able to see the beautiful Caribbean Sea as well as the beautiful Honduran countryside. Ken and I were both impressed by the views.

We were welcomed at our house by the landlord, her mother, and her sister. They all seem incredibly nice and have checked up on us a few times already making sure we have everything that we need. The mother only speaks Spanish which will hopefully help us to learn something but yesterday we were both clueless. She kept talking to us, slowing down her speed, but it really didn't help much. We both looked at each other and said...what? The house is fully furnished and comfortable! There are 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room/dining room, and a big kitchen. We also have a front/side porch as well and it already has the rings needed to hang a hammock. Ken and I are definitely looking in to getting one of those soon. The landlords live right next door but there is a large stone wall that cuts the property in half as well as beautiful plants, flowers, and coconut and mango trees. We were already warned if we hear a loud sound on the roof at night to not be alarmed since its probably a mango falling on the roof. We saw some fall earlier today and boy do they crash to the ground...watch out!

We had a late lunch with a co-worker of mine and her husband at a restaurant which was located next to the beach right on the Caribbean Sea. Ken and I both ordered the local dish which was a deep fried fish with red beans and rice, coleslaw, and fried plantanes. It was delicious! I was able to de-bone the fish like a local, but Ken struggled a bit more. He'll learn soon enough I'm sure! Afterwards we got a little tour of La Ceiba and we were able to see the house that we rented, my school, and the major streets/restaurants/stores. There are plenty of American restaurants and we have already dubbed one corner the American corner since EVERYTHING there is American. So far we have seen KFC, Dunkin Donuts, Church's Chicken, McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, 3 Pizza Huts (one is really fancy), Domino's Pizza, and Quizno's. Clearly we don't have to be too far from home if we don't want to be.

The weather is actually cooler here than it is in Chicago! We were totally surprised by that one. It's definitely humid but maybe only 75-80 degrees. Its really nice right now. The house has air conditioning just in the master bedroom so we have had all of the other windows open and it is really nice right now. Ken and I walked around and did some exploring this morning walking through Central Park, my school park a little bit, and then we went grocery shopping. Ken and I were practicing our spanish vocabulary there and I'm still having him practicing those rolling R's. Hopefully those rolling R's will come soon for him...