Festejo de la Primavera

Spring has come! Spring is in full swing here in Tarija, the flowers are blooming and the days are either somewhat hot or perfectly cool and lovely. Everybody is in festive mood and Saturday the 20^st  was the festival of spring. To celebrate, Friday at school was a large festival for everybody and instead of our uniforms we were allowed to wear whatever we wanted to school. After our first period, everybody went outside in the lovely weather with all manner of costume and outfit to dance to the DJ and enjoy food and games.

Naturally, I brought my camera and had a blast taking pictures of my friends, dancing, and the festivities in general. It was so much fun and everybody was in just a great positive mood. It is so strange to be starting spring. This southern hemisphere stuff is really quite interesting. Usually October and November seem like times to focus less on the outside world and solely on schoolwork, but our school ends in November and it is only getting hotter. As the students prepare for the school year to finish soon, everybody seems a little distracted just like I am used to in April and May. I have been invited to hang out with friends, and lots of people are interested in my pictures which is great!

On Sunday the 21^st I went with my host father Walter and my host brother and cousin to the Tarija Country Club. When I heard country club I thought golf, but it turned out to be a property in the middle of nowhere with a really nice lodge, a pool, picknick grounds, an American ninja warrior replica practice course, and a really nice ropes course! Some of my friends were also there and we hung out for the day and towards the end of the day got to do the ropes course as the sun was setting. The ropes course was really fun, and pretty technical. Of course I brought my equipment and took lots of pictures! It was a great day, and the scenery out where the country club was absolutely stunning and barren.