In Florida...But thinking about Guatemala

It's a couple days late...but here was the update from my last day and night in Guatemala. I made it safely to Florida after a few delays and have already enjoyed a couple relaxing days on the beach!!

The last day wasn’t exactly the most perfect way to end the experience at Hogar Temporal, but the rest of the month definitely overshadowed the rough day. Since the kids aren’t in school all 16 or so of the kids were in the nursery. The president’s wife didn’t come on Thursday, but she was for sure coming Friday afternoon. I walked in and it looked like a completely different orphanage. The paint was fresh, new blue and green and white instead of the chipped yellow and cream paint that had been there the past month. They were patching up all of the cracks in the floor, there were new curtains on the windows, the floor was washed at least 3 times while I was at work, and they were converting crammed classrooms into much more spacious rooms with bunk single beds instead of the bunk beds that are upstairs. They must have worked all night to get the place looking like it did, but it was definitely worth the effort. The place looked inviting instead of bland and sad and slightly run down as it had looked only days before. They had the Guatemala flag set up and other posters on stands around the entrance, they brought in plants, and they power-washed the front sidewalk. The military/police/guards came into the home to inspect and several were stationed outside of the home. The interesting thing about all of the guards in Guatemala (even if they are in Hiper Pais) is that they all carry huge guns. So imagine maybe 8 of these guards walking into the orphanage. The kids saw them coming through the glass window that overlooks the hallway across the way and they all yelled “ la policia” and hid under the beds. It was really funny and cute. When the one guy walked in I was standing there holding Maria, and slowly all of the kids crawled out from under the bed and went over to talk to him and shake his hand. I’m sure that experience will be one that the kids don’t soon forget!

Because everyone was scrambling trying to get ready for the first lady to come, no one was paying any attention to the kids, and they seemed to undo all of the cleaning that the workers had just finished. They left all of the kids in their pajamas until about 12:30. That was the last thing that I did before I got picked up. I changed Maria’s diaper and put on a new outfit, tied her shoes and put her back in her crib to throw away the diaper when Paola came up to tell me that Nayo was here to pick me up. All of the kids had new matching outfits in different colors. They were fleece like material with a long sleeved sweatshirt like shirt and a sleeveless vest to go on top and matching fleece pants.

Because I was the only one in the nursery with 16 kids, there were a lot of things that went unnoticed, or I was only able to console the tears after the pain had been inflicted. At one point I had been talking to one of the other kids and my back was turned to the older kids. I turned around to the screams of Maybeline. She was lying on her back on the floor and two of the older girls were repeatedly kicking her as hard as they could. I yelled for the girls to stop and went over to pick up Maybeline. It was a sad and painful experience to watch. In the other dormitory where the older girls were staying I witnessed several different fights, all of which eventually got broken up. It was hard because there was nothing for the kids to do. I asked if I could bring down the toys, and Antonita said no because it was going to be too much to clean up. So the kids were expected to sit on the carpet not doing anything for 5 hours…that definitely didn’t happen.

There was a new family of girls in the orphanage as well. There were 5 girls. The oldest was 20 and the youngest was about 4. It was so sad to see as well. The oldest girl, Jessica, came in and started talking with me asking me how old I was, where I was from, and telling me repeatedly that she didn’t want to be here, that she wanted to leave but couldn’t. She didn’t have any papers, which I’m assuming meant she couldn’t leave, she couldn’t be adopted, and she couldn’t work. It was such a helpless feeling. I couldn’t do anything for her. She came in a couple times to the nursery to cry and I asked her if she wanted a hug, she said yes. She was saying how the other girls were punching them when they came in and that the older ones were beating up the younger girls. The youngest sister, Isabel was in the nursery. She looked terrified and I can’t imagine what was going through her head. She kept going out into the dormitory to make sure her sister’s were still there. At one point they had gone downstairs for something and she started screaming. We looked out the window and found them and she calmed down and so I just held her for a while.

