A weekend away

After being in NPH and Parramos for nearly 3 weeks, it was definitely time for a weekend away. This past weekend, Erika, Thayer and I escaped to Panajachel, a touristy town on Lago Atitlan to spend some time relaxing, shopping, and doing nothing of importance.

The lake from Panajachel

We left on Friday afternoon on a transport that picked us up in Parramos. Of course along the way we stopped for a little Sarita’s ice cream because we had time and because…well why not? From there it was a straight shot to Pana where we made friends with some old (and rather colorful) Californians before the adventure to find a hostel began. On the way to Pana, Thayer mentioned to me and Erika that her parents had been planning on giving her a birthday present to take some friends out for dinner – hooray! Yet sometime after mentioning that she was going away for the weekend her parents suggested she pay for a nice hotel room for all of us for the weekend – DOUBLE hooray! Now in Pana (and feeling like the rich Americans we wish we actually were) we decided to take our sweet time to find the perfect abode for our humble weekend getaway.

About 20 hotels and a HUGE rainstorm later we found it – Hotel Primavera – an adorable hotel right on the main road in Pana – quaint, elegant, and within our new budget :). We settled in completely content with ourselves.

What followed in the next 2 days was a whirlwind…DELICIOUS dinner at a Uruguayan restaurant (where the waitress gave us a bottle of water with a hole on top to spray to keep the stray dogs away…), partying to a live band at PanaRock – apparently THE nightlife spot in Pana (although the band didn’t know any Taylor Swift…), eating the most delicious breakfast ever created (including the world’s most delicious homemade jam and perfectly cooked bacon), LOTS of shopping (things I purchased include – a new skirt, 2 ceramic mugs, and a new piece of luggage (that Thayer and I spent hours mulling over…), going back to the Uruguayan place to purchase guacamole, chips, and beers to go to eat at our hotel for a “light snack” ;-), eating a not so delicious “I’m trying to be American but failing miserably” lasagna at a pub in town, saying goodbye to our Californian friends, attempting to go horseback riding (only to have me get sick all morning Sunday. Lame.), attempting to make our way by boat across the lake to San Pedro (only to miss 2 boats and end up in Pana at 1:30 instead of 11:30…), eating the world’s worst lunch at a hippy restaurant where the waiter/owner/resident stoner got ALL of our order wrong, finally making our way onto the bus to Parramos, having one of our other friends from NPH throw up all over the van on the way back, stopping to clean up, and eventually, and miraculously, making our way back to Parramos around 6 pm on Sunday night. All in all, quite the interesting weekend to say the least.

Me with my new luggage!

“The old man in the mountain” (View from San Pedro)

Me, Erika, and Thayer in front of the lake :)

And I'm off!

I feel like since I've been back from the states my life has been in a HUGE rush all the time. I kinda like it :). Anyhoo - I'm off to the lake otra vez (hopefully to buy some more wonderful goodies!) - see you on Monday!

Birthday Celebrations

So in case I’ve never written about birthday celebrations in Guatemala – here goes.
1. They sing to you. Tradition has it that everyone is woken up on their birthdays to the song “Las mañanitas (the song we sang to the kids on “Día del Niño” at 5 am) and fireworks outside of their bedroom door/window.
2. Te mojan. Translation? They get you wet. This includes LOTS of small children dowsing you in LOTS of freezing cold water (and a veces some buckets of sand will creep in their too)
3. Your face gets covered in cake. Step 1. You are presented with a birthday cake. Step 2. There is singing and blowing out of candles. Step 3. Candles are removed. Step 4. Your face is smashed in cake.
Now I’ve always thought that the birthday traditions here in Guatemala were pretty awesome (probably because I still have yet to celebrate a birthday here…) BUT! What makes our birthday traditions EVEN BETTER is when unsuspecting NEW volunteers arrive just in time to celebrate their birthdays the Chapín way (nickname for “Guatemalan”). Thayer’s birthday was this past Monday and we had a lovely little celebration of homemade pizzas, guacamole in a bag (THANKS KARLA AND GUATE CITY!), and cake, made by Molly and yours truly…complete with chocolate frosting. Thayer took all of her birthday punishments like a champ (even after having showered twice that day!)

