A Day on the River

(This post should have been posted last Monday…sorry about the delay. More to come shortly)

What with my world history final exam being on Tuesday, I was able to complete all my grading and turn in my final grades by Friday. I even finished the majority of my lesson planning for the next quarter, so I had the whole weekend to myself!

This was fortuitous, as one of my students invited the volunteers to his birthday party on Sunday. We had previously attended the party of his younger brother, and were very excited to get to go again. The party took place out in the country, surrounded by trees and fields. There is a simple, two story wooden structure, which I think is only used for occasions such as this one. There is a bathroom with a shower, and a kitchen with a wood stove. The rooms are bare, and only really used for storage during the party, and to set up cribs for any little babies in need of a place to nap.

As before, a number of tables and chairs were set up under the overhang of the building. The place was bedecked with balloons and streamers, and the smell of grilling meat drifted out from the kitchen. We stopped for a quick snack, and then piled back into the truck to drive down to the river. Emerging from the trees, we were greeted by a sweeping flood plain of rock and sand, through which meandered a blue-green river. It must be the Honduran equivalent of spring, because there were blossoming trees in pink and yellow along the banks of the river. It was a pleasant 75 degrees, just warm enough to enjoy the swimming.

We played in the river a few hours, before returning to the lodge house for lunch (carne asada, homemade corn tortillas, pico de gaillo, and frijoles,) dancing, and horse riding. All in all, a pretty sweet day, as well as a great way to kick off the third quarter feeling pumped and refreshed.