Errands

I have today free since the sexual abuse prevention class hasn't started up again yet, so I took advantage of the free time to run some errands. My residency card expires this month so I was getting down to the wire.

Immigration was a mad house. The parking lot was extra full. I've never been able to park there. I always have to park in a local mall and walk through the streets with money and important papers. It's not ideal.

The line went outside the building and split down the length of the building both to the right and to the left of the door.

Part of the reason it takes so long is that they just don't have a good system. The seats were all full with family members but the seats are supposed to determine who is next in line. Nobody knew who was next. Most of the people were Hondurans getting their Honduran passports. But on my side there was a big line of Chinese people getting their residency for the first time in Honduras. I found that curious. Two hours later I was happy to have my new residency card in hand and get out of that place.

Last night Tigo emailed me a phone bill for over $100! Only hours earlier I was told that I didn't owe for this month. Confusing. There is a Tigo office near the parking lot for immigration, so I decided to talk to customer service. (Although they are a phone company, they have no customer service by phone.)

The lady I spoke to today told me this month is free, but I will never get another month free as a reward for paying on time. She also told me that my payment due dates are different from what the guy told me yesterday. Now I don't even know when my payment is due. If I talk to a third customer service rep I'll probably get a totally different answer. But at least for now I don't owe any money.

On my way to immigration I stopped to pay the mechanic. I was greeted there by the boy from the car accident yesterday. He said the accident was good luck for him. Today he started working as an office assistant for the mechanic! It's perfect because his parents pass by the shop before and after work, so they can drop him off and pick him up.

I thanked him again for being so gracious yesterday. I told him that I learned from the example he, his friends and his family set for me. He and the mechanic said these things happen. I congratulated him on his new job. He was clearly excited. So that in itself made it a good day.

Before heading home I went to three grocery stores searching for lettuce and broccoli for my new Chikungunya diet. Finally I found lettuce, but it was half rotten so I didn't buy it. Never found any broccoli. Sometimes the simplest things are so difficult in Honduras. I'll search for lettuce again on Friday when I have more time. Meanwhile I'm going to cook quinoa for the first time with spinach instead of broccoli for dinner tonight.

My body hurts more today than yesterday, but not as much as Saturday and Sunday. Right now the pain is in my fingers, knees, neck, toes, and the arch of my feet. My back only started hurting as I sit here to write. I think I am going to check the price of fish oil pills. They are supposed to help with sore joints. I do think the coconut juice helped. The bottoms of my feet don't have the sore, dehydrated feeling they have had for a few weeks. I'm going to keep drinking one coconut water/day.