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.
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