Thursday, January 30, 2014

First Week in at Hogar Comunitario!

The View from Hogar Comunitario
One can become truly busy when one tries to become involved in many aspects of a new culture...and also quite ill.  So this week I've been busy and ill, but oh has it been a grand week.  I have spent so much time with the women of Hogar Comunitario that I feel I am beginning to understand a fraction of what it means to live their lives.  These are STRONG Mayan women who have chosen to dedicate everything they have to these 31 children.  They cannot take a day off, or call in sick.  They each cook and clean, teach, change diapers, sooth tears and wounds, and never take a second for themselves.  Only on weekends do they get mere glimpses of lives without 31 children, and even then they are preparing everything for the next week.
Angelica (Doña Felipa's daughter) helping the children with crafts
The children at HC are wonderful.  Each child comes from extremely impoverished circumstances and at HC they are taught the value of rules, lessons, clean hands, brushed teeth, respect for others, kindness from others, and many other values that go on behind the scenes.  Some children are rambunctious, or ring-leaders, while others sit alone or often shed a tear, however all crave hugs and smiles and I offer those all day long.

 


My main job is every job.  However I can be of assistance, I try and be of assistance!  I mainly play with the children in the concrete floored main-room, take children outside to the bathroom, work on lessons and art projects with them in the classroom, run the hand-washing/tooth-brushing station, eat lots of fake food cooked for me :), or hold a crying child.  It is amazing what a "good kind of tired" I feel everyday when I leave.

Here are a few pictures from Hogar Comunitario:

Some of the boys!

The Class (Above), and the Kids' Play Area (Below)



Saturday, January 25, 2014

Exploring Xela with Native Xelans...que lindo!

Today was great.  As my first Saturday here, I suppose the idea would be to sleep in or go exploring…and well…I certainly didn’t do the first but, boy, did I do the second.
To sum it up, Doña Felipa, Noelia (the fabulous 30-something teacher), Sandra (one of the 4 señoras at Hogar Comunitario), and I trekked around Xela picking up various items needed for the kids using YOUR generous donations.  We stopped at Mayan markets that were so crowded and smelled phenomenal, we also went to a fabric store to create a puppet-theater for the kids, a teaching supply store, and of course…Wal-Mart.  Yes, there is a Wal-Mart.
We randomly jumped on crazy buses and then mostly walked always in eyesight of the surrounding volcanoes.  So stunning.
Later, Noelia took me to another local market where she showed me all of the exotic fruits and vegetables.  She took some photos of me with them on her phone…those will be forthcoming!  We're planning on going Salsa-dancing sometime, so we were looking in the markets for a Salsa blouse for me...haha they were all waaay to short for me.  Thanks dad!!!  She also invited to me to her iglesia (church) tomorrow for the 4-hour service...so cool/fascinating!...and to her home for lunch after.  Noelia and I are already becoming fast friends.  I know it’ll be nice to have her while I’m here, and hey, we’re coworkers…and Facebook friends (which of course is the only way to make it official haha).
I was exhausted this evening, but decided to take one more walk to the famous oldest part of the city, Parque Central.  It was so worth it.  Here are some pics from today! 


Doña Felipa, Noelia, and me in the school supply store :)


Me and Noelia!  Love her.


The Streets of Xela (any with a bit of a mountain...actually a part of the volcano that erupted 100 years ago) Life ROCKS. Get it...rocks? Heehe.



El Parque Central this evening...the oldest part of town and a few blocks from my house :)

 
 
 


First Day as a Volunteer...Hogar Comunitario

My first full day in Xela was incredibly unbelievably exhaustingly fantastically amazing.  Just to be honest.  I got up at 7:30 to eat breakfast with my roomie and then unpacked.  Petra and I then trekked to where I will meet the bus each day for a 45min ride out of town into La Cuchilla de Pinal a Sector 12.  This is the location of Hogar Comunitario and it is literally the last bus stop because if you crane your neck, you are standing at the base of and staring up at a volcano...that has never erupted.  It it a perfect triangular point.  All around you in every direction are volcanoes and the streets are made of grey ash.  Wow.

A little bit about Hogar Comunitario (HC): it was found 10 years ago by a woman now known as Doña Felipa, but she just prefers Felipa.  To the people of this area she is as revered like Mother Teresa.  She decided to open a place for Mayan mothers to leave their young children so that they could get much-needed jobs to support their families.  From there it grew into what it is today: a staple of La Cuchilla.  There are currently 31 children at HC and they are all from extremely impoverished families.  They are provided two meals and two snacks a day.  Each morning after breakfast, classes and activities are held, and in the afternoon before lunch (while lunch is being prepared from scratch) the children spend their time in the main area of the concrete facility playing.  It is quite a scene to watch so many creative minds being employed all at once to build towers, pyramids, and trains that carry those towers and pyramids.  The kids even opened a few restaurants where I was served plastic bottle caps for every dish I ordered and I happily pretended to devour each one :)  While I toted around a precious infant.

