Piñatas are Underrated

So we had an amazing 4 day weekend last weekend because of Honduran Independence Day. So my family took me to this amazing place called Zamorano, which I'm pretty sure is a university campus. But it was amazing! I just put up some pictures of it on facebook if you'd like to see what it looked like! There was a large river to fish in, tennis courts, soccer fields, and food! What I didn't know was that this was the 14th birthday party for my twin cousins. So when we got there the entire extended family was there too! I was definitely surprised, but I'm sure my family told me they were going to be there I just don't understand nearly enough. Jourdan (one of the other Calvin students that lives by me) came with me for the day too, which was really nice cause that way we didn't know what was going on together haha. Well we ate as soon as we got there and started fishing. Our fishing pole consisted of a piece of a branch with fishing wire wrapped around it and a small hook on the end with a little bait on it. I didn't believe it would work, but my papa proved me wrong and caught a fish! I guess it wasn't big enough to eat or anything so he threw it back, but it was pretty exciting nonetheless. Then came the birthday festivities, apparently the birthday girls ran the show and explained the games and handed out prizes. Jourdan and I most of the time had no idea what the point of the games were and so we just did what everybody else did. At one point we were bending over and spinning in circles and never found out how we were suppose to win. Luckily Jourdan can understand quite a bit so she tried to explain as much as she understood of what we were suppose to do. Then after the games we had some free time to hit or "bump" around the volleyball with the cousins.
Then was piñata time! We all crowded around and we had to go in order of age, but with the birthday girls first with the youngest cousins. Unfortunately, if your over 3 feet tall you have to go on your knees to hit the piñata because otherwise it would be too easy! Jourdan and I weren't too sure about taking a swing at it, but they made sure we had our chance haha. But they don't have blindfolds like we do. They have one person pulling the rope up and down, while the other person just swings and swings. At the same time everybody else is singing a song about hitting it once, twice, and three times. Then when they finish the short song, you have to stop hitting. The system seemed to work quite well and eventually the piñata gave out and everybody was showered with candy. It was quite a bit of fun and I'm pretty sure we should have more piñatas in America, especially at college. It be a great pastime haha. Later we passed the soccer ball around for a while like keep-away. Then came time for the cake! I wish I had a picture of this thing, it was like the ultimate cake of sugar. Amazing, I tell you! It was two layers with this caramelized middle, then covered in frosting. And the frosting was literally covered with marshmallows, jelly beans, cookies, and any other sugary goodness you could think of. And then at parts it had more frosting on top to say happy birthday or "feliz cumpleaños." And it tasted just as good as it sounded!
Just as I was finishing, my family yelled that I had to hop in the truck. So I did with Jourdan, the family, and some cousins and off we drove to the tennis courts. The only open one was a clay one, but it definitely did the job. We ended up having a tournament with everybody, it was a lot of fun. But I couldn't let my tennis teaching jobs over the summers go to waste, so I was helping everybody with their serves or strokes because most of them had never played before or were still learning. I think everybody had a grand ol time though. After we finished the tourny, we ran over to join the rest of the cousins and uncles in a big game of soccer! It was so much fun! We played till it was dark, and I only managed a small cut to the wrist from falling and Jourdan tweaked her ankle, but all was good and we couldn't stop smiling from all the fun we had. Well just as I thought the night was over, we all climbed in the truck and headed over to my aunt's house for a huge dinner with the whole family again! It was great and a good time to talk with the family. I found out one of my cousins volunteers every Saturday at this reptile house with snakes, turtles, and other amphibians too. I guess he cleans their cages and does tours. It sounds really sweet so I think Jourdan and I are going to go with him one weekend to watch. Then after a couple of hours and exhausted from the day we headed home and went to bed.
Unfortunately, that was the end of the fun for the weekend for me! I got pretty sick after I got home on including fever, headaches, stomach problems, loss of appetite, nausea, and loss of all energy. This lasted till about Tuesday, but now I'm doing much better no need to worry! Still don't know what caused it or if it was just a combination of things but its alright cause its done! So that was my weekend of fun with the family, and we're hoping to go back there soon!

~Kelsey~