Honduras vs. Estados Unidos (the USA)

Honduras team goofing around

Futbol!
Soccer!
Honduras vs Estados Unidos (the USA)
Saturday, June 6, 2009, 4 p.m. (Honduras time)

Being a US citizen living in Honduras, I'm torn about which team to root for.... ;-)

No, I'm not!

Since I generally root for the little guy, I'd LOVE to see Honduras whip the US!

Go Honduras!

BTW, if Honduras wins, there will probably be more ammunition spent in Honduras in the first hour after the game than there is many small wars. Shooting guns into the air is a favorite way to celebrate a victory.

After Honduras beat Mexico a few months ago, I initially thought that there was some sort of narcotrafficker shoot out going on in my area. Mexico is an arch enemy of Honduras (in the world of soccer, if not politically). I knew about the game, but not exactly when it was being played. This time I'll be prepared and now you will be, too.

What is an expatriate?

Someone asked why I call myself an expatriate (expatriado in Spanish). I guess because so many people that I know across the internet are expatriates, it hadn't occurred to me that not everyone is familiar with that term.

The dictionary definition of expatriate is here, but the basic, easy definition is this: Anyone who is living in a country other than their home country. It can be temporary, like for a job, an assignment, or a mission, or permanent, like for retirement, love (!) or other reasons. Expatriate comes from the Latin word patria (homeland) and also can be a verb. Repatriate means to go back to the homeland.

Spelling lesson #87: Being an expatriate (often shortened to 'expat') has nothing to do with patriotism or love or lack thereof for their home country. I think that misconception may come about because the word is so often misspelled as 'expatriot', which definitely sounds like someone who used to love their country, doesn't it?

You might also be interested in where US expatriates are located. The Association of Americans Resident Overseas has a list of the top 10 countries as well as an interactive map in which you can view a list of the top 10 countries in each continent (based on 1999 estimates). The global list puts Mexico at the top with more than 1 million US expats, Canada is second with 687,700, and the UK is third with 224,000 US residents. State Department estimated that 6.6 million US citizens live in other countries in 2005.

Figures vary, but about 90% of Honduran expatriates live in the USA followed by Canada and Spain in some order.

Another thing that I find very interesting, and maybe a little telling, is that English-speaking persons usually refer to themselves as expatriates while referring to others who have migrated to their old country as immigrants. The words do have a different connotation, don't they?

Coming up: Immigrants vs. Expatriates

Ho-hum, another earthquake near La Ceiba, Honduras

Image: USGS Earthquake Center
Click for a larger view

Honduras' 6th earthquake (magnitude 5.0) during the past 6 days occurred at 12:46 a.m. on June 2, 2009, 30 miles (48 km.) southeast of La Ceiba, Atlántida.

Well, I've been trying to move on to other topics, but 'them earthquakes, they just keep a coming! '

Click for a larger view of the map

Comparing the USGS map with a more detailed map, it appears to have been between Olanchito, Yoro, (about 11 miles or 18 km. west of the epicenter) and Saba, Colon, (about 13 miles or 21 km. east of the epicenter). For those familiar with the smaller towns, the epicenter appears to have been very close to Jalisco and El Juncal.

Tremors were felt as far away as Roatán, Tegucigalpa, El Progreso, San Pedro Sula, and Puerto Cortés. Since the epicenter is in a more rural area with fewer people with access to internet, there is only one first-hand "Did you feel it?" report so far from Olanchito.

I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Last night I succumbed and went to bed early, only to be awakened by El Jefe saying, "It's another earthquake." He was pretty sure that this one wasn't an aftershock and he was right. We are all becoming earthquake experts here. ;-)

Though La Prensa has not reported quakes #2 through #5, they quickly updated their internet site for an article about #6. Unfortunately, as of this moment, they have no information about any damages in the epicenter area and in fact, didn't even mention the names of the nearby towns. It's always surprising to me that they don't immediately send a reporter out to report first-hand on these natural disasters, but they don't. I often feel that outside of the big cities of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the rest of us are stepchildren.

Let me assure everyone that this quake was very mild in La Ceiba. There probably has been more damage in the Olanchito, Yoro, area but there just isn't any information available yet. The fire department is doing a detailed inspection of buildings in La Ceiba after the 7.3 earthquake on May 28, and so far have only encountered minimal damages such as cracks in walls.

COPECO (Honduras' national emergency agency) reports that we have had 300 aftershocks in the past 5 days in Honduras.

I hope Hilary Clinton doesn't mind some rocking and rolling at the big OAS (Organization of American States) meeting. If she thought that last night was an earthquake, she should have been here for the 7.3!



Related earthquake articles:

Then there were five (Honduran earthquakes)
Make that four Honduran earthquakes
Not one Honduran quake, but three!
Earthquake - The first time the earth moved for me, then again and again and again
Terremoto! 7.1 Earthquake in Honduras

Sorry if that seems excessive. If you or your loved ones were here, you might not think so!