All I can say is boy am I glad I was NOT the first volunteer in MY group to have a birthday! Either way, we’ll see what May 1st brings me :).

Getting ice cream in Parramos to celebrate! (ok, not a Guatemalan birthday tradition...but it just might become an NPH one ;-))

Thayer with her girls (and Meghan) after getting dowsed.

Meghan, the birthday girl, Erika, and I at the party :)

You can't stop it - you cannnoottttt stop it...

OH YEA CAKE IN THE FACE

MoViE CrAzY

This past weekend I went to Antigua to hang out with Erika, eat some delicious lunch from Rainbow Café, and purchase some much needed essentials including: bagels from Bagel Barn (ok, not NY bagels, but not half bad…), groceries (cream cheese for said bagels, pasta, pasta sauce, tortillas, tostadas, yogurt and fresh fruit (for smoothies)), annnddddd MOVIES!

For those of you who aren’t aware, movies and CD’s bought on the streets in Antigua/Parramos/Chimaltenango cost 10Q…aka roughly 80 cents each. This weekend you could say I went a little bit crazy and purchased a TON which includes…

- Inception
- Pirates of the Caribbean (Favorite movie ever.)
- Meet Joe Black
- Easy A (INCREDIBLE movie)
- Casanova (HECK YES!)
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Kids are Alright
- Glee Season 2 (Part 1)

And that’s only to add to the tons of movies/TV shows I’ve already purchased. If anyone has any suggestions on movies I should purchase – let me know!

Excellent Memory :)

So what exactly is this post about? The fact that I have the best fiancé in the world, that’s what.

Before I left the US to come to Guatemala, I decided that if I was going to be in a foreign country, without television or constant internet, it was high time to take up a new hobby. So! Being the industrious person I am, I decided that calligraphy would be an excellent choice – easily packable (in a suitcase needing to weigh less than 50 pounds) and something that I would have enough time to devote to. Unfortunately for me, while I’m capable of thinking ahead, this thinking sometimes stops wayyyy before the doing…aka I never actually BOUGHT a calligraphy set. Enter my amazing, wonderful, can’t-believe-I’m-so-lucky-to-be-marrying-him fiancé :).

Last weekend I received a package from my incredible man. In it was: valentine’s day chocolates, granola bars, m&m’s, peanut butter, two cards (one in Spanish and one with pop-up flowers) and TWO calligraphy books. I was so excited/awed at the fact that he remembered (although let’s be honest – HE is the one with a memory of steel) that I immediately began to tear up. Since then, I’ve been working on my calligraphy skills and I have to say – I’m not half bad! I definitely think I’ll be ready to do some SERIOUS envelope addressing/place card creating in…oh I dunno….16 months give or take? Enjoy the photos of my new hobby (and yes – I WAS practicing my soon-to-be new last name…I mean it’s REALLY hard to spell so I gotta learn to get it right now!)

Año de servicio clase de Inglés

After SEVERAL weeks of “when are you gunna teach our English class?” “I want to take English – when’s our class?” and “when is class, when is class, when is class, when is class?” I FINALLY had my first English class with the año de servicios who live in Chimal on Tuesday. After allllllllllllllllll of the questions from allllllllllllllllllllllll of the año de servicios we had a class of 7 – Julissa, Francis, Marvin, Jonathan, Ludwin, Juan Rudy, and Wyron.

Class started with a quiz to see where each of the kids’ level of English already were. We then proceeded to read “Clorinda the Cow” together. I must admit, I was VERY not ready to take on another class, but this class is both awesome and hysterical at the same time :). The kids’ English is really advanced and they are a TON of fun to hang out with…although I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised…most of my students are my own age… The point is – the class is pretty great and I’m very excited for class again on Tuesday :).

What time is it???