Each day had a level of sadness mixed in with all of the laughs, but I think today was a little more sad because it was my last day and there was just a feeling of helplessness to help these kids. I know that my time in the orphanage did make a difference and for the days I was there and able to make them laugh I’m so thankful. Obviously I got extremely attached to the kids and so leaving work on Friday was so difficult. I said goodbye like I usually do not making a big deal that it was my last day. I gave big hugs all around and walked out of the nursery with Paola. One of the secretaries of the orphanage came out to talk with me, Paola, and Willy (one of the CCS staff). She started to cry as she thanked me for the time I had spent in the orphanage. She said that the doors are always open for me to come back when I want, that it was a joy to have me around the orphanage. Paola was such an unexpected surprise on my last day! We got another photo together, although not on my camera. She got teary as she gave me another big hug and a kiss and held my hand as I walked down the stairs. I got teary as they thanked me but I managed to control myself until I got to the van. I cried the whole way home.

Lunch was quick because I had to finish packing. I said more rounds of goodbyes. Gabby and Angelica cried when I gave them a hug and said goodbye and told me they were going to miss having me around the house. I’m always welcome back there as well and I hope to stay in touch with them. It was a bittersweet goodbye. I was ready to end this little trip but the connections and relationships that I established in a months time will have lasting effects on me.

Here are a few pictures of the staff of CCS Xela!

Gaby and I. I'm really going to miss her smiles each morning!

Angelica and I. Angelica is the head director of the program in Xela.

Dona Eva, Maria Luisa, Betty, Willy, Me, and Don Renee around the dining room table.

We got on a van and drove the 4 hours to Antigua, a small town in Guatemala. We walked around to find a hostel, dropped our stuff off and headed out for one last dinner together as a group. It was a really nice last night in Guatemala and I got to go to sleep listening to the rain pounding on the roof. It was a short night for me. I went to bed around 11:30 and got up at 4:20 to catch the shuttle to the airport. It was a relaxing day of travel. Emily came with me to the airport which was nice because my flight was delayed an hour, so we got to spend 3 hours together. I was able to change my later flight from Miami to Tampa so I didn’t have to rush through customs. I would have missed my other flight, and other people who didn’t switch theirs are flying standby and are waiting to see if they have enough room.

So I made it Miami and am waiting for my Tampa flight. It was so different to fly into Miami and see the huge buildings and the blue water. To have people rushing around, to be able to flush the toilet paper down the toilet and fill my water bottle up with water from the water fountain. It wouldn’t say I’m having culture shock. Haha. It’s different to be back, but at the same time it’s nice to be back.

So this ends the Guatemala portion of the blog. Stay tuned for more sporadic updates from the rest of the summer!

Salsa Dancing Pros!

This is just going to be a short recap...more will come when I have a little more time. Between going salsa dancing, going out to eat, and packing I didn't get much time to write last night.

Work yesterday (Thursday) was really wonderful! I got there and as soon as I walked into the nursery Jenny and Luis started screaming my name, and then all of the other kids ran over and gave me big hugs and were yelling my name. The nurse was in the room checking in on Luis and she said that the other day they were asking who the volunteer in the nursery was, and she said that Luis remembered my name and was telling all of the other kids. It was really really cute! Because school is out, all of the younger kids were in the nursery yesterday, so I had about 15 of the kids in the room by myself for a little while. It was interesting! Another volunteer came in a little bit later, which was extremely helpful so then I could go help Paola in the kitchen. (I realized yesterday that I was probably spelling her name wrong!)

Paula and I in the kitchen before I left! I'm going to miss working with her and hearing her laugh!

Paula was extremely happy to have me in the kitchen, and I got several wonderful hugs from her...and a picture! I was able to write her a letter and have Eva, one of the newer volunteers at the house, check my translation!

The president's wife was coming to check in on the orphanage because she is the one that oversees all of the government run orphanages. That is why on Wednesday they had major cleaning and de-licing, and yesterday they were repainting the walls, scraping off all of the paper and gum from the walls, changing classrooms into rooms with beds, and fixing cracks and other problems around the house. I didn't get to see her, but I'm sure it was exciting for all of the kids and the workers despite the stress of getting prepared.

