It's official. Flight booked.
January 25, 2011. A Tuesday. Leaving one home for another. Landing in Louisville at 8:58 p.m.
Surreal.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Aniversario Teams!
I warned you things were going to start getting crazy.
Aniversario teams have been distributed!!!
For the house's 14th anniversary celebration this November, the entire house -- from babies to bachillerato students (high schoolers) to volunteers, tios, employees, and everyone in between -- has been assigned to one of 12 teams of about 30 people each. I'm on team 5, and we're obviously going to win.
This year's aniversario theme is "World Cup," so when we drew for our team mascot and ended up with Naranjito, we weren't too concerned that it was once called the 3rd dumbest World Cup mascot (1982 World Cup). We were mostly just excited that it was Spain's. I think we all know how they fared in this most recent Mundial. Ahem, ahem. We're going to win.
Let the aniversario games begin!
P.S. Stayed tuned for more details on what the heck Aniversario is exactly. Let's just say that cheers, dances, flags, matching outfits, games, and tug-of-war over a giant mud pit might be involved. :)
Aniversario teams have been distributed!!!
For the house's 14th anniversary celebration this November, the entire house -- from babies to bachillerato students (high schoolers) to volunteers, tios, employees, and everyone in between -- has been assigned to one of 12 teams of about 30 people each. I'm on team 5, and we're obviously going to win.
This year's aniversario theme is "World Cup," so when we drew for our team mascot and ended up with Naranjito, we weren't too concerned that it was once called the 3rd dumbest World Cup mascot (1982 World Cup). We were mostly just excited that it was Spain's. I think we all know how they fared in this most recent Mundial. Ahem, ahem. We're going to win.
Let the aniversario games begin!
P.S. Stayed tuned for more details on what the heck Aniversario is exactly. Let's just say that cheers, dances, flags, matching outfits, games, and tug-of-war over a giant mud pit might be involved. :)
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Babies on Trampoline
Possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen. A video of this could make us overnight celebrities on YouTube. :)
Dia del Niño
Growing up, little American children like to complain, saying, "There's a Mother's Day and a Father's Day and a Grandparents' Day, but when is Kid's Day????"
And smart parents like to retailiate, "Honey, every day is kid's day."
Well, in Guatemala, they make it official. October 1st is Dia del Niño!
We celebrated a day early this year (because apparently the demand for Dia del Niño venues isn't so high on days other than Dia del Niño, so they give you a better rate), so Thursday was our Dia del Niño!
The day started early -- 4:45 a.m. early -- as all the volunteers and tios woke up to sing Las Mañanitas outside the windows of all the kids' houses (Sound familiar?), and then at 8 a.m. everyone was ready to go! We filled up 6 school buses and headed off to a park outside of Antigua. And then, the kids had the entire day to do whatever they wanted.
There was a carnival. There was jump rope. There was a trampoline. There were swimming pools. There were board games. There was cotton candy. There was face painting. There was ice cream -- free ice cream. There were even skits by the volunteers, teachers, and tios where the only objective was to make fools of ourselves in front of everyone. Talk about a kids' paradise. :)
Happy Dia del Niño!
Ready to go!
Filling up the bus.
VERY excited.
Carnival games!
That water was absolutely freezing. Those kids are crazy.
Bingo!
Cotton candy!
And face painting!
Channeling our inner niñas and enjoying our cotton candy.
The babies were painted as puppy dogs. Adorable.
Making fools of ourselves as we dance Lady Gaga.
Cross-dressing. Always a big hit.
And elaborate animal outfits!
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Thanks to tropical storms, tropical depressions, and whatever else is hanging out there in the Caribbean, our weather has been absolutely atrocious lately. It's been nothing but clouds, wind, rain, and cold. I seriously don't think we've seen a speck of sunlight in at least 10 days. Go awaaaaay, rain!
It's taking its toll, too. After so much nonstop disgusting weather, I think most of us have gotten SAD (seasonal affective disorder, that is) in addition to just plain cranky. Ugh.
Come ON, weather!
It's taking its toll, too. After so much nonstop disgusting weather, I think most of us have gotten SAD (seasonal affective disorder, that is) in addition to just plain cranky. Ugh.