When I was home in the states I actually thought ahead and bought Princess Valentine’s day cards for my girls and some chocolate – crazy! On Valentine’s Day Corinna surprised me with something else…while she was on vacation in Mexico she purchased each of our girls their very own watch! A little strange? Yes. Totally awesome? Also yes.

We went down to the section on Valentine’s Day and the girls were going pretty kooky – even more so than normal. They weren’t doing their chores, or getting their clothes ready for school, or listening to the tia…everything was kind of a mess. Corinna and her sister Elisa (who is also a volunteer here) took all of our goodies to the sala (living room) and arranged them in a nice big circle. Then, once the girls finally settled down and lined up, they entered the sala “oo-ing” and “aaahh-ing” as they saw all the goodies lying on the floor. I proceeded to pick a valentine, read the girl’s name, and then they got to take the watch of their choosing (they were all different and ridiculously adorable). The picking out of watches went fairly well – (almost) no tears over “but I wanted THAT watch,” and only three girls who weren’t allowed to get their goodies because of bad behavior. Not bad in a crowd of 20. The cutest thing of all? The girls are ECSTATIC about learning how to read a watch – they all can’t wait to show off their newest presents to anyone who will look :)

Some days you gotta dance

On Monday night I went down to my section with Corinna to celebrate el dia de San Valentin with everyone. We arrived at the section and the girls were nowhere to be found! What? Not having an idea as to where they were, I started to wander around…and wandered right into the section of Dulce Corazon de Maria. Now, I love my little angelitos, but I think if I were to pick a section all over again, I might just have to pick these girls. They are an amazing group of young women – caring, friendly, loving, outgoing and ridiculous, yet still some of the sweetest teenagers I’ve ever met.

Anyhoo, on Monday I meandered into the section and plopped down on one of their amazingly comfy couches (thanks Sam!) I was sitting there talking with Sucely for approximately one minute before Rocio grabbed my arm to dance. “Enseñanos algo de los Estados!” (Teach us something from the states). What ensued was a mix of the most ridiculous dance moves I’ve ever danced in my life to the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” and some Shakira tunes...and the girls LOVED every minute of it…and I can’t wait to go back and bust a move otra vez ;-).

Feliz Dia del Cariño!

Feliz dia del San Valentin (a few days late!) In Guatemala Valentine’s Day isn’t only a celebration of love, it’s also a celebration of friendship and caring for others. How do you think we celebrated here? Why with a dance off, sing off, and card decorating competition of course :). The teachers were in charge of decorations (wow we’ve never done that before…) and we proceeded to create a beautiful and loving atmosphere for all of the concursos, dancing, singing, and hugging that went on there :). Enjoy the pictures!

Everyone piled in the comedor

Look how cute my little Fredy is!

Some of the Montessori girls "smiling" for the camera

The boys watching intently...

Cassie and Alexander singing "Inalcanzable"

Just one of our many saweet decoraciones ;-)

Karla dancing with Carlitos

Carlitos busting a move!

Kermes de Cariño!

This past Sunday we had the next installment of Kermes – Valentine’s Day style. This time around we decided to split up Kermes and have 3 separate events, one for the baby’s house and especiales, one for the older kids, and one for the kids in the middle. I worked with the older kids where our games/activities included: battle of the songs, a trivia game about St. Valentine’s Day, “Hug-it-out” (where the kids had to run while hugging their partner and sporting a balloon between them), and my station – decorating valentines :).

Santiago decorating their cards

My roommate, Regine, with one of her boys

Ok, so our station wasn’t so much decorating valentines as it was an “apology station.” The arts and crafts table was there so that the kids could say whatever they wanted to their friends without it being “uncool” or “lame” or “dorky.” A lot of the kids wrote to their friends about how they were glad they were such good friends, or apologizing for something they had done wrong in the past. It turned out to be a really great way for the kids to express themselves (and a lot of fun for me and my roommate to get to watch the kids go CrAzY over gluing little hearts onto pieces of paper…) A good part? Cookies dipped in chocolate for refa! The best part? When asked what the kids thought about Kermes they said it was the best one they’d seen in a long time :)

Seccion "Juan El Bautista" busting out some songs

Seccion "Fatima" (and Gustavo) decorating cards

Kevin with his chocolate dipped heart

Christian getting his refa

Failed Attempt.

