Fotos...
Evelyn, our student's sister
I turned 22!
Whew! Finally we found 19 pairs of similiar tennis shoes in the right sizes! All of our students received new tennis shoes for Independence Day.
Mariela and Alessandra
Brandon
Oscar
Practicing for the parade
Parents paint Snow White's castle.
Paulina and I found some shade.
Yessica, Evelyn and family after the parade.
Ana Yulisa
Elmer is getting a bit tired! (the parade was 3 hrs long)
Our Independence Day princess, Estrellita.
Nancy, proudly waving the flag.
Snow White (Ana Yulisa) with some very tired dwarves after the parade.Community
The Guatemalan people have such a beautiful sense of community. The way in which they care for each other and work together continually amazes me. I think this is something that I have observed since the beginning of my time here, but recent circumstances have demonstrated it so much more clearly and over and over again. It seems to be something I am meant to take notice of and learn from. The challenge will be carrying what I have learned with me and actually applying it.
Streets have been filled with mud after every heavy rain, but as soon as the rain breaks, the entire neighborhood comes out into the street with shovels and wheel barrels to open the road. People work together. After the mud was continually filling a particular street and the houses along it, a group of men who live there got together and built cement walls (abt 2 feet high) in front of every house to keep the mud from entering.
Where I am living, we have been having some trouble with the water pump. Now we know to keep a bucket filled at all times, in case the water goes out, but when this first started happening we were totally unprepared. Three times we had to go next door and ask our neighbor Doña Martina if we could fill our bucket. Martina and her family have only city water, which means that it flows only for about 2 hours most mornings. During those 2 hours, they fill their pila with water, and then that is all they will have for the day. However, each time we asked Martina graciously allowed us to fill a bucket, and told us that we were welcome to do this anytime. Even though she and her family only had a limited amount they were willing to share that with us not just once but without conditions. People are willing to depend upon one another here.
At the Susana Wesley Preschool, we have been preparing for the Independence Day parade and celebrations for about a month before the actual day. The first meeting we had with the parents about this event, they said why don't we break into committees to work on all of this and so they did. They found a generator for us to use with the sound system and made all of the decorations. People just split up the jobs and got them done, there was no bickering just support and work until everything was finished.
A final example I wanted to share today shows a different side of this strong community and solidarity that exists in Guatemala. In San Andres last weekend a man attempted to kidnap a school official and hold him for ransom. The man was caught by the people and then the people collectively burnt him. The police were never involved, the people just took care of it in this way to send a strong warning to other potential kidnappers and protect their community. Perhaps people are skeptical about the effectiveness of the government and police in solving these crimes, and therefore work together to stop them.
Streets have been filled with mud after every heavy rain, but as soon as the rain breaks, the entire neighborhood comes out into the street with shovels and wheel barrels to open the road. People work together. After the mud was continually filling a particular street and the houses along it, a group of men who live there got together and built cement walls (abt 2 feet high) in front of every house to keep the mud from entering.
Where I am living, we have been having some trouble with the water pump. Now we know to keep a bucket filled at all times, in case the water goes out, but when this first started happening we were totally unprepared. Three times we had to go next door and ask our neighbor Doña Martina if we could fill our bucket. Martina and her family have only city water, which means that it flows only for about 2 hours most mornings. During those 2 hours, they fill their pila with water, and then that is all they will have for the day. However, each time we asked Martina graciously allowed us to fill a bucket, and told us that we were welcome to do this anytime. Even though she and her family only had a limited amount they were willing to share that with us not just once but without conditions. People are willing to depend upon one another here.
At the Susana Wesley Preschool, we have been preparing for the Independence Day parade and celebrations for about a month before the actual day. The first meeting we had with the parents about this event, they said why don't we break into committees to work on all of this and so they did. They found a generator for us to use with the sound system and made all of the decorations. People just split up the jobs and got them done, there was no bickering just support and work until everything was finished.
A final example I wanted to share today shows a different side of this strong community and solidarity that exists in Guatemala. In San Andres last weekend a man attempted to kidnap a school official and hold him for ransom. The man was caught by the people and then the people collectively burnt him. The police were never involved, the people just took care of it in this way to send a strong warning to other potential kidnappers and protect their community. Perhaps people are skeptical about the effectiveness of the government and police in solving these crimes, and therefore work together to stop them.
Hey Dollface! Love this post!! Your life is sooo exciting! I miss the adventure myself! Guess - Ill have to be content with just being with you in Spirit!!! :) Love that you found the kiddos new shoes. How awesome is that!! Cant wait to see you in December. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwah
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