Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School
"How was your flight?"
I have received this question quite often today, often accompanying by a knowing and perhaps a bit mischievous grin. The flight in question was a three hour trek that brought myself and another graduate student from Atlanta to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Tegucigalpa is nestled in a valley between beautiful, evergreen mountains, and is the bustling capital city. This, however, does not come without a price. I was not quite expecting the rapid turning and braking of our plane, nor to look out the window and see ourselves surrounded by embankments and roadways. It turns out that this airport is infamous for its treacherous landing, though it does not seem to have claimed many victims in recent years. As such, we landed safely, and proceeded on our adventures into a world quite different than our own.
The man who was sent to drive us to the University did not speak a word of English, but was nevertheless extremely friendly and courteous. His daughter attends Zamorano and his pride in her was evident. The city around us was somehow so very similar to what I had envisioned, but there really is no substitute for seeing it in person. The city is beautiful and dangerous, lovely tropical cottages interspersed with villages of ramshackle shacks built into the mountains. The growth in Honduras has outpaced its infrastructure and those skeletons are hung clearly here. Even so, the natural beauty here is absolutely breathtaking, and like any city, this one bustles with the hum of many people living and working in the same place.
The drive to Zamorano became increasingly more stunning as we traveled, views of mist-shrouded mountains juxtaposed with roadside fruit stands and tiny restaurants. I confess that I was already in love with the landscape by the time we arrived at the university, a feeling that was only enhanced when surrounded by the fields full of tropical fruits, vegetables, and livestock. In my opinion, Auburn has a very attractive campus, with handsome tall brick buildings, well maintained lawns, and a variety of trees and shrubs. The campus here is gorgeous in a wholly different fashion, every view evoking the feeling of the climate and the culture. The pretty, cream colored buildings and bright red tile roofs dot lawns of wide-bladed grasses, which have grown much taller than at home. Students can be seen moving from place to place in their uniforms- university-made jeans and bright blue collared shirts- mostly studying for their upcoming finals. In the distance, I can see soccer fields and a large herd of cattle with obvious Brahman blood. We made our way to our assigned dorms and were soon greeted by the familiar (and very missed!) faces of the students who have already completed internships at Auburn. Tomorrow, we will begin work in the food plants here, learning about a new facility each day, but today we will simply tour the campus and rest.
And so begins our adventures in Honduras.