After my project with Lidia and Oscar I decided I was going to visit the girls’ bachillerato in Chimaltenango. Erika and I walked with Lidia back into Parramos to hop on a bus to Chimal to visit the girls. Or at least, that was our plan.

The first bus came and well, it was PACKED. And that is saying a LOT for someone who’s been living in Guatemala for 7 months and has seen her fill of chicken buses. Regardless, we decided to wait for the next one. Strike 1.

The next one rolled in around 15 minutes later, equally as packed, so we decided to try our luck anyway. The three of us headed towards the back of the bus and had sufficiently climbed UP the back and were JUST trying to squeeze ourselves in when the man who collects the money came to the back. “You girls are going to have to get off.” WHAT??? I have NEVER been kicked off a chicken bus for it being too crowded! ARE YOU FOR REAL!?? Strike 2.

25 minutes later bus 3 rolled up. After losing almost an hour of the time we’d planned to spend in Chimal, Erika and I sent Lidia on her way and decided to give it a go next weekend. Strike 3. Here’s hoping we don’t strike out on our next attempt!

Proyecto with Lidia and Oscar

I have never been less prepared for a project than I was for my project with Lidia and Oscar this past Saturday. I couldn’t get in touch with Lidia and somehow I forgot to go to Oscar’s section to check with his tios that he could go to project until the night before. Regardless of my lack of planning, that morning I got TONS of stuff ready – who knew what they would want to do? I packed my purse full of Uno, a pack of cards, a soccer ball, my computer/charger and movies, and all the necessary supplies to make fruit salad… just in case. I brought them up to the English room, walked out the door, and there was Lidia! Not only did she get my message, she showed up ON TIME. A HUGE feat for anyone living in Guatemala. Let alone a 16 year old :). Together, we headed down to Oscar’s section, chatted with the tio, and were off!

While the kids didn’t have too many opinions about what we did for project – that made for one of the best proyectos I’ve ever had. We decided together to walk into Parramos and just hang out. We played soccer for a while, then switched to Uno (where Lidia kicked our butts…) and then got some ice cream from a tienda there. After that, we returned to Uno, and again, Lidia kicked our booties (and unfortunately for me, Oscar kept picking green when I didn’t have any…

Look at that hand!

Overall it was a really wonderful project with two great kids :).

TWO proposals in TWO months??

Last night walking home from my section I ran into Oscar, an año de servicio who works in the baby house. Oscar is one of my favorite kids here – incredibly outgoing, funny, ALWAYS wanting to practice his English, ALWAYS wanting to annoy you by using all the ridiculous English phrases he knows (“You are creepy” – thanks Katie…). Anyway, the point is, he is an awesome kid who I really admire.

Last night, we ran into each other outside of the girls’ house, and he proceeded to declare his love for me (yes, it was a joke, don’t worry…) for approximately 10 minutes as he proposed to me. Our conversation went something like this (and all in English)…

Oscar: (down on one knee) Jessica, my love, how do you say “casar”?
Me: To marry. Why?
Oscar: Jessica, my love, will you to marry me?
Me: Oscar, are you drunk? (again…it was a joke…)
Oscar: Will you to marry me? It will make me very happy. You are my love!
Me: I’m sorry Oscar, but I can’t marry you…I’m already getting married, I already have a fiancé.
Oscar: (fake crying) BUT WHY – YOU BROKED MY HEART. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?
Me: I’m sorry Oscar, it’s going to be ok. I promise.
Oscar: But look at the moon! We can go to the moon – I will take you there.
Me: I’m sorry Oscar…are you sure you aren’t drunk?
Oscar: I want to death.
Me: It’s “I want to die.”
Oscar: I WANT TO DIE. WHY YOU LEAVE ME?
Me: Oscar, go back to the baby’s house – don’t you have work?
Oscar: Ok. I will go. But remember you are my love. Por Siempre (forever.)

