Friday to Sunday, April 23-25

I had a great weekend this weekend. Saturday I went to town and Tad and I decided to go see the fort in the middle of town. I hadn’t been there since I arrived in Gracias in August and it’s so easy to get to, I don’t know why I didn’t go sooner. It’s called Fuerte San Cristobal and has a very interesting history behind it of protecting Gracias as a colonial town and being the location of one of the first public schools (in Honduras, I believe). It’s shaped like a star and has five lookout towers which offer a great view of Gracias from the top of the hill. On the opposite side, Celaque looked beautiful and looming. It was hot that day, though, so we didn’t stay up there long; just long enough to take pictures and enjoy the view. We bought a few things in town, ate lunch at Bella Celaque, and headed back up to Villa Verde. A bunch of the guys from the school like Mr. Bran, Mr. Rodrigo, some our neighbors and Tad played an afternoon soccer game. Laura Beth and I went to watch and be the unofficial ‘cheerleaders’ and photographers.

Jacki (23) and Candido’s (5) birthdays were Friday and Saturday, respectively, so Jacki helped to prepare a double birthday party. All of the neighborhood came as well as some of Jacki’s K4 students and parents. We had Chinese rice for dinner (people in the States have pizza for birthday parties; we have Chinese rice) and then Juan Carlos had bought a huge red dog piñata for the kids to break open. The kids had a blast wacking that piñata and it didn’t last long! The candy fell out and chaos ensued. Afterwards was cake and opening presents and clean up. It was a fun night to spend with neighbors and friends celebrating Jacki and Candido’s birthdays. Sunday was schoolwork, catch up with family and friends, laundry, and relaxing before starting another week…6 more weeks!