What A Week!

Wednesday, October 14:

Last game.... Last chance. Honduras versus El Salvador and USA versus Costa Rica. Honduras AND the US must win in order for Honduras to take the 3rd spot in the World Cup in South Africa 2010. There were over 25,000 Hondurans at the game in El Salvador. Honduras wins by one goal... Down to the last 20 minutes of the USA game and they are down by 2. They score 1!!! They must now score at least 1 more point to tie the game in order for Honduras to be qualified for the first time in since 1982. The US is still down with less than a minute to go..... THEY SCORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honduras is in the World Cup, baby!

Picture this... Last goal, a room full of Hondurans and 1 American jumping up and down screaming, high-fiving, and hugging... Only to repeat the process for a total of about 10 minutes before it finally quiets down. The Honduran soccer team was in tears, and I was almost in tears because I am here to be a part of all the excitement.

The REAL excitement, however, ocurred AFTER the game. I went to the caravana (caravan) with everyone afterward, where TONS of cars and people were out in the streets screaming, honking, celebrating, waving flags, wearing the Honduran colors, and wearing costumes. I have NEVER seen so many people unite to celebrate a sport in my life, and this occurs throughout the entire country, not just here in San Pedro Sula. I saw so many people chanting "U.S.A!" and waving the American flag as a way of thanking the US for helping Honduras make it to the World Cup. In fact, imagine my surprise the first time some random guy leaned over to me and started shouting, "U.S.A! U.S.A!" right in my ear! I also had many people say, "Thank you, gringa." I was famous, and these people didn't even know me.... All the while I was still wearing the Honduran jersey.

The Honduran pride and excitement was something else to see... And you know their love for holidays? Well, the President declared Thursday a holiday due to the triumph of the team. NO SCHOOL!!!!

Friday, October 16:

As you can well imagine, my kids were more-than-excited about the Honduran win. I could not get them to stop chanting, "Hon-du-ras! Hon-du-ras!" and "Viva Honduras!" the entire day. There were also 2 kiddos that wore honduran jerseys, shorts, and blue and white "100% Catracho" (Catracho=Honduran) hats. It was both hilarious and adorable to witness since they are only 4 and 5-year-olds. On a side note, instead of coloring as he was supposed to, I had a boy try and stick his gallon-sized plastic bag for his crayons over his head. When I saw him, he had it down to the point where he was about ready to pull it over his eyes. I'm not sure what to think of this...... I hate to find out what he tries to do the next time we decide to use scissors... I have already had another boy that almost cut off a big hunk of hair as he stared right at me, smiled, and held a big wad of his hair hostage with a pair of kid-sized scissors. You wouldn't think a pair of dull scissors that are like 2 inches long could do any damage, but these kids are creative.

Saturday, October 17 (I have officially been here 2 months):

You know what "Saturday" means.... Laundry day!!! Yup, that's what I did. Jeans, T-shirts, tank tops.... 2 hours of laundry. It was a great day because it was nice and breezy and sunny. Within 4 hours, my clothes were almost completely dry (including my jeans!). Imagine my excitement!!! Unfortunately....... As is the case EVERY laundry day in the life of Bobbi, it started pouring down rain... And I was at a movie. I got home to have my laundry all damp as if I had just washed it............ AGAIN! Well, the rain had stopped, so I left my clothes out.... So, what happens next? I wake up the next morning to pouring rain. Seriously, it's like the sky is flipping me off or something. I don't think I can do my laundry outside anymore because it hates me. It is almost 6pm on Monday evening (2 1/2 days later), and I STILL have a pair of jeans drying. It rained from 7:30am-11pm or later... ALL day.... WITHOUT stopping. Sheesh. Can't catch a break.

Sunday, October 18:

Except for raining all day (from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed... nonstop), not much of anything happened. I took a full-sized hammer to a bunch of frozen chicken to try and get the pieces apart for dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't have my protective eye goggles on, otherwise that would have made a great candid photo moment.

In retrospect, the week was sure something...