What a lucky girl I am – two proposals in two months! Unfortunately for Oscar (but extremely fortunately for me) he can’t have me – I already found my “medio naranja” (my sweetheart and other half :).)

Let me count the ways…

I’ve mentioned my girls are a little crazy, right? Last night, walking to the section, the girls decided to play a game.

Step 1. Hide Anita’s shoes.
Step 2. Discover every possible way there is to carry a little girl from the comedor to the section without her touching the ground…which included…
1. One girl carrying her like a baby
2. Her riding on someone’s back
3. Her riding on someone’s shoulders
4. Her legs dangling over someone’s shoulders as she laid back so someone could carry her arms
5. One girl carrying her arms while another carried her legs
6. One girl carrying an arm and a leg, while another girl carried an arm and a leg
7. One girl carrying her arms, one girl carrying one leg, another girl carrying the other leg, and a girl supporting her back
8. One girl carrying her over her shoulder while another girl grabbed her arms and another grabbed her legs.

I’ve warned you they’re nuts, right?

Excellent Nights

It seems like every now and then when I’m with my section I just have one of those epic nights that I can’t see myself forgetting any time soon. Monday night was one of those nights. I went down to the section – ready to help the girls with their chores and all that jazz, but it turned into something better.

Every Monday night the tias in my section do the laundry in the washers and dryers. After the floors have been washed, they take the laundry and dump it all over the floor, creating a massive, chaotic stream of children vying to collect their clothes. Only tonight, they weren’t collecting their clothes. Instead, my 20 chaotic little ladies proceeded to throw all of their clothes at one another, topple over each other laughing hysterically, as myself and the tia tried to get them to put their clothes away in an orderly fashion – yea right! After about 10 seconds of “Alright girls, that’s enough” and “c’mon let’s get our things together” one of the girls, Luvia, pummeled me to the ground while another proceeded to put a pair of underwear on my head. I didn’t know what to do – I was completely torn between being the adult in the situation and wanting to release my inner 10-year old – when Luvia started to find the ONLY spot that I am ticklish. I immediately started rolling on the floor laughing as 6 of my angelitos tackled me and all began tickling me at once. Once I regained my composure, I got them all back and a huge tickle fight ensued, before I stood up and began dowsing the girls with all the clothes from the floor. Ok, not my best “role model” moment, but definitely a good highlight to remember :)

After that, my adorable little girls needed help with their homework (fractions and venn diagrams – fun!) and their aseos, and their bedtime stories. I closed out my wonderful night reading “Los tres cerditos” (The three little pigs) with Glenda before kissing all the girls goodnight. Pleasant dreams :).

Weekend at the lake!

A few weeks back some of the new volunteers were talking about how wonderful Karla and Miguel are. Karla is one of our new volunteers, and the first ever Guatemalan volunteer here at NPHG, and Miguel is her boyfriend. They have been ridiculously nice to all of the volunteers here - giving them rides to and from town, giving tours of Antigua, and just being so sweet! In addition to talking about how awesome they are, “Miguel has a sweet lake house at Atitlan that Karla has invited us all to” MAY have gotten thrown into the mix. So, being the wonderful and awesome people they are, Karla and Miguel invited ALL the current volunteers here at NPHG to the lake house this last weekend. Que chilero mano!

We decided to leave Friday after work around 6 (which of course turned into 7:45)…now how to do that without taking taxis or camionetas? Karla and her friends were going to drive us of course! Talk about service – inviting us to a lake house AND bringing us there? How ridiculous! So, Friday night we piled into 3 cars (Karla’s, Miguel’s, and their friend, Estuardo’s) and the shuttle that we have here at NPH to head to the lake. Unfortunately along the way, Estuardo got a flat tire (thanks to Jonas joking around that it was going to happen…THANKS JONAS…) Regardless, the rest of us stopped at a restaurant along the way and listened to some SWEET jams from the 80s and today ;-).