After work we had lunch and I finished up some more packing and had our last feedback meeting before we headed to salsa lessons. I cried at the feedback meeting thinking about the possibility that I may never see any of these kids again, and remembering the wonderful time I have had here at the house and with the kids. It's definitely bittersweet to leave. Only 4 of us went because the other interns needed to present their projects. It was a lot of fun! We were there for an hour and a half and so we firts learned the basic steps, and then later we got to practice with a guy that came in and he taught us how to do some of the spinny moves and we did two different dips. It was extremely entertaining to watch, and a lot of fun to do!

Dancing!

We all went out to dinner (all 10 of us) at a Mexican restaurant near Central Park. A few of the girls went out for coffee afterwards and enjoyed walking around the city at night. It was beautiful and a nice way to end the trip.

I'm up early again finishing letters and make sure that I have everything!

Things I forgot to mention on Wednesday:
-It was Father's Day here. It is a really big holiday with flowers lining the streets, festivals in central park, fireworks, and confetti. Very interesting!
-I thought I had figured Jenny's family out...but I hadn't. She has 3 sisters and 1 brother. The one sister, who she did not want to leave on Tuesday, just came to the orphanage this week after Jenny had her court appearance. It all makes a lot more sense now! I'm glad I finally got that solved!

We leave right after work, so my next blog update will be done in Florida! Crazy!

A Major Undertaking

I was greeted today with screams from Jenny and Luis went I went into the nursery. It was pretty cute! I changed a couple of poopy diapers today, and luckily someone, I think from the other volunteer groups, had gone out and bought wet wipes! It made things a lot easier and cleaner! Nelzo was still sick today and in bed. It worries me that he never smiles and is constantly on the verge of tears. School has not been good for him. He’s a different kid than when I started.

A couple other volunteers came in for a while, but mostly talked amongst themselves instead of playing with the kids. There's definitely a divide among the volunteers, those in the Christian organizations, and the others. It's unfortunate, and I know it is hard to coordinate with people outside of your own group, but things would be a lot more effective if there was respect on both ends. I think that the other volunteers feel like they don't have anything to do and are frustrated because they paid for the experience and are being jipped in their mind. I can empathize, but I'm thankful that I'm in the nursery. The other volunteers are working with the school age kids and there are definitely a more hands in the orphanage than before. It's a shame that there is a divide.

I was talking to one of the girls about Oliver and the way that his legs just give out from under him and how he never wants to try and stand up. He's completely content with rocking back and forth on his knees and sitting all day. She was wondering if malnutrion/rickets could be a possible cause. I don't think that I'll ever get an answer on that one!

Luis and Oliver got a major buzz haircut today because of the lice that is going around the place. They look pretty cute with their new haircuts. After Luis got his, he came into the nuresry and kept looking in the mirror hanging on the side of one of the cribs. It was pretty cute. I think he realy liked it! The girls in the orphanage, all 40 of them (give or take) were given the lice treatment today using the really strong shampoo. It was quite a process that was really hard to watch. I helped with the younger ones getting them changed and ready to go through the line. They had to get their hair wet, then they came back a little later and were given the treatment shampoo, then sent back into the room where a movie was playing, and after a certain amount of time brought back in to have the shampoo rinsed off, and then they washed their hair and changed their clothes. The sad part was when almost all of the girls got the soap in their eyes and were screaming. One of the workers must have seen the look on my face and commented that I looked sad. I'm not exactly sure how effective the whole treatment was considering the kids came back and used the same brushes they had been using before.

Luis and his new buzz cut!

All shampooed.

We went to the gym again today, I ran 4 miles again! We made cookies again as well, although this time we got oatmeal chocolate chip. They were delicious, although the second batch came out a little burnt.

I also got to skype with Gina, one of the girls that was here my first week, today. It was really great to catch up and here about life back in NYC. I'm looking forward to the trips that I'm going to have to make to visit the friends I made here. Hannah and I were already talking about when I am able to come down to Gerogia! That would be a lot of fun!

I got teary again today thinking about leaving. Gabby, one of the staff, commented on how sad she was going to be when I left, that I was such a positive and kind person and that it was a pleasure having me around. The staff has been so wonderful and have really done a wonderful job investing in us. A month is a long time, but it's gone by so fast! I set up my rides today to Antigua and then to the airport on Saturday. Another girl, Emily, is coming in the 5am shuttle from Antigua to the airport with me, so that's nice I won't have to travel alone.

