San Pedro Sula,
Honduras
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Saturday night I went to a soccer game in San Pedro with a group of the San Jeronimo volunteers. Two of the national teams, Vida and Real España, battled it out. The stadium looked similar to what you would see in the States, but instead of stadium seating they have cement stairs that line the whole inside. The crowd was all dressed in yellow and black and they had banners, face painting, and songs that they chanted throughout the whole game. Teens would climb up the fence and through the razor wire to put up banners supporting their team. They also lit fireworks throughout the game and went especially crazy when their team scored a goal. During the game, one could buy snacks and refreshments, much like at a game in the States. However, in Honduras you can buy beer from an 8 year old and single cigarettes from kids even younger than that. Other people brought in pizzas from Dominos and Pizza Hut to sell by the slice. Woman also cooked grilled meat and comida tipica around the outside of the stadium. It was a very cultural experience, I would say. There were also small children that would come and collect the cans to turn in for cash (30 cans= 50 cents).
On Sunday it was Madhelin´s 3rd birthday (the youngest daughter of my "Honduran family"). They threw her a big celebration with food, drinks, a piñata, and other games. She is very shy so she cried her eyes out as we all sang her the Honduran version of Happy Birthday. The cake was a "tres leches", which means that it was more or less soaked in milk. They baked a regular cake and then created a mixture of milk, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk and poured it over the cake before the icing was spread on top. There was also a layer of strawberries to top it off. ¡Que rico!
