Sunday, July 10, 2005
For future visitors- Costs to consider
So you are thinking of coming to Our Little Roses Ministry? Of course you are.
As a volunteer or short term missioner like ourselves (week mission to say, three months) the most important thing is to negotiate a space to live. At present the volunteer coordinator is Neik. Neik is a very good soul. He is from the Netherlands and a decent soccer player. At present there are six places to stay if you are coming to mission. If you can, I recommend staying on the grounds of the home. It can at times cause one to feel a bit restrained but it is worthwhile because it allows one to know at a greater depth what it like to live in this situation. The first two living options are here on site. There is the dorm which can house up to 30 people. It has cable, air conditioning, showers and a common room. The second on-site option is the apartment. This is where we are. We call it the "Honduran Hilton" because it is surprisingly comfortable. (OLR does not believe that missionaries are required to wear hair shirts!) It has a kitchen, living area (that we double as our bedroom), bathroom with hot shower, and bedroom (where the kids stay). The apartment also has cable, a DVD player, and internet access.
Just off site and in the neighborhood of OLR is a house that is currently being rented by missionaries and the "Volunteer" apartments (A house with 4 or 5 rooms). Both are well maintained.
The last two options are to either stay at the Hospitality House or one of the nicer hotels in San Pedro Sula. These last two options are a bit more expensive and will require more travel to and from the home. Many have opted for this and arrangements can be made to accommodate.
In making any decisions about staying on-site or in one of living spaces under the ministry's care one should realize two things: A.) this does help the home in bringing in revenue and B.) they are fair in their costs. We have been treated fairly.
(Not everything is available all the time so where you stay will have to be arranged. Both Mayra and Neik here at the home are the best contacts when making plans.)
A couple other costs that one should be prepared to pay if your trip follows anything like ours:
- A cost that I did not anticipate was the cost of accessing money. It is true that ATM's are relatively easy to access. That is a good thing. The thing I learned is that taking money out of an account will cost you $6 to $8 dollars every time. So if you are here for nine weeks and you take out money every week it will cost you $54 to $72. If I were going to stay over a month again I would set up a bank account in Honduras to avoid extra fee's.
- There is an exit fee to leave Honduras that costs $32 per person.
- If you stay over thirty days you will be required to "extend" your visa by paying a fee of about $20 per person. For five it does add up.
-Local laundry service for two adults and three children has been about $10 (180 L) a week. It's hot and dusty here so clothes get dirty.
-We arranged to have our lunch and dinner with the girls (the best way to get to know them) and paid $2.50 (45L) a meal per person.
- You can buy most things at a local supermarket (Paiz). We supplement our meals with breakfast, vegetables, snacks etc. Food is a little cheaper here but one should expect similar prices to the United States. We have been buying about $30-$45 a week.
-The easiest way to get around town is by taxi. There is a taxi stand two blocks away. Rate to supermarket and town center is currently about 40 L (just over $2.50). One must negotiate and having a native speaker (my wife) makes this easier. If you have a lot of people with you or are going farther out say like the multiplaza(The Mall), expect to pay more. Be warned, you must negotiate. If you look pale like myself (ie a non Hispanic American) taxi's will automatically ask about 20 to 30L more. One should try to include a travel budget of $10 to $15 a week to get around the city San Pedro Sula.
- Getting around the country is also an experience to not be missed. Some of my best looks at Honduras have taken place on the more local bus lines. Many Westerners utilize the executive bus line Hedman- Alas ($13 or 240L one way per person). It is more comfortable with AC and movies. We may utilize for a trip to the famed Mayan ruins at Copan (it's three hours from SPS). We've taken two trips and took the more local buses. They are loud and rough around the edges. Unless it is raining the windows are kept open. When going to different cities always look for the "directo". Otherwise you will make many more stops than desired. To go to Tela (on North Coast) we took "Trasul" bus line. We paid 60L PP (180L total) ( $10 one way) for my eldest, my wife and I combined. The little ones were free. It is about an hour and a half trip. We went to Omoa to see the Fortress. It was built in the 1700's and is impressive. To go to Omoa we took "Citrul" bus line. This was a smaller buses and was crowded. For the hour ride we paid 24L PP or 96 L total. That's about $5. On the Omoa trip we had to change to an even more local bus outside of Puerto Cortes. This was the most "local" yet. It was an old school bus and was incredibly crowded. Only 40L for all us one way ($2). Both "Citrul" and "Trasul" are downtown in San Pedro Sula. (Don't forget your taxi fare to the bus station and back and taxi service in towns!)
Our costs have been more than we expected but, God will continue to show up. It is not easy doing this on a seminarian budget but well worth it. I write all this for those who are writing grants. My inner miser keeps showing up and I have to beat him back with the man of faith and the realist who knows that while I don't know the future this may be our only opportunity to get to know the people and country.
