Honduras became independent from Spain on this day in 1821. So to celebrate we all had the day off and this morning we headed to the parade that is held every year in the soccer stadium in the middle of Tegucigalpa. We arrived at the stadium a little before noon and before we went in to join the crowd we stopped by a vendor and bought Honduran soccer jerseys. We also enjoyed some local cuisine for lunch. I bought two baleadas sencillas ($6 Lempira each which is a little over $0.25 in US dollars), a slice of watermelon for 2 lempiras and some amazing passion fruit juice (maracuya). It took almost 15 minutes for us to make our way into the stadium due the crowd. The parade was very similar to a parade that you would find in the United States. However, it started very early in the morning and was still going on when we left around 3:00pm. They had marching bands, dancers, military men from all branches, rescue teams, firefighters, children's groups and many more that participated in the parade. They also had three flyovers and men that repelled out of helicopters. People from all over the country were there to celebrate the independence day of Honduras. It was truly an amazing cultural experience.
After the parade we all came back to relax for the rest of the day. We started Spanish lessons on Wednesday so I spent a few hours reviewing what we learned as well as memorizing some new vocabulary. Even though I live in Honduras I have to make a conscious effort to learn and practice Spanish. Since everyone I live and work with speaks English it is hard to surround myself with Spanish speakers all the time. Our Spanish teacher is really great and I am excited that I will get to break up the work days twice a week to improve my Spanish. One of my goals this year is to increase my confidence level in speaking with native speakers. I have studied Spanish since middle school and minored in Spanish during college. I should be able to speak much better than I do and so this year I am really going to make the most of every opportunity and speak Spanish whenever I can.
Kathleen, Frank and I then made one of the best home cooked meals I have had in a while. We made fried tilapia with corn, potatoes and onions and cheese biscuits. For desert we had double chocolate cookies :). Today has been a really good food day. After dinner we all watched Bridemades. This was the second time I have watched this movie here. It is pretty funny and I would recommend seeing it at least once. After the movie I began packing. A few of us took tomorrow off and are going to El Lago de Yojoa!! I am really fortunate to be able to go on all of these wonderful weekend trips. There is a ton to do at this beautiful lake. There is hiking, canoeing, waterfalls, zip lining, and American brewery and lots more. We don't have a set plan but I am sure there will be many adventures throughout the weekend. I will let you all know how the trip goes :).
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