Soccer

Hondurans take their soccer very seriously. In fact, most think it is the only sport, or at least the only sport that matters. For the national team of Honduras to make it to the world cup, two things had to happen yesterday. Honduras had to win their came against El Salvador and the U.S. had to win or at least tie against Costa Rica. Both of those things happened and Honduras will play in the world cup for the first time in 28 years. Let the party begin.

Here in Santa Ana, horns honked and people screamed and who know what else until ??? I went to bed at 10:00 and all the noise was going strongly. Not strongly enough to keep me awake, though. In Tegucigalpa, I think it went all night.

I was making sure I left by 6:15 this morning ( I did not want to miss Rosy's bus again) when Karen's phone rang. It was one of the teachers at the school saying there was no school today as the president had called a national holiday. A national holiday because Honduras is going to the world cup.

Rosy and I made it to the bus in record time today because there was no traffic. No one was going to work because it was a national holiday.

I had several errands to do in town today. I left here around 9:20. I was driving along enjoying the ride with no one on the street but me. As I headed down the airport road, all of sudden there was traffic everywhere. Today was a deadline to reinstate Mel as president, or else. My first thought was something was going on politically. I was not sure if it was good or bad. About that same time, my phone rang. It was Marc calling to say stay off the airport road. All I had to say was "that information is about ten minutes too late." He asked where I was and I said almost to the airport, but there is tons of traffic and it is not going anywhere. Then I heard gales of laughter and him telling other people I was on the airport road. He finally quit laughing and told me the national team was flying in and there was going to be a parade. He suggested I turn around. Fat chance.

He also told there was no danger. It was just going to take a while to get through. The street vendors were having a heyday selling flags and shirts.

I just stayed in the lane in which I was driving and crept along ever so often. Everyone was wearing blue and white, carrying Honduran flags and/or blue and white umbrellas. There was blue hair and blue faces. A helicopter was circling. Everytime the helicopter came low, there was a collective roar. There was thousands inside the airport and I could hear them cheering and yelling. People were parked everywhere. On the sidewalks. On the medians. In one lane of traffic. Fortunatley, one lane kept inching along. Horns were honking. People were waving their flags and cheering.

I was going to the grocery store and never thought about bringing my camera. It would have been fun to join the crowd, but I had to start checking those things off my list. I eventually worked my way past the biggest part of the crowd. The route to my first stop just happened to be along the parade route. There were people standing on overpasses and the sidewalks and everywhere.

I got to the hardware store and Marc met me there so he get some money to me. I decided I was hungry. We went to get a pizza. On the way from the hardware store to Pizza Hut, we passed a small group of Zelayistas. They were not blocking traffic, just standing off the road chanting. More poeple were interested in trying to chase the national team all over town than protesting.

As we sat eating our pizza, I could see the soldiers closing the street. They pulled the gates across the road and no one could get near the presidential house. About that time, the tv said the national team was arriving at the presidential house. Eating pizza was not on my list and being there, I thought, was going to put me back in all that traffic. I just could not believe I had worked my way from the scene and had then managed to put myself right back in the middle of it.

There was not nearly as much traffic and I had to take an alternate route. I actually learned a few new alternate routes today.

When I finally completed my little check list and was heading home, I got in the very tail end of the party again. After leaving the president's house, the team had made their way to the basillica. The last few people were walking away from the basillical, still waving their flags and carrying red digicel balloons.

Where there were no parades or protests, there really wasn't much traffic today. It was really a fun day to be in town. People were happy and excited. Even in the grocery store, people were laughing as they walked down the aisles wearing their blue and white and talking soccer.

It may get verry exciting around here, if Honduras continues to win.

Terri