Monday, September 3, 2012

Santa Rosa Weekend




September 2, 2012
In celebration of surviving yet another week of  teaching, only our second, the teachers took a weekend trip.  We left on Saturday morning and headed by pick-up truck (yes we rode in the back) through the mountains to the town of Santa Rosa. 

The view on the ride out of La Union...we were going through a cloud.
We rode the last hour of the trip on a bus and were greeted by loud music and crazy men as soon as we stepped off at the stop it was a very typical Latin American feel.  It was a bit overwhelming for us coming from La Union and we all decided that was almost sensory overload.  They was so much to look at and so much to hear we didn’t even know where to direct our attention.  We chose a hotel close to the bus stop and the supermarket, but a little away from the town center.  After settling in to a great place we took a taxi into town and arrived at the town square to find the beginning of a parade.  Apparently it was Santa Rosa Day and the festivities were beginning.  Of course our first instinct was that it was some sort of protest or gathering because the picture below is what we saw. 

After getting out of the taxi, this is the sight we saw.
We found out that the colored gas was actually being released by the military as we had thought but it was signaling the beginning of the parade.  The problem with this situation is that the parade was traveling right down the street we needed to cross to get to the bank so that we could receive our debit cards.  Once we made it through the crowd and across the street we were able to accomplish everything we needed to at the bank and everything was in order for us to collect our cards (a surprisingly flawless trip through the bank…a very rare occurrence because they are not very efficient).  Once we had taken care of the business we were able to have a little fun.  We visited a pizza place called Weekends, and the teachers from Gracias met us there so we could exchange stories and catch up with them.  The pizza was delicious and we had all been craving it!  After this we visited the teacher store to grab some materials and even found a miniature department/convenience store where we were able to pick up a few things for our apartments and some beauty products.  Its nice to know that all of these things are available here and I won’t have to go without…they even had a few of my favorite brands.  Once we were shopped out we visited a local coffee shop.  This is a favorite of Jakes because it actually sells local Honduran coffee.  Surprisingly most coffee shops don’t sell the local product but rather imported brands.  I had a wonderful strawberry and chocolate smoothing that cooled me down because it was a hot day.  The coffee shop was a neat area and was located right by the central park. 
The streets of Santa Rosa

After wandering around a bit we went back to the hotel and visited the supermarket.  And as our luck would have it, it was the 5-year anniversary of the store, which means that it was packed and very busy!  We were able to stock up on some of our favorite foods and things we can’t get in La Union.  I actually got some Oreos, tuna, pasta sauce, macaroni and cheese, and Ritz just to name a few.  We were all very excited with our purchases and felt very accomplished so we left our new purchases at the hotel and went back into town to have dinner at a restaurant called Zotz.  It was much like a TGIFridays and even had the same décor…check out the Spartan sign they had.

The food was a good attempt at American, but it fell a bit short of our standards.  We were able to enjoy a couple beers though and after dinner we moved onto another bar for a couple drinks and got the entertainment of a live band and some great dancers!  We were all exhausted though from running around and traveling so we headed back to the hotel. 

This morning we caught a bus back to Gracias and then a different one to La Union.  Both buses were packed and very hot, but it got worse the closer to La Union because more people kept getting on and the roads are terrible.  If you could picture the rockiest roads through the mountains that lead to a small village then you would be thinking along the lines of the bus we took, but even then you probably can’t quite imagine how crazy it was.  We were all grateful to get home, but we were also very happy for the time away and then chance to pick up a few things that we had been really longing for. 

The view
One of my other favorite parts of the weekend was after school on Friday.  Jake and one of the microfinance guys, Mike, took Brooke and I up to a lookout point on their motorcycles.  It was beautiful!  You could see for miles and there was even a storm rolling through in the distance that we could see.  The area was so quiet and it was quite the change from the week at school and all the kids yelling “Miss” constantly.  Jake pointed out some of the aldeas (villages) that surround La Union and we took some time to chat and take in the view. 


I am feeling wonderfully refreshed after the weekend and ready to take on another week with my students.  Hopefully things will continue to go well, and the students will continue to work hard.  It should also be noted that it is now September, which means that I have been here for about month.  It has gone by so fast and hopefully it will continue to in the best way because I sure do miss the people and comforts of home, but for now I know that I have a home here and the students remind me daily of why I am here. 

1 comment:

  1. Yum Oreos! Were they double-stuf, my fave? Sounds like a great weekend! Loving the pics! Quentin thinks your house is a dump. lol Kirby is so jealous of your "the view" pic. If you do another year, he volunteers to go with you and wash your clothes and bring you lunch. :-) Love you bunches, keep up the writing, we love following your adventures! xoxo

    PS: skype this week? (just not Friday) imessage me.

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