Two more nights of sleep here! Tomorrow we're going to work as usual, we have salsa lessons, and then we're going out to eat as a group as sort of a celebration. 7 of us are done this week and when we leave a new gruop of 16 people are going to come in. The house is definitely going to be very different.

New Discoveries and a Mayan Sauna

Today was another good day. I was the only one in the nursery so I couldn’t leave and help Paula. I think that she was sad I wasn’t able to help. She gave me a big hug when I left today and reminded me to bring my camera so we could get a picture on Thursday!

One of the girls associated with Buckner, Melissa, came up to the nursery and she was able to clarify some more things for me. Maria was left at the side of the road, but she is currently up for adoption and the paper work for her adoption is already underway…she thinks. There had been a previous attempt to adopt Luis, but he was found in a garbage can at the side of the road and has no papers, and so the adoption could not go through. They still don’t have the papers for him. I found out that he’s 2 ½ and so is Jenny. Jenny has 3 siblings in the orphanage, although not the ones that I originally thought. She was gone yesterday for what Melissa thought to be a judge hearing with her parents. The kids were abused and I think that the court was deciding what to do. These are all speculations that would make more sense after Melissa translated the sign posted in the nursery.

Jenny was back today and full of smiles and laughter...before her sad afternoon.

Rosita left and Antonita came in at first but I didn’t see her all day. After Nelzo, Marita, and Oliver fell asleep I took Luis and Jenny out to play with the other kids on the playground. They really enjoyed being outside and playing on the playground with the other kids. Jenny got to play with one of her sisters and Luis got to play in the water, climb up the slide, and hobble around. They both are too cute! When it was time to go in though, Jenny screamed and screamed and screamed uncontrollably because she didn’t want to leave her sister. It seems silly, but I had such a huge and sad realization that I can never completely understand the sadness and pain of abandonment that she was feeling. It was so sad!

I got picked up late at work today so I was there for all of lunch. They were thankful for my help. Some other things I figured out today, there are two groups from Buckner. One is an internship program that is down in Guatemala for a month and the other is just volunteers here for a week. One of the girls in the week long volunteer program came up to the nursery. She was enjoyable to talk to, and now I know that I'll be able to have someone up in the nursery so I can help Paula on my last day with her. It was a pretty uneventful day, but a good one.

We went to some traditional Mayan saunas today. It was a long drive for only a little bit of time in the sauna. The surrounding area was absolutely beautiful, but the saunas were a little over rated. The attraction is that they are naturally heated by the surrounding mountains, the same mountains where the hot springs are.

We're all showered and ready for dinner. I'm tired today. I stayed up late last night to finish reading, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's about a little boy with autism who's dad died in 9/11. It was a sad book, I cried at the end, but I had a hard time putting it down. I'm excited for a good night's sleep! :)

Last Week in Guatemala!

Today was my last Monday here in Xela, Guatemala. It is crazy how fast the time has gone. I cried a little at work today because I was sad thinking about leaving the kids.

Another Christian group came into the orphanage today to do a dance performance for the kids. It seemed a little long for the kids to stay focused, but they did really enjoy it, and it was really nice to be outside in the sunshine.

Jenny wasn't there today. There was a sign on the door, that I meant to take a picture of, (if it's there tomorrow I will) saying to have her things ready and that she would be picked up at 6am this morning and would be in front of an audience (or at least I think that's what it said). I am wondering if she is up for adoption or what the audience is for. Hopefully I can ask more questions tomorrow.

Luis got his cast off, and so it was really wonderful to see him walking around again, although they want him to stay sitting and not work it too much in one day. That doesn't go over very well considering he's a 4 year old boy who wants to get into everything!

