New Years

For New Years we had some Valle De Angeles (where we used to live) friends come and stay with us for a few days! Vanessa (one the transitioned orphans that we loved on a lot) and Miranda (a co-worker) along with Ana Rosa and Iris (2 girls that are living with Miranda) for the weekend. We played lots of games, ate pizza, watched funny movies, played basketball, and caught up on life. It was a lot of fun and so great to see them again.

We learned another new thing about Honduras tradition this New Years. It's called the Hombre Viejo "old man" (it's a burning man but no it's not like the festival in Nevada). Each neighborhood gets together and collects money to buy the supplies of building a scarecrow/pinata man that is then stuffed with fireworks. At midnight the man is hung on the gallows above a large bonfire and he is set - this is to signify the old year being done and a new year starting. it's quite an explosion with the fireworks going off for 15 minutes! So for the entire week before New Years there were kids standing on the road asking for money to put towards their 'hombre viejo'. the kids in our neighborhood did it as well and I wish I had a picture of the man before he was lit but I don't - just him being burned.

This was the season of fireworks! New Years and Christmas nights you can hear fireworks ALL NIGHT LONG as these nights everyone stays awake all night! so they are loud nights. amazingly Maddy slept through both of the loud nights - yeah!