At lunch we had a true Mayan meal.  I’ll blog about food sometime, so I’ll save that for then.  Just remember you have something AWESOME to look forward to then…and Rarer?...we might need to open a Mayan restaurant. For reals.

I quickly became a human jungle-gym and I was asked by a 3 year-old if I was a señor o señora because of my relatively short hair.  So adorable.  By the end of the day I was singing Guatemalan songs I don’t know by making up ladino-sounding tunes for the songs about butterflies and flowers and God Bless Guatemala and such.  It was really fun and I had the kids all around me giggling like crazy asking for just one more!!!  Hahaha, oh the joy of kids.

I also got to feed a chubby little baby and by the end of the day was assigned to THE hand washing station (which is an INTENSE and INTRICATE process) where I was scolded by Doña Felipa about the right amount of soap and how much water to pour over the children’s hands! Phew!  They are great.  I will work at Hogar Comunitario for the next 6 weeks from 9-4, then work only mornings at HC and come back to Xela Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to Caras Alegres for the remaining 6 weeks.

What amazing journeys lie ahead!

Today I am taking Felipa y Noelia shopping for things for the children!  They were SO surprised by YOUR generosity.  Muchas gracias a todos.

First day with the kids and Noelia! 



Friday, January 24, 2014

First Day Off The Plane IN GUATEMALA!

To update my homeland familia y amigos: I am safely in Xela as of last night and have finished my first day’s work :)


I arrived in Guatemala City yesterday afternoon from Raleigh (thanks Dave and Kath!) via Miami.  On the plane I met Megan who will be traveling around Central America (shout out!) and Ika who is a couture wedding dress designer.  We all talked throughout the plane ride.  So fun, ladies (Ika, thoughts to your mama!)

Of course I got red-flagged at customs for having none other than children’s hand bells in my suitcase for the kids.  After that laughable moment, I met Alfredo, the wonderful A Broader View (ABV) taxi driver.  He swept me off to the bus station telling me to stay put until my bus at 3:00pm.
After making some friends, recording EVERY aspect of the Guat City to Xela bus ride in my journal (ethnographic observational style) and seeing countless volcanoes, jungles, pueblos, road-side markets, misty valleys, and beautiful Mayans cultivating their land, or hiking mountains with babies tied to their backs, I arrived in Xela. I jumped off the bus and hugged Petra (one of two country-coordinators) and she drove me to meet my awesome host family.
My host family consists of Veronica, mother of Susana, mother of Nicole (3 years), their 2 dogs, and a parrot.  I’ll have a roommate (Liz, 66, who rocks) for the next week and then I may be on my own, but they’ve already made me feel at home.  I called the parentals for a quick chat last night (you know, I’ve just popped over to Guatemala) and took a shower, then it was off to bed to prep for my first day’s work at Hogar Comunitario.


Here are a few photos to get your minds imagining!!! :)

Plane View over Guatemala City (an old volcano...no worries)



Waiting for el autobus a Xela y el autobus from the waiting room in Guat City!

  


The Courtyard at mi casa nueva con Veronica! (The rooms are all to the right)



The dogs...they are precious (#WordsMyDadUses) and the parrot Arturo (he attacks)! 




Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Bringing Music to Guatemala...Handbell Style!

Just an update as the volunteer trip approaches:

A generous donor and friend of mine offered to pay for a set of children's handbells that I can take and leave in Guatemala at one of the orphanages.  These colored bells will hopefully be a great way to share my love of music and the joy of music with the children.  So, I will be tucking each of the 13 bells into my socks and carrying them in my suitcase to Guatemala!!  The program coordinators were thrilled about this creative activity I'll be able to introduce to the kids.

I plan on learning Guatemalan children's songs that I can transfer into music for the children to play.  Music has brought me so much happiness, and I can't wait to share that happiness in Guatemala!

I'll surely blog about this once I've introduced the bells to the kids at the orphanages.

Much love, and thanks again to ALL of my supporters and donors who are allowing me the honor of serving in this way.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

3 Weeks Away from Guatemala!

Happy New Year 2014!  In 3 weeks, I will be embarking on the most difficult journey I have taken in my life thus far.  I am still amazed by the support that has come pouring in from all directions.  With your donations, there is hope that the children in the orphanages in Xela will feel your joy and love across continents and know that they are not alone.

As I prepare for this trip, I will be speaking with others who have traveled to Xela in the past as well as brushing up on my Spanish skills!

To say that nerves are out of the question would be a lie, but my nervouseness stems from my curiousity about where exactly I will be called to volunteer.  Will I be able to provide volunteer work to a culture so different from mine while respecting their values and customs?  Will the language barrier keep me from reaching out to the needs of these young abandoned and orphaned children?  In the coming weeks, however you practice faith or believe, please be thinking about this project, the children, my host family, and all of those in our world who we can serve.

My curvy life path has led me to Xela, and I cannot even imagine what will come after that.  With the love of those around me, my path has begun and in 3 weeks I will be taking my first steps into a foreign culture and language and soaking in every bit of each moment.

If you would still like to donate, please go here!!  We are still raising funds for Xela.

Mucho amor a todos.