I went on another vacation to Lago de Atitlan (wikipedia it), which is a really famous lake here and I went swimming and just hung out. We were are this village called Jibalito, which is tiny and mostly indigenous, so we got to see how the local Mayan population lives which was really neat. I did some hiking, swam in the lake, and just rested with the other volunteers...very sweet!
This weekend was independence day for Guatemala so there was a torch run which the orphanage did for about 10 miles! I didn't run the whole way because the altitude is super high here and its hard to run sometimes, but I ran a good chunk. There was also a parade, but I was down with the flu that day so I didn't get to attend. However, I will post pictures from other people soon.
Work has been...intense. The more I work with my kids, the more I discover the hidden problems with the administration here, the reality of my students' capabilities, and the attitudes of other people in the Guatemalan society towards disability. The people here have two main attitudes towards people with disabilities: 1) They believe that disabled individuals can't achieve anything so they refuse to assist with medical care, education, or advocacy, 2) They freely hand out money and gifts to disabled people without training them in any way. Both attitudes are harmful to the kids. I struggle to find a balance between work and daily life, as my kids require an INFINITE amount of therapies every day. However, in spite of it all, I LOVE my kids very much and enjoy spending so much time with them.
Pictures soon....not only of the lake, but also more of my kids and the house.
