Copan: The Final Days

Hello friends and family! After four wonderful weeks, I have made it home safely. It was hard to leave such a magical place, but I think at the end we were all ready to return to the States and see our loved ones.

I apologize for not posting in the past couple of days. Friday night was spent preparing for our final on Saturday morning, and Don Udo's unfortunately did not have an internet connection on Saturday night so I was unable to post. Last night was dedicated to reuniting with my family and, more importantly, sleeping. But I am now well rested and will give you a final update.

Friday night was the Fash Bash, where Bill and Barb invited us all to their house to celebrate our time in Copan. Their house is in an inconspicuous location in town and is absolutely beautiful. Here is a shot of the back patio. Behind it, an amazing view of the valley.


A good portion of their house, like most spaces in town, is outside, which provides for a very nice, tropical atmosphere. Adding to the atmosphere was the live music of a marimba band, led by the one and only Don Felipe. As I mentioned before, I helped interview Don Felipe as part of my community project. He built the first marimba in town with his own hands in 1936, when he was only 20 years old.


You can see Don Felipe here in the far right. Aren't those instruments beautiful? It was such a nice surprise seeing Don Felipe play since he retired from playing a few years ago.

But it was Bill and Barb who were the recipients of the real surprise. Their birthdays are both in late July, during the run of the field school, and each let both occasions slip by without letting the students know. Well, we eventually found out about it and were not too pleased. Laura managed to get Udo's daughter to bake a cake secretly, and then sneaked the cake into the party unbeknownst to the hosts. When she brought it out, candles lit, the marimba band began to play "Happy Birthday."

Bill and Barb were completely surprised! They blew out the candles together--very cute.

The Fash Bash was a blast, but as it came to a close we headed back to the hotel for some last-minute studying for the final the next morning. Although I was stressing a little bit (especially over the Mayan glyph identification section on the exam!), everything turned out just fine. The rest of Saturday was spent shopping in the town and spending time with the other field school students, now my close friends.

Before I knew it, it was time to leave. When I arrived at the San Pedro Sula airport, a three hour drive from Copan, I felt like it had been ages since I was last there, but at the same time it felt like my time in Honduras had just flown by.

This summer was easily one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had in my life, and I am so lucky that I had the opportunity. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and maybe next summer I will get that chance.

Thanks for keeping up with me while I've been here! I can't wait to see all of you and catch up. But for now, I need to go find out what's been happening in the world for the last few weeks.

Adios!