As a volunteer or short term missioner like ourselves (week mission to say, three months) the most important thing is to negotiate a space to live. At present the volunteer coordinator is Neik. Neik is a very good soul. He is from the Netherlands and a decent soccer player. At present there are six places to stay if you are coming to mission. If you can, I recommend staying on the grounds of the home. It can at times cause one to feel a bit restrained but it is worthwhile because it allows one to know at a greater depth what it like to live in this situation. The first two living options are here on site. There is the dorm which can house up to 30 people. It has cable, air conditioning, showers and a common room. The second on-site option is the apartment. This is where we are. We call it the "Honduran Hilton" because it is surprisingly comfortable. (OLR does not believe that missionaries are required to wear hair shirts!) It has a kitchen, living area (that we double as our bedroom), bathroom with hot shower, and bedroom (where the kids stay). The apartment also has cable, a DVD player, and internet access.
Just off site and in the neighborhood of OLR is a house that is currently being rented by missionaries and the "Volunteer" apartments (A house with 4 or 5 rooms). Both are well maintained.
The last two options are to either stay at the Hospitality House or one of the nicer hotels in San Pedro Sula. These last two options are a bit more expensive and will require more travel to and from the home. Many have opted for this and arrangements can be made to accommodate.
In making any decisions about staying on-site or in one of living spaces under the ministry's care one should realize two things: A.) this does help the home in bringing in revenue and B.) they are fair in their costs. We have been treated fairly.
(Not everything is available all the time so where you stay will have to be arranged. Both Mayra and Neik here at the home are the best contacts when making plans.)
A couple other costs that one should be prepared to pay if your trip follows anything like ours:
- A cost that I did not anticipate was the cost of accessing money. It is true that ATM's are relatively easy to access. That is a good thing. The thing I learned is that taking money out of an account will cost you $6 to $8 dollars every time. So if you are here for nine weeks and you take out money every week it will cost you $54 to $72. If I were going to stay over a month again I would set up a bank account in Honduras to avoid extra fee's.
- There is an exit fee to leave Honduras that costs $32 per person.
- If you stay over thirty days you will be required to "extend" your visa by paying a fee of about $20 per person. For five it does add up.
-Local laundry service for two adults and three children has been about $10 (180 L) a week. It's hot and dusty here so clothes get dirty.
-We arranged to have our lunch and dinner with the girls (the best way to get to know them) and paid $2.50 (45L) a meal per person.
- You can buy most things at a local supermarket (Paiz). We supplement our meals with breakfast, vegetables, snacks etc. Food is a little cheaper here but one should expect similar prices to the United States. We have been buying about $30-$45 a week.
-The easiest way to get around town is by taxi. There is a taxi stand two blocks away. Rate to supermarket and town center is currently about 40 L (just over $2.50). One must negotiate and having a native speaker (my wife) makes this easier. If you have a lot of people with you or are going farther out say like the multiplaza(The Mall), expect to pay more. Be warned, you must negotiate. If you look pale like myself (ie a non Hispanic American) taxi's will automatically ask about 20 to 30L more. One should try to include a travel budget of $10 to $15 a week to get around the city San Pedro Sula.
- Getting around the country is also an experience to not be missed. Some of my best looks at Honduras have taken place on the more local bus lines. Many Westerners utilize the executive bus line Hedman- Alas ($13 or 240L one way per person). It is more comfortable with AC and movies. We may utilize for a trip to the famed Mayan ruins at Copan (it's three hours from SPS). We've taken two trips and took the more local buses. They are loud and rough around the edges. Unless it is raining the windows are kept open. When going to different cities always look for the "directo". Otherwise you will make many more stops than desired. To go to Tela (on North Coast) we took "Trasul" bus line. We paid 60L PP (180L total) ( $10 one way) for my eldest, my wife and I combined. The little ones were free. It is about an hour and a half trip. We went to Omoa to see the Fortress. It was built in the 1700's and is impressive. To go to Omoa we took "Citrul" bus line. This was a smaller buses and was crowded. For the hour ride we paid 24L PP or 96 L total. That's about $5. On the Omoa trip we had to change to an even more local bus outside of Puerto Cortes. This was the most "local" yet. It was an old school bus and was incredibly crowded. Only 40L for all us one way ($2). Both "Citrul" and "Trasul" are downtown in San Pedro Sula. (Don't forget your taxi fare to the bus station and back and taxi service in towns!)
Our costs have been more than we expected but, God will continue to show up. It is not easy doing this on a seminarian budget but well worth it. I write all this for those who are writing grants. My inner miser keeps showing up and I have to beat him back with the man of faith and the realist who knows that while I don't know the future this may be our only opportunity to get to know the people and country.