Come ON, weather!
Friday, October 1, 2010
October: The Last Normal Month
Welcome to October. While you guys are out there welcoming the arrival of fall, I'm here welcoming the arrival of an absolutely terrifying point: the last normal month.
October is the last normal month I'll have here, and I've been aware of it for a while. It will be a busy month -- but that's normal -- with a volunteer bonding trip to Earth Lodge outside of Antigua, a 3-day volunteer workshop to refine and reflect on the program, more proyectos familiares, a Kermes, the end of the school year, and graduation.
In November, I'll be traveling for 3 of the 4 weeks (Home Correspondent workshop in Nicaragua, then 2 weeks of vacation with Sam...we're thinking Honduras' Bay Islands and then Thanksgiving at the mansion in Pana with Cheryl!), and the week in between will be an insanely hectic but insanely fun celebration of NPH Guatemala's Aniversario -- arguably the biggest event of the year.
December means no more 9-5 office job, but it also means the hardest work I will have done all year. For a little over three weeks, all volunteers stop their day-to-day jobs and work as tios and tias in the section taking care of the kids who don't go home to families for the Christmas season. All I can say is: get ready.
And then it's January. January is a month of ringing in the New Year, recovering from December's tia duty, seeing a new set of volunteers come in, training them to take over our jobs, dying inside while we watch them take over our sections of kids, packing, and saying goodbyes. My 13-month commitment at NPH Guatemala officially ends on January 21.
Good lord, I'm exhausted just writing about what a whirlwind these next few months are going to be. Some moments I feel like I still have forever left here, but then I go and do something like realize I only have 4 more regular Monday mornings as the Home Correspondent, and I completely freak myself out.
Ay Dios.
So, if you thought these past 9 months had been an adventure, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Things are about to get really crazy around here. Hope you (and I) can keep up. :)
October is the last normal month I'll have here, and I've been aware of it for a while. It will be a busy month -- but that's normal -- with a volunteer bonding trip to Earth Lodge outside of Antigua, a 3-day volunteer workshop to refine and reflect on the program, more proyectos familiares, a Kermes, the end of the school year, and graduation.
In November, I'll be traveling for 3 of the 4 weeks (Home Correspondent workshop in Nicaragua, then 2 weeks of vacation with Sam...we're thinking Honduras' Bay Islands and then Thanksgiving at the mansion in Pana with Cheryl!), and the week in between will be an insanely hectic but insanely fun celebration of NPH Guatemala's Aniversario -- arguably the biggest event of the year.
December means no more 9-5 office job, but it also means the hardest work I will have done all year. For a little over three weeks, all volunteers stop their day-to-day jobs and work as tios and tias in the section taking care of the kids who don't go home to families for the Christmas season. All I can say is: get ready.
And then it's January. January is a month of ringing in the New Year, recovering from December's tia duty, seeing a new set of volunteers come in, training them to take over our jobs, dying inside while we watch them take over our sections of kids, packing, and saying goodbyes. My 13-month commitment at NPH Guatemala officially ends on January 21.
Good lord, I'm exhausted just writing about what a whirlwind these next few months are going to be. Some moments I feel like I still have forever left here, but then I go and do something like realize I only have 4 more regular Monday mornings as the Home Correspondent, and I completely freak myself out.
Ay Dios.
So, if you thought these past 9 months had been an adventure, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Things are about to get really crazy around here. Hope you (and I) can keep up. :)
Story Update 23
Antorcha Canceled, Independence Celebrations Continue - NPHG celebrates 189 years of Guatemalan independence.
Pequeños Meet Guatemala's Vice President - As part of a campaign to protect today's youth, members of NPHG's student leadership group met Vice President Rafael Espada.
Day of the Artist - Casa San Andres celebrated art in our home with the first ever Dia del Artista - Day of the Artist.
Pequeños Meet Guatemala's Vice President - As part of a campaign to protect today's youth, members of NPHG's student leadership group met Vice President Rafael Espada.
Day of the Artist - Casa San Andres celebrated art in our home with the first ever Dia del Artista - Day of the Artist.
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