VIVA HONDURAS!

Crazy-busy today. First the kindergarten classes visited Tegus' air force base. Then we celebrated La catracha, the Honduran holiday to celebrate the art of being Honduran (see La catracha). 

The base is beautifully situated in a valley surrounded by the mountainous city of Tegus. At the base, the kids were able to tour the hanger.

We toured multiple small but speedy planes. 

The air force officials allowed us to sit inside a cargo plane. You know, the ones that fly elephants around. 

That's a big nose there, fella. 

The cargo plane was actually really big on the inside.  

The controls. 

We also sat in a helicopter. 

I tried to take a picture of some of my students behind the helicopter door. The pics didn't turnout. However, I also pretended to be trapped outside the helicopter while they sat inside. They dug it. 

My student, Patrick, driving the helicopter. He's ambitious for a 5 year old. 

As for the fiesta catracha, the celebration lasted all day and the teachers were told to avoid teaching at all costs, allowing the kids to simply enjoy the day instead. The high school seniors hosted a Honduran-style bake sale which included horchata, baleades, pinches, pupusas, tomales, etc. The elementary school kids decorated the space outside their classrooms and offered food to passersby that is specific to certain "departments" (akin to states here in the U.S.) in Honduras. For example, as I walked by one room, I was offered a special corn tortilla covered in rice and beans cooked in coconut milk. This delicious dish is made in northern Honduras in the departments of Atlántida and Colón. The kindergartners mostly celebrated by watching the pre-K kids present songs and short dances (pictured below). 

Many of the boys wore traditional clothing which included a white button-down shirt with a sash tied at the neck as well as a cowboy hat. The girls donned traditional dresses with brightly colored wooden beads and bold earrings. My student, Karla, was dressed in typical clothing:

Having been exhausted by field-trip-and-fiesta-induced over-stimulation, some of my new roomies and I went to the mall. Yes, folks, the mall. This is kind of the new hang out in Tegus. We went to the newest mall in the city and ate at the food court. When finished with our paninis, we celebrated our success by enjoying granitas (frappuccinos) and by backing into another car while trying to exit the parking lot. 

¡VIVA HONDURAS!