The kids are all back from their weekend adventure while the orphanage was fumigated. I think that all of the kids are more sick now, but maybe that's just me. They did put up new drapes and got new sheets on all of the beds, but I couldn't tell much of a difference. I'm still not quite sure where they stayed, but it was about an hour away and they must have taken a bus. The workers looked tired again, probably because the travel threw off all of the kids's sleep schedule and daily routine. That was quite an undertaking that produced a lot of laundry. I helped Rosita fold laundry today which she was extremely grateful for. I don't fold the clothes the same way, so it was funny because Marta would laugh at what I folded, show me the correct way, watch me do it, and shake her head that it was still wrong. Maybe I wasn't as much help as I thought, but Rosita still was appreciative. I don't know what conversations took place but she came back into the nursery crying today talking about people with bad hearts that were mean to the kids and her, and she was very upset. She cried a little, so I was able to give her a hug and let her cry and rub her back. I think that the other workers don't treat her very nicely and I'm sure that it's very difficult to come back to a job each day with very little respect and very little compensation. She really does love the kids though and is a very dear person who offers such a large portion of her life.

The kids didn't go to school today, so Marta, Maybelene, Iris, and Nelzo were in the nursery today. They all played very nicely with the lego blocks and helped to take care of a stuffed baby. It was really cute to watch! They all got to go outside to watch the performance while Oliver and Marita were sleeping. Nelzo fell asleep in my arms right before I left! :)

Luis showing everyone the wonderful house he built.

After lunch Hannah and I went down town to the coffee shop that has an amazing view. We tried to sit outside but it was little cold so we ended up sitting inside. I got a vanilla cappuccino that was excellent and Hannah got the chocolate con leche. I wrote in my journal while Hannah finished writing postcards, and I read my book. We went to the post office and took the bus back home. The bus rides are one of my favorite things about Xela. On the way home we had a fun experience of seeing how many people we could cram in. We got into a friendly conversation with the guy sitting next to us saying we needed at least 4 more people to break yesterday's record of 23 people in one bus! He was laughing and saying it was all about getting more money...then he got off. We only got up to 19. A little later a mom, daughter, and another girl got on the bus. The girl was very interested in Hannah and I and had the cutest smile as she got off the bus and waved to us. They all seemed to know the driver's assistant (the one who yells out the open door of the bus) and he kept trying to come back and put his arm around her and she kept hitting him and telling him things. Everyone thought it was extremely amusing, and although we didn't know exactly what was going on, it was comical! I'm so glad we figured out how to take the bus back!

My delicious cappuccino!

Hannah and I went to the gym after going into town. I ran 4 miles which was really exciting, and now we're ready for dinner. It was an excellent last Monday!

28 Hours and 4 Buses Later

We're back from Tikal as of 1:30 this afternoon. It ended up being a little more expensive than I thought it was going to be, but I'm very glad that we made it to Tikal!

Thursday was a good day at work. It was nice to cut out a day early after an interesting week. The orphanage was actually going to be fumigated and they were clearing all of the children out of the orphanage for a couple of days. Apparently there has been a lot of sickness (including lice) going around and they haven't been able to get rid of it so they finally are doing something about it. The local schools normally have a week off right this month, but because of other circumstances and talk of the swine flu the schools closed early, so the kids are out for a couple weeks. That affects some of the volunteers who are placed in schools or are in medical placements that work with children in health education. I'm not quite sure what they are going to do for this last week.

Thursday was chaos at work because the family was leaving. They brought in more candy and toys and the workers had a hard time cleaning up all the wrappers. I couldn't tell if the workers were happy or sad that the other volunteers were leaving. There had been difficulty in getting the kids to bed and eating their food and all of the workers looked tired.

It was kind of a free for all at the orphanage because the schools shut down and so the kids that normally go to school were hanging around the orphanage. The boys and girls were split up and watching videos in different sections of the upstairs. We got to take the little ones out to play while the older kids were watching the video. When I was heading down stairs with Marita I stopped to talk with one of the other volunteers about the trip to Tikal. She was telling me some other helpful tips about the trip. Belkis came over and told me that Marita and I look alike. It was pretty cute. I'm not sure I see the resemblence though. Haha.

