Ken...the happiest he's ever been

Today, Ken found his long lost, and most beloved friend...

HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH.

Supposedly there isn't any other "real" ranch in the world except for Hidden Valley Ranch.

I don't think I'll have to buy him any more treats for awhile now.

Turtle eggs and Fish eyes

Last night Erika and I treated a couple of our friends to dinner. Arthur and Dalila had been helping us for a couple days with our new house and just getting familiar with La Ceiba. Arthur knows a lot about the history of the area and seems to have a story about every building and everyone he sees. He is a good guy to know for sure.
We didn't know where to go for dinner so Arthur suggested a seafood restaurant that is supposed to be the oldest in town. The food was great. I had fish fillet with butter and Erika had a seafood soup with bits of fish, conch, crab and shrimp in it. Arthur had a fried fish and Dalila had some shrimp. All the food was delicious.
This was the first time Erika had crab, which was funny to watch. She was trying to crack open a leg with her teeth when it jumped out, pinched her shoulder and scurried to the floor. No, it was not alive, but you would think all of Erika's food is alive by the way it always finds its way to the floor.
Then Arthur showed me the correct way to finish a fish. Evidently, there is plenty of meat and good parts in the head of the fish. He pressured me in to eating an eyeball which, apart from the gooey parts that were pulled out from the eye socket, was not bad tasting and had a "tough meat" kinda texture. Then I sucked on some the fish skull until there was no more meat on it. Yum.
After the restaurant we went to a place that has the cheapest beer in town. 15 Lempiras for a beer; which comes out to be around 70 cents. This place was essentially a guys garage, you could see into his living room from where we were sitting. It was eerie walking in there though.
It was pouring rain outside. The streets were flooding and there was dampness in the air. Loud Latin music was blasting from some speakers hidden on top of giant, lighted coolers. It was not the kind of Latin music you danced to. Rather, it was the kind that made a cowboy shed a single tear as he thought of a long lost love. As we walked in a man was stretched across a bench to the right of the door. His head was off the bench and his eyes were half open but his mind was in some state of inebriation that I have not seen since freshman year of college. He did not move. A lady with one good eye and one eye that was permanently clouded and pointed towards the ceiling stared at us as we walked in. The owner sat in a hammock, equally keeping tabs on the coolers that stored the beer and on the book he was reading. A little boy went around wiping tables and a transvestite danced in the background. The bathrooms were in the back of the room and the walls surrounding them were short enough that you could keep an eye on the table your beer was on.
You served yourself. No service, no service fee, just a cold cooler and music you had to pay for.
Arthur told us about how they sold turtle eggs here. Specifically, Sea turtle eggs. The endangered kind. Evidently, they are a type of aphrodisiac. Erika and I both ate one; you just suck up the yoke with some spices on it. You could only taste the spices but you could feel the egg going down your throat whole. I think the claims of it being like Viagra are overblown.
We talked about many things; it was a good night. And as we drove home we went through sections of town with a foot or more of water in the streets, but that doesn't stop the party in the Zona Viva.

Happy Birthday Honduran style

This is the first year that I have celebrated a birthday away from family and friends. Ken and I enjoyed our day however relaxing and hanging around the house. We both woke up feeling a bit under the weather, I guess the stomach bugs have already gotten to us, but we were able to get out of the house for a little bit today and stop by my school and the grocery store. My superintendent and her husband ended up taking us out to dinner tonight which was a nice treat and we had some great conversations. They were very welcoming and made us feel right at home. Ken also made a great double chocolate cake for me so it was nice to be able to have that taste of home today as well. We found out today that this summer has been the hottest summer in years reaching over the 90s numerous times. I think Chicago is still warmer though so it hasn't been too bad. There was a great breeze today that went all through the house and because of it, we didn't even need the air conditioner. It felt so good and was great weather to nap in. I figure I better get my naps in before work starts next week. We saw how the streets flood as well when we get some heavy rain yesterday. Ken and I were actually in the grocery store when it started and we both thought that it was the noise from the "rainforest" in the fruits and vegetable section like we have in the states. We found out soon enough however that it was actually down pouring outside!! What a nice surprise though and the water felt good with the heat. It will definitely be a trip to bike ride to school when it rains seeing as how many of the streets flood with little rain. I think I'll definitely be sporting my rain boots.

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...