A Commute in Tegucigalpa

Katie D.

June 30, 2011 - 8:33 AM

Today I got to work all by myself! This is no small feat here in Tegucigalpa, where the streets resemble a pile of tangled yarn. Between the hills, the lack of street signs, and the law of "the bravest goes first," navigation here is quite the adventure. Today was my first time going bien solita (all by my lonesome), so allow me to celebrate my achievement today with a description of how I got to work.

I left my house at 7:30 and walked half a block to the corner where the buses stop. This is no Lane Transit District bus stop. I piled into a vehicle vaguely the size of a US 12 passenger van/ VW bus with fifteen other passengers, and we took off. Traffic tears through the streets here, and the streets are extremely steep and narrow. In addition to the driver, each "busito" (little bus) has a helper. His job is to open and close the doors, collect the money (about 53 cents per passenger), and hang halfway out of the bus, shouting our destination to drum up more passengers. Today, we are going to the city center, so the backdrop of our drive is: "CENTRO, CENTRO, AL CENTRO!"

I am beginning to recognize places. It's about a half an hour drive, and today I noticed several schools that looked familiar. Then we passed a gas station, so I knew the gigantic mall was coming up on our right. The soccer stadium wasn't long after that. When we passed the fruit stand with the bags of oranges and lines of pineapples, I knew we were getting close. Then we crossed the river, passed the old presidential mansion, and I thought "I think we're almost there" right as the shouts of "Centro centroooo" changed to "Calpules!" signaling the return trip.

I scrambled out, oriented myself to the National Bank building, and set out, clutching the lunch my host mom packed. While walking in Central America, I try to maintain a look of disengaged confidence. You don't really want to be an approachable type here-there are risks of theft, and a much more common instance of begging and heckling. So I try to balance a head-held-high striding with the necessity of watching my feet. The sidewalks aren't exactly well maintained.

So two blocks from the bank, I see the Espresso Americano store, and I turn left. The next block is a lovely pedestrian street, and my favorite part of the walk. Just when I think I might have turned the wrong way, I see the next landmark: the Pizza Hut. I turn right. Ahead of me is the church Iglesia de los Dolores. I'm supposed to take a hairpin turn and take a taxi the remaining five blocks, which are almost comically steep. But it's a beautiful morning and I haven't gotten much exercise recently. I slog the remaining blocks, arriving red-faced and triumphant at the door of the office.

Tonight I'll either do the same journey in reverse, or I'll spend time with Karen (my boss) somewhere around town (probably at the mall). Karen and my host family have been amazingly helpful so far, and really kind about shepherding me through the city. But I want to be able to do these things on my own. I take for granted the grid layout of most cities, and the legibility of street signs. But today I did it! And tomorrow I will do it again. And the day after and the day after...

Now to work! It feels like it's going to be a good day.