I got into another conversation with another volunteer about the school system that was set up in the orphanage about what the kids would really need to be able to effectively teach and prepare these kids for something different or better, and most importantly life after the home. It's a lot easier to point out things that are wrong or that should be changed, but I think that it's very worth sitting down and thinking about what realistically could be changed and provided for these kids. I do think that there is a great opportunity to teach the kids there, but they don't have enough hands, textbooks, or a curriculum/plan for these kids of what they want them to learn. In fact I don't know that they expect a lot of them to learn anything. I was in the classroom the other day and talking to Sarah and she said that it would be better if one of the boys just played because he didn't understand anything about numbers. It was really sad. I asked the little boy Jonny if he wanted to work on his numbers, and he didn't, and with that he kept on playing and hiding in the corner, and he will continue to do that until someone expects something different of him. Those were the highlights of work on Thursday.

After lunch I quickly finished packing ans we got dropped off at the bus station at 2:15. The bus pulled out of Xela at 2:30 and we got to Guatemala City around 7:30. We had packed peanut butter and bread and fruit and granola bars, so we had a picnic of sorts in the bus terminal as we waited for our next bus to leave at 9:15. It was a coach bus, but the seats in front of Hannah and I were pushed all the way back so I could barely move. My legs felt very clostraphobic because there wasn't much room to go anywhere. I can't tell if I actually slept on the overnight part of the trip, but I was rested enough. The coach bus stopped at the side of the road and the 7 of us had to get out to get on another smaller shuttle that took us to Flores where our hostel was. Being woken abruptly at 6:30 without having a full night's sleep was a little rough and we were all a little groggy and unsure of this seemingly random switch in buses. They did drop us off at our hostel (Los Amigos) without extra charge (which there shouldn't have been) and we set up a time for them to pick us up to drive us to Tikal. The hostel cost 30 Q for the one night we were there. We stayed in a dormitory with bunk beds. It was a cool atmosphere, filled with hikers and backpackers, many of them on their way to Belize or Mexico. We left our stuff and got on the bus to Tikal. It cost 70 Q per person roundtrip. It was supposed to be a private bus, but we picked up strangers along the way and dropped them off at points along our hour and a half drive.

Once we got to Tikal, we debated getting a guide or not. The girls (Chloe, Hannah, and I) decided it would be worth the extra cost to have someon walk us through and tell us things as we saw them. The boys bought a map and went their own way. We were able to meet up in the Gran Plaza at the end after we had eaten our packed lunches. I'm really glad we got a guide and that we split up. Seven people is a lot of people to coordinate especially in a hot place that requires a lot of walking and has attractions that people wanted to spend differing amounts of time on!

We got to climb up 4 pyramids as well as climb on the other parts in the Gran Plaza. Most of what we saw was restored, but you could see the back side of the restored parts and how things looked before restoration. It was amazing to think of 80,000-1000,000 living in this area and what a typical day with bustling people would have looked like. The view from the tops of the pyramids was absolutely amazing. We got to see a cellar that was still hollowed out and we got to climb inside. The difference in temperature was amazing! We saw spider monkeys, howler monkeys, a tarantula, different birds, and some other weird animal similar to raccoons. The pictures don't do the place justice, as usual, but they're a neat remembrance, and it's amazing how small we are compared to the pyramids!

The back of one of the pyramids that wasn't restored.

Looking out from Pyramid IV. The view was amazing, especially of the couple other pyramids poking through the trees. When the Pyramids were actually being used the trees were all cleared out...I can't quite imagine what that must have looked like!

Climbing up the vines of one of the trees. The guide suggested this excellent picture spot!
(Chloe, Hannah, Me)

Climbing out of the cellar. There were about 5 different rooms linked to this one entrance. It was a good thing I had my flashlight in my bag, or we probably wouldn't have gotten to go in. The guide went down first to make sure there wasn't anything in there, and another group walked past and they didn't get to climb down...we were lucky!

A room at the top of one of the pyramids we climbed. This was one of the pyramids that we got to climb the stone steps instead of a set of ladder like stairs on the side.

Another pyramid...I can't remember the name/number.

One of the views of the Gran Plaza. The Gran Plaza was by far the most impressive because of the amount of structures in a smaller space. They had other carvings and faces in the rocks which were also amazing to see because I think they are the originals.
(I have pictures of those too!)

