Be patient and everthing turns out well!!!!

Finally we found a house for rent in a very safe area in Tegucigalpa. The concept is "a city within the city". It is a closed area with guards, has a lot of green area, swimming pool, social area, sport facility for children and a very nice view over the city of Tegucigalpa.

We will move in 5 weeks! Finally we found what we wanted...a safe place where I can go out for a walk with our kids.

My statement of today "be patient and everything turns out well"!!!!

How is life in Honduras?

I got asked by many people "how is life in Honduras"? If you are looking for information in the internet you will find a lot of articles about "security problems". Most writers do not recommend  to travel to Honduras because it might be too dangerous.

My personal experience is very different. Of course, Honduras is not that safe as Switzerland or other countries in Europe. However, it is not that dangerous as described in the internet. The biggest problem is the "narcotrafico"(drug traffic and dealing of arms). Other problems are the corruption and poverty of Honduran people.

If you would like to know how Honduras is, then I recommend you to stay some months with an Honduran host family in Honduras while volunteering. Through the daily contact with the local people you will learn more about their culture and their customs. Honduras is know for their hospitality!!!

SWHO.org is organizing volunteer opportunities in Honduras in different areas. More information on www.swho.org

1st day in the nursery school

Today was the first day in the nursery school. 95% of the children are not Honduran. There are some from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Denmark, South America, etc. What I really like is that it is well structured. We got a plan with events which are planned during the next few weeks.

The kids are according to their ages in different groups. Our son is in the youngest one.

When we picked up our son today he was playing with children of all ages (1-4 years) and looked very happy. This is what my husband and I wanted - to see our son playing with other children of different nationalities......

¨It is all about knowing the right people¨

Are you planning to move to Honduras and have no clue how to find the right place to live, how to get your residence permit, where to buy your car or furniture, etc?

Let me know.  I am glad to support you. 

In the following pages we are describing our services.

Driving license

I forgot to mention that I finally got my Honduran driving license some weeks ago. The law permits to drive with my Swiss driving license the first 3 months. After these 3 months I have to get an Honduran one. In comparison with the residence permit it was quite easy to get it.

What is very hard for me is to drive here in Tegucigalpa. The streets are sometimes in very bad condition, cars are passing on the left and the right hand side (what I am not at all used), etc. etc. Slowly I get used to it.

Apartment or House?

When we arrived in Honduras in December 2010 we decided to rent an apartment....in a safe area but not too expensive. "Safe" and "cheap" --> contradiction. However we did not give up and finally we found a nice apartment.

Some weeks ago we decided to look around for a house. It would be a dream to have a little garden where our children can play, a nice kitchen, in a safe area, etc etc. Last week we had our first appointment with a real estate company and there are many new proyects planned in Tegucigalpa. He promised to send us some documentation and we will meet each other next week. I am very curious....

Preschool for our son

We were very lucky last month. By mistake we took the wrong road to go home and passed a very nice building. Advertisement "Guarderia". At the same day we called the number and we got the information that this is a nursery school for kids from 1 to 4 years old. This is exactly what we were looking for.

In August we will send our son the first time to this nursery school. Let's see if he likes it. He loves to play with other children and it will be just a paradise for him.

I finally got my residence permit

I am sooo happy to hold my residence permit in my hands. It took such a long time to get it. I do really appreciate all the work my husband and some friends of him have done. THANKS!!!!

To summarize the last 6 months...it was a busy time, waiting in the queue, waiting for answers, asking again and again....but it was worth to do it.

AND WE HAVE LEARNT A LOT and WE WON SOME NEW FRIENDS

....still waiting for residence permit

1 month passed and I am still waiting. The last information I got is that my name is almost on the top of their lists. It will not take too long anymore. I shall ask in 2 weeks again.

Residence permit

I informed myself before I moved to Honduras what kind of documents I will need to get my residence permit. Extract from police records, blood test, picture, etc.

When I arrived in Honduras I got told that I have to translate the blood test from German into Spanish. It took me a while to translate all words....as the result was on 4 pages and the words in Latin.

It would have been easier to hand over all my documents to a Honduran lawyer....as it was quite expensive we decided to do all by ourselves. My husband is Honduran and knows how to handle it. However, we never expected that it is that complicated and it takes months to get it....

Finally I had everthing "autenticado" and "con Apostille".... Now, I have to wait.....

Finally I got them.....

I am very happy today...I could pick up my 2 suitcases at Swissport in Tegucigalpa. With the help of a Honduran guy who knows the processes at Swissport from A to Z.

For example I did not know that I have to pay additional taxes here in Honduras as I have already payed a lot of taxes in Switzerland - Honduran taxes included. And it depends what kind of gods: cloths and music CDs are more expensive than books, for example.

Finally I got my luggages and for sure....I will save the cellphone number of this Honduran guy....you never know if I have to go back to Swissport....

My luggage

When I am looking back what happened in the last few days I have to admit that it was a very busy time. I remember the day when I wanted to pick up my 2 suitcases I have sent by air fare. The place is called SWISSPORT - a swiss company in Tegucigalpa. I am Swiss, moving from Switzerland to Honduras. Conclusion: easy to get it.

Well, 7 days passed and I still do not have my luggage. Missing some important documents. Hopefully I will get them soon....I am getting very impatient.