Overture - In a Hotel

      Mom, Dad, and I headed out the door early in the morning of July 24th. My flight was out of Kansas City at 6:10am, which meant we had to be at the airport around 4:40am and that meant leaving home just after 2am.  Before long, I was saying goodbyes and standing in the security line for my first flight to Houston. I know this was tough for Mom but I'm not dead yet....I'm only getting started! We were there in plenty of time and (thank God) these flights actually left as scheduled!
      In the flight from Houston to Tegucigalpa, the plane was packed with missionary groups. I sat by a couple that had been volunteering at an orphanage for six years. When we arrived at the airport, I started looking for other people who also might be heading to the American school. I ended up behind a girl named Keiko from Japan who would be teaching third grade at The American School of Tegucigalpa (AST) in line during customs. Amanda, a third and fifth grade teacher, was also on our flight. The school administrators met us at the airport as we waited for the second plane to land which would be carrying Kelsey (kinder), Melissa (6th - English), Karishma (7th - English), and Ara (Philosophy). We all looked out the glass walls of the airport at the city that would be our home for the next two years. Finally, all our luggage was loaded on the bus and we were headed to our hotel!
      It was a very nice hotel called Plaza Florencia. The school administrators gave us a few instructions, mainly about not walking around or getting lost, and left us with the remainder of the day to rest. Stacey, another new teacher, had already been living in Tegucigalpa (Tegus) for a year and stopped by to fill Kelsey and I in on some key information and answer our numerous questions. I had previously been e-mailing Stacey about living together in an apartment she had already picked out. She was in love with this three bedroom apartment within walking distance of the school, but we really needed a third to bring down the payments. As I had met Keiko at the airport, I recruited her to also see the apartment with us. It was an amazing apartment, tastefully decorated and very spacious. It has hot water, fairly reliable electricity, and a 24 hr guard. Then I slept.