Weekend!

As Sunday winds to a close, we are all exhausted from a busy past three days. On Friday morning, we became the first World Camp program to teach at a prison, when we presented our curriculum to a group of over 40 inmates. Overall, they were well-behaved and seemed interested in what we had to say. They particularly enjoyed the healthy competition of the Jeopardy review game at the end, as one team was quick to point out that we had not awarded them enough points. Everyone came away with a newfound understanding of the Honduran incarceration system, which, to say the least, is markedly different than that of America.

On Saturday we had a full free day, so after doing some errands in town we headed out to our favorite destination: the beach. Five of us decided to try out a banana boat, which we learned after the fact was aptly nicknamed the "Red Shark." Despite hanging on for dear life the group flipped once (the driver definitely did it on purose), and it was a bedraggled group of girls that returned to shore. ...It was great.

Beach!

Saturday night was the Honduras vs. United States soccer game, an event which we had been highly anticipating. The street right outside our house set up the equivalent of the North Carolina state fair just for the game. Being American, we chose to enjoy the spectacle in a less populated area in town, so we watched the US beat the Hondurans 2-1 in a restaurant along with a few other locals.

Trash.

Sunday morning (today) we left the house at 6:15 to go clean a beach that is part of the Punta Sal National Park. Just one hour and one boat ride later, we were transported to a little slice of heaven (#1) where we picked up about a million pounds of trash, including countless flip flops and soda bottles, some jacks, fake grapes, and Mr. Potato Head's feet. Our next endeavour was a hike up to a scenic overlook on the island. A mere 653 steps later (yes, we counted), we arrived at the highest point on the island, only to find that the view was mostly obscured by trees. There was, however, a gorgeous overlook about halfway through all those steps, so it was not all for nought.

Paradise.

Once we regrouped from all those stairs and cooled off in the water, we rode the boat over to paradise #2 for the day, where we were supposed to eat lunch. However, in true Honduran fashion the cook had just not shown up that day. Despite the group's growing appetite, we followed our philosophy of "rolling with it" until we could find another place to get some grub. We got back on the boat once again, and this time the ride got a little choppy due to the incoming tide ("If you are not wearing a life jacket put one on now.") Needless to say, we arrived to paradise #3 safely and enjoyed some rice and beans along with chicken, veggies, or fish.

After lunch and some quality time in the hammock, we came back home and commenced to hang out for the rest of the afternoon until a delicious dinner of rice, veggies, and fruit salad. The week ahead brings many exciting events, such as more teaching at schools, going to the nursery for more cute-kid time, and teaching at the centro de salud (health center) here in Tela. This one will be a short but busy week in Tela, as we depart on Thursday for the grand city of Copan. Until next time!

Hasta luego,

Ana