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!