At 11:15am, our airplane came to a screeching halt at the end of the Tegucigalpa runway. Everyone (including native Hondurans) cheered and clapped for the successful, if not impossible, landing. We had arrived!
I had already met up with several other new IST teachers in Houston, and after lugging my carry-ons up the flight of stairs, ran into the rest of the group, which had arrived from Miami just moments before. Perfect timing! We made it through customs with no problems and created our own IST corner of the airport, where the school chaplain and new teacher coordinators were eagerly expecting us. Our train of unwieldy duffel bags snaked behind them across the parking lot to the awaiting school bus, and I'm so thankful for the IST staff who gave up their lunch break to load all the luggage! On the way, there was a flurry of introductions and I tried to sort out all the names of my fellow teachers. I'm excited to get to know them!
The bus driver meandered us wide-eyed newcomers through the narrow streets of the city, stopping at each of the teachers' houses and helping us locate our suitcases from among the pile. The smell of warm bread wafted through the bus windows and made us smile in anticipation of Honduran cuisine. I will get used to a similar bus route to todos las casas as I share the "teacher bus" in the morning and after school.
Finally, we arrived to mi nueva casa and I unloaded my bags along with my new housemates, Jenny and Jessica. With the luck of the draw, we chose rooms for the year and checked to see if everything worked. Once that was done, we put on some music and began the process of unpacking. I'm thankful all our suitcases arrived and for a place to call "home" while I'm in Honduras. This is orientation week.
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