Waiting at the bar...our first destination...

THREE HOURS LATER (aka roughly 1:30 am) the others in the car arrived and we all made the drive the rest of the 30 minutes to the house. We unpacked the vans and proceeded to head down literally HUNDREDS of dirt stairs, and, having few lights, had NO clue where we were going. After 2 trips down the stairs we finally made it to the GORGEOUS lake house with all our stuff, claimed our beds, and called it a night (at least some of us anyway :-p).

The living room

The back of the main house

We woke up the next morning to one of the most AMAZING views in the world – the lake, the volcanoes, the flowers – absolutely gorgeous. It definitely made stumbling down all those stairs in the dark COMPLETELY worth it!

The view from the top house :)

After a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, frijoles volteados (refried beans), toast, and guacamole, we “bathing suit-ed up” and headed down to the dock for some good fun – swimming, “surfing”, reading, Uno, soccer, and good conversations.

Everyone hanging out on the dock :)

Veronika, Hannah, Regine, Molly, and Elisa on the "surfboard"

Jonas and Michael sharing some love

After a full afternoon of relaxing, we enjoyed another delicious meal – steak and sausages on the grill, fresh salad, and the most delicious salsa and guacamole out of a bag that I think I’ll ever eat (SERIOUSLY WHERE can I find more of that guac???) In addition, we spent the night diving into Bananagrams (my new favorite game), Loopin’ Louie, Twister, and some good ole fashion dance party mania.

Playing Loopin Louie!

Time for...BANANAGRAMS!

Twister!

The old volunteers out for the weekend :)

The next morning, well rested and rejuvenated, we unfortunately had to make the 2 hour drive back to NPH. MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS a Karla y Miguel for their wonderful hospitality! Here’s hoping we all get to return back to the lake soon for another amazing weekend together :)

With the beautiful view!

Project time!

So February has begun and with it the volunteers here at NPH have again started to have Proyectos with the kids. Last week’s project? Baking time with Jorge, Christian, and Cindy :).

For the first time in Project history, I went down to the sections to find that all the kids were ALMOST ready – what a feat! I say almost, because when I got to the boys’ house with Cindy, the two boys were walking around in their wet towels after their tio locked the door to the room with all the lockers and clothes! Ok, so it took a few minutes to get things under control, but in a flash we were off :). In addition, this week’s project was done with the help of a new volunteer, Nanna, who was watching/accompanying to see what project is all about. So! We created a delicious “chocolate on chocolate with bananas on top” cake and watched Monster’s Inc. AND the kids even made it to dinner on time at 6 – perfect? I think so :). Now if only they wouldn’t have left all the desks in the English Department so sticky…

Jorge, Christian, and Cindy making their cake

Jorge, Christian, and Cindy

A new beginning

Remember way back when, when I wrote about the new kids arrival here at NPH? Well, as heartbreaking as it was to watch those children stand in front of the family here at NPH and declare their “new-ness” to the crowd, it is a billion times more heartbreaking to see it up close.

There are so many nights here when I forget the predicament I’m in… the fact that there are so many children here for me to love…but oftentimes they’re here because they lack that love from somewhere else. This week we’ve gotten so many new girls I don’t even know what to do with them. The dynamic of the section has changed drastically as I watch a lot of my shy little girls become helpful young ladies as they try to make the transition as easy as possible for our newest additions who include: Lupe, an “old” new pequeña who has returned to NPH after being gone for about a year, Francisca, a partially deaf and almost completely mute little girl who (luckily) the girls are warming up to nicely, Ida, an EXTREMELY shy one, and Linda.

Linda

Last Wednesday was Linda’s first real night in the section…her first night in her new and permanent, large, dormitory style room with her 19 new roommates. In the beginning, she seemed outgoing, playful, and charming – just one of the girls. It wasn’t until almost bedtime when I noticed her sudden differences. I wandered over to find her curled up on her bare bed, hugging her knees. I sat next to her and put my hand on her head, moving her hair away from her forehead the way my mom had always done when I was little…and that’s when her tears started. She didn’t want anything else but for me to just sit there, stroking her hair, and watching the tears roll down her cheeks. After a few minutes I convinced her to let me cover her with her blankets and to give her a proper tuck in, after which she proceeded to give me a big hug and a kiss on my cheek.

