Curfew Removed Temporarily

We woke up this morning, mentally preparing ourselves for another long day trapped indoors. However, not long after waking up, we received a phone call saying that the curfew had been lifted temporarily so that people could get out and replenish their supply of food and water. The school bus was to come around and pick us up at 10:00 a.m. and curfew wouldn't begin again until 5:00 p.m. Thrilled that we were finally being released (even if for just a few hours) and even more thrilled to see all of the other teachers again, we set out to buy groceries.

Heading out of Loarque on the bus, we passed our local grocery store that hadn't even opened yet and already there was a line of people waiting to get in that stretched clear down the sidewalk! A ways down the road, we prepared to get onto the Honduran equivalent of a highway, but after getting onto the on ramp, we noticed all the cars were going the wrong direction! Our bus driver was forced to back his way off of the on ramp in the midst of several other cars who were just as confused as we were about whether they were getting on or off and which direction they were supposed to be heading in the first place. We resorted to taking back roads which added immensely to the length of our journey and got stuck in lots of traffic jams, but finally made it to La Colonia (the grocery store).

The grocery store was chaos!! (Think Black Friday shopping times 10!) Every square inch of the store was packed with people, food was flying off the shelves as people pushed and shoved to reach their desired items, and the check-out lines......wow. After standing in a line for over an hour that wrapped clear around the back of the store, we had moved maybe 10 yards total, meaning we had almost made it to the farthest corner in the store from the cash registers and still had a LONG way to go. Some people attempted to use shopping carts, found it impossible to push them through the mass of people, then proceeded to lift them in the air over their heads and carry them. Others found items to use that they could substitute for a shopping basket: flower pots, large cooking pots, baskets, garbage can lids, discarded crates or cardboard boxes, and ripped plastic coverings that keep cases of pop together.

After being in the store a couple of hours, the chaos became too much and several of us lost hope. We set our food items back down and walked out of the store. We made our way over to a fantastic restaurant called "Big Baleadas" where we had a great lunch of baleadas and chilaquiles and were given the chance to hang out and talk for a while as we waited for the other teachers to finish shopping.

I don't know if the insanity of the day was spurred on by panic because people are losing hope that this situation will be resolved quickly, or if people are just that desperate for food. Whatever the case, we are now back on lockdown for who knows how long. I ask that you all continue to pray for peace in Honduras, safety for all involved, and patience for all of us as we deal with the chaos.