2 September 2010
Today, we went to the US Embassy to learn about what the embassy does and hear different presentations. We got to talk with Simon Henshaw, the Charge (i.e. 2nd in command, but right now is acting as ambassador as the real ambassador is on vacation), about the Coup d’état (June 28, 2009) in Honduras and what preceded and followed it. We also got to hear about how the US is helping the poverty situation, but there’s too much to get into here. We then got to talk with 3 Foreign Service Officers in their first term. It was interesting to be able to ask questions about what it means to work in an embassy. Finally, we got to talk about the consulate. We got to hear about how they are there 24/7 to help US citizens in Honduras who are in need of help. (Now we all have the US Embassy in our cell phones…) And we got to talk about visas and the process to get one. That was one of the most interesting parts.
Also, the whole time we were in the Embassy, the rule that we can only speak in Spanish was temporarily suspended and all the presentations were in English and so were our conversations. It was so weird to hear English in Honduras. But it was a nice break for us. We’ve been noticing how exhausted we are. I’m sure that there are many causes, but we’re guessing that translating everything (whether we hear it in Spanish or English, we translate to the other language) is a key factor in our exhaustion.
Friday is our last day of the August interim. We are now heading into the real thing. Classes start on Monday, September 6 (no, we don’t get Labor Day off, but we get September 15 off for the Honduran Independence day). We’re excited. We’re ready for a more concrete schedule—as concrete as a schedule can be here in Honduras.
I know that many of you are also starting school right about now. I hope that you are all doing well and that things get off to a great start.
Love,
Jessica
That sounds really interesting. It's fun hearing about all the different things you get to do.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Mom