Independence Day in Honduras!

We left our house around 7 am and walked to the starting point. As soon as I saw these girls, I knew I had missed my calling in this parade. Why weren't we allowed to wear pretty dresses? :)

Some of the cute little Maranatha School cheerleaders.

Pastor Trundle's son, Edward. Another "little brother" of ours.

Miss Sonia (prepa teacher) and Miss Jessica (pre-k teacher). I see these wonderful ladies a lot!

She is so pretty!

Some of my little kids were dressed up! They are adorable. I don't know how they survived the heat in those costumes though.

Ian has perfect puppy eyes.

Andrea Carolina looked so cute! I think she was a little unsure about the whole thing at the beginning :).

Another beautiful little fairy!

Angel--the cutest Tigger I've ever seen.

Abraham looked so precious in his mouse costume.

Mario didn't look thrilled to be there, but he was oh-so-cute in his cow outfit.

Barney is popular everywhere I think. lol. So cute.

A different Mario. So cute and SO energetic.

Cia and Nelly, two of my lovely roommates. Kadian had already left us to join the band.

Beautiful girls in traditional costumes.

Some of the seniors. Very cool, of course. Just like all high school seniors ;)

A bunch of the girls in their traditional dresses plus Kathy & Emily

A lot of groups had cheerleaders like these girls. I do not envy walking in those boots! Or the outfits for that matter. They looked very pretty though.

It's about time I got a picture of these two up here! Emily and Ashley. They are the other two missionaries that live across the street from us.

Splashes of color spill over the walls. I had to ask one of the senior girls, but it turns out by this time the parade had started. The whole thing was very stop-start-walk-wait. At the beginning I thought we were still waiting for it to start lol.

Lovely

So adorable! More kids arrived after the parade had started. Sadly I didn't get to take all their pictures.

Jumbo! Our closest and therefore most frequented grocery store.

Just a little peak of the mountain view I have surrounding me each day.

These weird things are all over the electric lines and sometimes in trees. Explanation anyone?

A little tortilla shop. Very yummy and cheap. The ladies looked picture perfect with their yellow shirts matching the logo.

One of the many, many taxis in Comayagua that constantly honk as they look for costumers, warn others of their presence, push their way into traffic, to say hello, and just about for any other reason you can think of.

Some of the crowd.

Nelly and Miss Jessica walking past.

Cia, me, and Nelly posing for a quick picture while the parade was standing still.

Pastor Trundle checking to make sure everyone is in order.

Pretty Miss Norma :)

The busy street behind us.

Pulperias are little side stores that are all over the place. There are very handy if you forget to buy something and need it right away.

A lady selling snacks. Quite the balancing act.

These poor guys didn't get a break today. I was surprised to see so many businesses still open.

A color line of umbrellas. They are definitely used for a lot more than just rain in the sunny streets of Comayagua.

A cathedral

One of the many little sidewalk stands we see several of on a daily basis.

Walking back after the parade was over.

We were finally reunited with Kadian. She was a little hesitant to pose for a picture at first...

But after we all insisted...we took pictures with everyone!

Me, Dawnelle, Ashley, Kadian, Emily, and Darcia

My roommates/family! :)

This is the Adventist church that is connected to the school.

We all walked back to Maranatha.

Our school!

On the way home we got to see more of the parade. We had seen guys dressed in these masks at the park over the weekend. I am so glad we got to get a picture today.

Oo! More traditional costumes.

Wow! So fancy :)

Their dresses were so amazing.

Miss Myla told us that this group won a National dancing competition.

The little dancing couples were so super cute.

They got a little shy when they noticed my camera. Aw.

A float. The girls in the back had gorgeous orchids.

La Princesita--Home of our baleada dinners.

The adorable little floral shop we pass every single day. I always peer in and dream about the day that I will go in and treat myself to some flowers :)

Another pop of color above a rooftop. It's so much more vibrant in real life.

Walking down the street to our house. I can't believe all this happened and was over by 10am. Our school was actually on time, so we were one of the first to march. We missed the hottest part of the day, praise the Lord!

Miss Myla's house is first, then ours, then Miss Joline's (the first grade teacher I assist). You can't quite see Miss Joline's in this picture though.

Ashley and Emily's house across the street.

What a full morning! When I got home I went straight to the shower. After showing I went straight to laundry. After hand-washing some laundry I wen t to the kitchen and made pina colada smoothies. Then Kadian and I filled up the washer using the hose and shower (we'll get a picture next time...lol) to wash our dark clothes. Miss Myla brought us over some delicious baked plantains. More laundry. We ended up settling for Ramen Noodles for the rest of our lunch lol. And I just spent the last forever uploading and titling these pictures. I hope you enjoy them! I'm going to pack for La Ceiba now! :)