Signing off...

It is hard to believe this session's last full day in Honduras is almost over... The day began early for some, as five of the volunteers left the house at 3:30am to head to the airport and catch their flights back to the United States. We weren't completely sure what to expect, as the president of Honduras was arrested and imprisoned last night, but other than increased security (never an unwelcome thing) things at the airport went off without a hitch. So, it was a lonely three volunteers who spent the day cleaning, packing, and at the beach. We then enjoyed a rousing game of CatchPhrase before partaking in a lovely last dinner with the coordinators, our driver,and our translator. Overall, it has been a peaceful day in Tela despite the political unrest.

At the beginning of the weekend, on Friday, we went back to the Garifuna nursery in the morning to spend a few more hours playing with the children. Helpful hint: if you ever feel unloved, go and meet these kids. We were bombarded with hugs as soon as we stepped off the van, and the children did not lose their enthusiasm as we played games such as Pato Pato Ganzo (Duck Duck Goose), sang songs such as Cabeza Hombros Rodillas y Pies (Head Shoulders Knees and...Legs), and of course broke out the much-anticipated parachute. Despite all the fun we were having, however, it was eventually time to say goodbye to the children, so we loaded back into the van to have lunch at a restaurant on the beach. We got in a few good hours of sun and wave time, ate some yummy fish, and then returned home to prepare for our final party later that night. At the party, we enjoyed an incredible meal, good company, a healthily competitive game of trivia, and, of course, a good amount of dancing.

After a late night on Friday, we were able to sleep in on Saturday before we began our mission for the day: cleaning. We cleaned the house, the living room, the kitchen, the bathrooms; we scrubbed the fridge, the showers, the toilets; we swept, mopped, and swept some more. Due to a combined group effort, however, we were able to get everything checked off by around noontime, so we headed out to the beach for the afternoon. Alas, our time in the sun was shortlived as clouds quickly moved in and it then started to rain. In order to preserve the dry clothes we later needed to pack, we returned the house for chill time, dinner, and a movie and popcorn. We then turned in for what was, for five of us, our last night sleeping in this house.

Reflecting back on this month, it is hard to believe we have accomplished so much. We educated over 700 students ranging from 8 to 20 years old, plus a group of prisoners and a handful of local teenagers. We climbed waterfalls, rafted rivers, hiked up 653 stairs, saw the Mayan Ruins, and flew through the forest on ziplines. We hauled rocks, built walls, painted signs, and took a census. We ate beans, rice, licuados, beans, pupusas, tortillas, and some more beans. But most importantly, we made countless new friends, and forged an even larger number of new memories. You know never what to expect when you throw nine strangers together for four weeks in a foreign country, but I believe we were all pleasantly surprised at how well our group got along, and how good of an experience we all enjoyed. Returning to the states is certainly a welcome event, but our time in Honduras has been unforgettable, to say the least. To all you readers in the states - we will see you soon!

Ciao, and thanks for reading,

Anna