Every night when I leave the section I give each of my girls a big kiss on the forehead. In the beginning, it was something they ran away from – QUE ASCO (how gross), they would say. But now none of them joke. They all come find me to get their kisses, or wait patiently in their beds for me to come around to each of them to give them a little piece of the love they deserve. And let me tell you, these girls, and all the kids at NPH, deserve all the love in the world.

Changes in the section

In the last few weeks there have been a monton of changes in my section…we started with 14 girls in the middle of January and have since then received 3 girls from the Casa de Bebes (Ana, Catarina, and Cindy), as well as 3 new ingresos (arrivals) to NPH – Lupe, Linda, and Francisca – to bring us to a total of 20 girls. In addition, we have lost a tia, Janna, who was a volunteer who went back to Germany, AND the tia schedule has changed. So now, instead of having 6 tias in charge of my section at all times, there are 3 tias in charge, Janna is gone, and the 2 girls doing their año de servicio (year of service) only work on the weekends. CRAZINESS. Needless to say a LOT is happening and unfortunately it has put a lot more stress on the three working tias in the section…and, after being a tia for only 3 weeks, I ALREADY thought it was the hardest job in the world, even without the added stress. Buena suerte mis tias!

Full day

Today is February 7th and, unfortunately, it is the first full day of school we have had since school started on January 13th. I say unfortunately for two reasons. First, because it means that half my classes have missed out on a full MONTH of school that will never be made up...and secondly, because well, I'm not a very big fan of 3/4 of my classes. I have learned the hard way that 5th grade kind of sucks, and unfortunately for me, I have 2 classes of them. They are seriously nuts off their rockers. In addition, I have a crazy, "never want to listen" class of 7th graders, and then my wonderful 9th grade class whom I adore :). I think this year is going to be a little more taxing than the last, but I'm up for the challenge.

Favorite pastimes…bringing ‘em back

I’m not exactly sure how it started…but either way it is fascinating. SOMEHOW the children here at NPH got their hands on 2 pairs of roller blades – apparently from some of the kids at the high school in Chimaltenango. Either way, every afternoon I get to sit at the comfort of my desk in the English department and watch the kids chase each other around the cancha (basketball court) to see who can catch the other person. Watching them is HYSTERICAL and reminds me of what it was like when I used to roller blade way back when...and I'm glad there haven't been many skinned knees or broken bones! What’s even funnier is watching all the kids as they are first learning how to skate – one minute standing, the next flat on their behind. I get a kick out of it every time :-p.

Marta, take 1.

Marta, 20 seconds later, take 2.

Sometimes you’re nicely surprised

Even after being here for 7 months (SERIOUSLY where has the time gone?) sometimes there are days when you just don’t want to do anything – wake up early, teach classes, or go to the section. But for some unknown reason, so many of those days end up being some of the most fun that you have :).

Last week I had no desire to go to the section, but I just felt guilty…an awful feeling to have. So I begrudgingly made myself walk up to the comedor, and then down to the girls’ house, to find my girls had taken all their mattresses off their beds…and were riding them like horses.

Have I mentioned that they’re insane? Even so, I couldn’t help but laugh watching them “gallop” across the room and then fall flat on their faces…sometimes the nights you don’t expect to be entertained end up being some of the best :).

My girls are psychotic

Every once in a while when I go down to the section, my girls remind me of exactly how psycho they truly are. Last week, for some reason unknown to me, my girls RACED home from the comedor after dinner and arrived wayyyy before the tias…wherein they proceeded to jump onto this spinny toy that they have behind the section and FLAIL around for a solid 20 minutes, screaming their heads off. Sometimes, they’re just absolutely nuts.