Pictures of Morazan

Since my camera is still broken, here are some pictures of Morazan that I found on the internet. The first picture is of the National Park Pico Pijol from Morazan. The next is a picture of Pico Pijol. The next is of la Piratas, the nearby waterfall which I will use as a swimming hole. The last one is a map of Honduras, with the departamento (sort of like a state) of Yoro highlighted. I live in the Northwest part of Yoro.

So, Morazan is really pretty. It's in this super hot valley, but is surrounded by beautiful mountains. It is basically what they would call a rural town. Although there are over 10,000 people living in the actual town, they are mostly from the country side, so it has a small town feel to it. There is only one paved street (the Calle Principal) and the rest are dirt roads which are eroding away like crazy. The roads are really bad here. There are some that you can't even drive down. The only way to get down the "paved" road that leads to Morazan is by zig-zagging.

There's a lot of business in Morazan. There are a million pulperias (small grocery stores), a small daily market, a million stalls selling everything from belts to ripped-off CDs to Coconuts. There are 3 gas stations. The shell has yogurt (not at all common here, which is probably why it costs 30 lempiras-like $1.50) and peanut butter (unheard of!) There are like 3 or 4 internet cafes. There a billion places that sell "Ropa Americana" = secondhand clothes from the states. So when you donate your clothing, there is a likelihood that they may end up in Morazan in "Ropa Americana Brenda."

I live in a pretty posh house. The poshest host family house that I have ever lived in. It could pretty much be a US house, until you go to the backyard and see the chickens running around.

My room is big, but mosquito-filled. I have a queen-sized bed. There is a washing machine (what?!) Sometimes, like twice a week, there is running water (ice cold). There is an electric shower, but no one uses it. I would be afraid to use it as the electric socket is about 1 foot from the shower head (safe...) So looks like cold bucket showers for me.

My family is really cool. My host mom, Doña Gloria,and host dad, Don Manuel, are really more like a host grandparents. They are in their 60s. My host mom has a little restaurant, but instead of going to the restaurant, most people end up eating at her, instead. My host dad is funny. He always wears a cowboy hat that says "Rodeo USA" and boots. Two of their grown children are in the states in North Carolina (it seems everyone I talk to here has relatives there or in Atlanta.) They have a grown son named Rey who owns a metalwork workshop behind our house. One of their other daughters, Amanda, spends most of the day at our house. She has two children, Amandita (3) and Franklin (6). Amandita is very cute, but quite a handful. Franklin is more calm and likes to play UNO and use Paint on my computer. My host parents have another daughter, who I don't know very well. She has 2 children Daniela (3) and Alan (14). There is another daughter that I don't really know and she has a son named Cristian (12). All of the grandchildren are always at my house. I also have a sister named Claudia (21) who actually lives in my house. She's very nice. She's in high school.