Looking across the field of the Gran Plaza. The building in the background is on almost all of the Tikal postcards.

On our way out we stopped to get our picture taken. This is 6 of the 7 of us that went...the other one (Jason) is taking the picture. We had fun, and I'm so glad that 7 of us went, because originally it was just going to be me and Hannah.
(Guillaume, Me, Justin, Chloe, Kevin, Hannah)

The heat was almost unbearable and overpowering, and definitely different than Xela. We we would take a cold shower which would feel wonderful but as soon as I got out, I started sweating again. It felt so nice tot take a hot shower when we got back to Xela this afternoon! The bugs weren't too bad, at least not as bad as I thought they were going to be.

We stayed on the Island of Flores. It was an extremely small town that looked a lot bigger on the map. It definitely catered to tourists and because of the economy and because it was the off season, there seemed to be very little going on. Our hostel was really neat with a swing inside and hammocks to read in. The food was amazing, and so we ate there last night before heading back on the bus. We found a couple of other good restaurants/coffee shops, with excellent views of the surrounding lake. We tried to find a place to swim in the lake, but it we never ended up finding a good spot. Two of the guys we went with wanted to stay in a hotel, so we were actually able to use the pool there which was extremely nice. We walked around the deserted and unfinished streets. It was a beautiful but weird little town, but it was nice to spend a lazy saturday there.

We got back on the bus at 9:15 pm in front of the Gran Hotel. We were a little skeptical that the tour bus was actually going to come to Flores and pick us up, but it came. We picked up people from different points along the way again. We got into Guatemala City at 5:00 am and waited around until our second bus left at 8:00 am. We finally got back to Xela in the afternoon after a total of 28 hours on 4 different buses, plus some layover time! I enjoyed a nap and a hot shower before Hannah and I went to XelaPan, the most declicious bakery down the street. It's a chain in Xela, but it has amazing fresh breads and desserts for extremely cheap and delicious hot chocolate.

I'm definitely ready for bed and ready for my last week at work! I can't believe how fast it has gone. I'm sure I'll think of other detials tomorrow, but I think I made a good dent in the events of the weekend!

I'm so thankful for this opportunity to serve in Guatemala, and the friendships that I have made. I'm thankful for the safety that I have had in travels and with my possessions. I'm thankful for the ways I have been challenged and the conversations I have had with people. I'm thankful for the reminder how big of a world we live in.

A Rainy Wednesday

Today was the first day it has rained since Saturday. It's looked like it's going to rain every day but then then it passes. The rain for a much colder evening. Chloe, Hannah, and I went to watch game two of the soccer match. We didn't play today, but it was really nice to get out of the house for a little and to have some good laughs. The CCS team lost again, but they've definitely improved.

Work went well today. I spent the couple hours in the morning with the kids in the nursery. There was another girl, Iris, in the nursery today. She's been in there a couple times before, but she's been going to school in the morning lately. She's always a challenge though! I don't know if there is a possibility of special needs involved or if she just has more emotional baggage that leads to more outbursts than the other kids. I was thankful for my special ed classes and the protective physical intervention classes I had last year because today I was trying to avoid being bitten multiple times. Iris calmed down after being held for awhile, but I don't know what set her off any of the times she had an outburst.

I finally figured out that Nelzo is going to school in the morning with a couple of the other kids. Apparently he and Oliver had not been in the same orphanage until recently. The other volunteers were telling me that he had been in an orphanage in Guatemala City and it's only within the last couple months that he was transferred here.

I only have a couple more times in the kitchen with Paula. I asked her today if I could bring my camera in on Tuesday and get a picture with her because it will be my last week, and she gladly agreed. I washed about 2 hours worth of dishes today, grated carrots, and helped unwrap the tamales.

After work I was able to take a little nap, I went to the gym, and some of us stopped at Hiper Pais (Wal-Mart) to get bread, peanut butter, apples, and granola bars for our overnight trip. We got the tickets today so we'll be all packed and ready to go at 2pm tomorrow. We get into Guatemala City around 7pm and leave at 9:15 pm to arrive in Tikal at 6 am Friday morning.