First Week Back at Orphanage Emmanuel Pt.2 *Weeks 4 and 5*


On Saturday my dad drove me down to Madison and before we went to the airport we stopped for poke(sushi soup, kinda) which has kind of been our thing since one of my volleyball tournaments in Chicago. After we ate we were off to the airport and as soon as my dad left I was all alone again. My flights back to Honduras were awful. My first flight, from Madison to Charlotte, had so much turbulence for the last 20 minutes of the flight. Yes, (John) I am afraid of wind. We touched down safely thankfully and my mom’s cousin Tyrone picked me up from the airport for my night stay in Charlotte. The first thing me and Tyrone did was visit my great aunt that I haven’t seen in ages, great aunt Vera! I had a fantastic visit and after we said goodbye, Tyrone took me to “Bojangles Chicken.” From there we went to Tyrone's house, watched basketball, ate chicken, and caught up with each other. It was a very comfortable stay and I was very fortunate to have the time to see that side of my family.



In the morning Tyrone took me to the airport and from there I was on my way to Miami. In the airport I got some Dunkin coffee and wandered over to my gate. As soon as we took off we were just smacked with turbulence the whole flight(yes John, it was scary). I don’t really remember being in Miami very well. For a little context, I’m writing weeks 2-6 in week 7, but week 6 gets its own blog post since it was a very special week to me. After Miami it was straight to Honduras and my plane ride was on and off with the turbulence(John…. how does it feel to be the one in parentheses?). Leaving the week 6 jokes aside, in Comayagua I met up with my taxi driver that would be taking me to the orphanage. I don't know how to describe him other than he was really silly. He was holding a steady 110km/h through the mountain roads and on top of that he had two phones out, one was showing directions on it, and the other was live streaming a soccer match. By the grace of God I got to the orphanage safe and was able to settle back into my house relatively quickly. However, as soon as I got to my house I immediately felt super sick. I had to take two days off after I got back down here since my stomach was killing me.


On Wednesday I went back to work in the wood shop and Maestro was super happy to see that I had come back so soon. He told me he had a super special job that day, then he took me over to a picnic table and told me to sand it down for him. Funny guy😐. During week four I started playing soccer with the Grandecitos every night. My brothers Maycol and Olvin play with the Grandecitos as well and I’m on Olvins team every night(the teams don't change).  Also during week four, on Saturday Chino took me into town for my first time during this trip(I've been to town many times in the past,) I got myself groceries and Chino bought me a taco from a vendor in town and we took a tuk tuk back to the orphanage. Days later Chino made me dinner two nights in a row since his wife was in the states visiting her family. And while Chino was at my house I called Moncho for the first time telling him that I was back, and immediately he and I set up a time to see each other and we settled on the Sunday at the end of week five. Saturday of week four I went into town all by myself which was just one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever got to experience. I walked around and explored a lot of things on my own then got myself more groceries and saw Glenda(A lady in town that sells fresh vegetables. My mom has given her business since her first couple years coming!) and I bought 3 eggs from her since I knew there were birthdays coming up(in Honduras it's a tradition to smash eggs on the head of a birthday boy or girl.) I returned to the orphanage all safe and sound and I would very much like to go into town by myself again.


        Sunday of week five, I spent the afternoon with Moncho and he was able to take me to a shop that sold fans since the fans in my house don't work well at all. After I bought the fan we went to his house and I got to see his whole family. I played soccer with his two sons for a while and then sat on their porch and talked to him and his wife while the boys were playing. I thank God very much for providing conditions in which I could see his family again. When he dropped me off at the orphanage I gave him an envelope with $1000 in it as a thank you for the multitude of things he's taught me throughout my life. I will forever be grateful for him and his family and the friendship he's shown me for almost half of my life now! Once back in the orphanage I had to walk all the way from the gate to my house with this big fan I had just bought in my hand. As I was nearing my house I saw that the next team had gotten to the orphanage safely and they were taking the tour that the orphanage gives to teams that aren't familiar with the place. Little did I know the impact these people were going to make on me. To be continued....


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