Kids Say the Darndest Things

One of my absolute favorite parts of our monthly magazine, X-PRES-ARTE, is the Escuch-Arte section. It's basically just a shout-out board -- and it's completely hilarious.

In the weeks before we put the magazine together, kids from throughout the house can write notes -- signed or anonymous -- and put them in the X-PRES-ARTE comment boxes we've set up around NPH.

Here are some of my favorites from this issue. Keep in mind that elementary and middle schoolers are writing this stuff haha.

De: Rivaldo y Jairon
Maria Jose, gracias por tu comida y gracias por venir a compartir con nosotros; nos gusta tanto tu comida que quisiéramos que nos dieran más.

From: Rivaldo and Jairon
Maria Jose (chef), thank you for your food and thank you for coming here to share with us. We like your food a lot and we would like for you to give us more.

Entrevista a Esmerelda:
¿Nombre completo?
-Esmerelda
¿De donde vienes?
-De Chimaltenango.
¿Quienes son tus amigas?
-Linda, Mariela, Ana, Felipe, Vilda, y Miguel
¿Tienes novio?
-No, ni lo pienso tener.

Interview with Esmerelda:
Full name?
-Esmerelda
Where are you from?
-From Chimaltenango.
Who are your friends?
-Linda, Mariela, Ana, Felipe, Vilda, and Miguel
Do you have a boyfriend?
-No, and I don't think I want to have one either.

Para: Jorge
De: ...
No te das cuenta de las personas que te aman, y para cuando te des cuenta de la persona especial que en verdad te valora ya será demasiado tarde y te arrepentirás.

For: Jorge
From:...
You don't realize that people love you, and when you do realize there is a special person that loves you, it will be too late and you will live to regret it.

Para: Yocaren
De: Anónimo
Las estrellas son astros que brillan con luz propia...al igual que ellas, tú, posees una luz especial que te permite iluminar todo lo que te rodea. Mira al cielo, hay millones de estrellas hermosas...

For: Yocaren
From: Anonymous
The stars are heavenly bodies that shine with their own light...and like them, you possess a special light that allows you to illuminate everything around you. Look at the sky, there are millions of beautiful stars...

Para: Dolman
De: Dania
Hola, ¿cómo estás? Espero que no te hayas enojado conmigo. Yo te quiero mucho. Mi ojo derecho, yo te quiero decir si quieres estar conmigo.

For: Dolman
From: Dania
Hi, how are you? I hope that you haven't been mad at me. I love you a lot. My right eye, I want you to say if you want to be with me.

June Magazine!

Time for another magazine! This is the third issue, and we're going strong. :)

Revista Junio 2010

June and a Mordida

Yesterday, while we welcomed the arrival of June 1 (AH!), we also welcomed the arrival of Leeah's birthday (WOO!).

At NPH Guatemala, there are a lot of birthday traditions, and most of them are actually less-than-pleasant for the birthday-er, but pretty entertaining for the audience. Here's one example:

The mordida. After you blow out the candles on your cake, and before you're actually allowed to eat it, you have to let everyone else pick up the cake and smash it into your face. It's tradition, so you're not getting out of it, but really, whose idea was this?

So here is Leeah, face first in a delicious, homemade carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing -- all prepared by Katie, our house´s resident baker haha. Yum!

One Natural Disaster After Another

Lately, Guatemala just can't catch a break.

Last week, Volcán Pacaya erupted, spewing ash all over the country (not here though), basically shutting down the capital, and closing the airport for the entire weekend.

That same afternoon, we had a minor earthquake.

And THEN, we welcomed Tropical Storm Agatha. We were not so happy to see her. Starting Thursday night, it rained NONSTOP until early Sunday morning. When I say nonstop, I mean the rain literally did not let up for one single second those entire two days. And when I say rained, I mean poured. We spent the weekend trapped in the house, dodging leaks in the roof, and seriously worrying that we didn't have enough food at home to make it through the weekend. We survived off of Easy Mac, bread, and a bottle of vodka we found in the freezer. (Kidding...or am I?)

Thankfully, the rain stopped yesterday, but the country is still a mess. Mudslides have destroyed entire towns, killed nearly 100 people in Guatemala, and forced over 112,000 people in Guatemala to be evacuated from their homes. The airport is still shut down, transportation isn't running in many parts of the country because roads have been eroded, and school is out nation-wide for the entire week.

To make things even better, forecasts say that the rain will start up again this afternoon and Pacaya might very well erupt again later this week.

Come on Mother Nature, haven't we had enough??

Check out this rain:


Tropical Storm Agatha from Carrie Daut on Vimeo.

Story Update 11

The Acto Civico - Every Monday morning, students at NPH Guatemala celebrate their country with the Acto Civico.

A Harry Potter Kermes - For this month's Kermes, the volunteers of NPH Guatemala presented our children with a magical afternoon in the wizarding world.

Almost Ready to "Step Out" - This year's Quinceañeras took a special trip to buy high heels for June's big celebration.

Yexika Andrade Suazo - Hermana Mayor and Assistant to the House Director

Valentina Venditti - (Italy) Caregiver in Girls'/Babies' House

Mexico! Day Cuatro (the extra day)

So we were supposed to leave on Sunday, but our shuttle company forgot about our reservation and never picked us up. The only shuttles to the Mexican-Guatemalan border leave in the morning, so once you've missed them, you're stuck for the day. Result: we were stuck in San Cristóbal for an extra day. Forced to extend the vacation. I know, awful.

4th Day!

Bagel breakfast, visit to the Museum of Mayan Medicine, more eating and reading, and a final night of Sol cerveza and cards!

Can never go wrong with bagels.

Yes, I know how ridiculous those sunglasses look.

Very happy to see some Mexican beer.

Limes too!

Mexico! Day Tres

A (dangerous yet awesome) 4-hour bike ride (complete with busy Mexican highways, barbed wire fences, and steep, slippery pine-covered downhill trails) that was the most intense workout I've had in years, huge slices of carrot cake, souvenir shopping, and wine & tapas!

Bike ride!

We actually thought we were athletic before this trip, hah.

Smiling but about to die of exhaustion.

Crazy plant that latches onto pine trees, catches water, houses frogs, and grows pretty pink flowers!

 AWESOME carrot cake and coffee find.

San Cristóbal postcard/bookmark purchases!

Wine & tapas bar! Free tapa with each glass!