Livingston and Rio Dulce

Finally, another much needed vacation. For the new year´s eve celebrations, two other volunteers and I took a week off and went to Rio Dulce, and stayed in a hotel right on the river and in the woods. For anyone who likes nature and outdoorsy types of things, this is just the adventure for you. It was very rustic, and we took a good nature hike and a dip in the river.

Next, we hit Livingston, a town on the carribean sea. The only way to get to Livingston is by boat, so we had to hire a motorboat to get us there. This city has an amazingly eclectic culture because the people who have settled here are ancestors of the African slaves who were brought to this region. Over time, they have intermarried with Europeans and the Mayas to create a culture known as Garifuna. They have their own language, music, and dance. The seafood is incredible and the nightlife is wild! We stayed in a bungalow right on the sea... wow!

Posadas

OK so I realize this is in the wrong order since I already did my christmas post, but I forgot to include this earlier. To get ready for christmas, the kids participated in traditional posadas, in which they walk from house to house in the night singing to the people inside asking for permission to enter. It is symbolic of Mary and Joesph´s quest to find an inn for the birth of Jesus. At the last house, there is an altar with an angel. At our orphanage, two of the kids dressed as Mary and Joesph while the other 300 followed behind with candles. Afterwards, there were pinatas and hot chocolate was served. It helped everyone get really excited for the big day!

CHRISTMAS!!!

IT´S FINALLY HERE!!! In Guatemala, christmas is celebrated on the 24th of December in the night time. It is the end of a few stressful weeks for me, as the caregivers at the house were given vacation and the volunteers were expected to cover the basic needs of all the children. So my lesson plans have, temporarily, taken the back burner as I have been occupied with bathing and changing and feeding the special ed kids. I think it is good for me to do this sometimes to remember how difficult that job is and how many needs my children have on a daily basis.

One interesting difference in Guatemala is that the nativity scenes here often lack the actual doll of baby Jesus until the 24th of Decemeber when he is actually born. So, earlier in the month, the nativity will only include Joesph and Mary and animals. During the night of the 24th, many of the kids took turns holding a doll of Jesus in their arms and passing it around before adding it to the nativity.

At the house, the volunteers put on a christmas skit for the kids with comical representations of Mary and Joesph. I played a pastor who had to avoid temptations of the devil in order to make it to the birth of baby Jesus. Then, we had a christmas meal with meat and ponche, a traditional drink made of fruit and cinnamon. I couldn´t help noticing that it was missing rum...but it was still delicious! Some people eat tamales at christmas time, but we saved that meal for New Year´s Eve at the house. After dinner, we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows. At midnight, the kids recieved presents from Santa.... socks, underwear, a bookbag, candy, and shoes. Then, even the tiniest babies set off firecrackers. Good times!!!

Burning of the Devil

Before christmas time, in early December, there was a celebration called Quema Del Diablo, or the burning of the devil. It is symbolic of spiritual cleansing and destruction of impurity and sin. I celebrated it at home with the kids, and each section made their representation of the devil out of straw and paper. When the sun went down that night, we set off firecrackers and burned the figures to the ground outside of the cafeteria.

Side note about celebrations here... the people here seem to LOVE firecrackers and fireworks and anything with fire in general. Even the youngest kids at the house can tell you how to light off a firecracker, and every festival I´ve attended thus far has included them. We have alot of fogatas, or bonfires... probably once a month. So I guess it only makes sense that we would burn satan to the ground with a BANG!

Ahhh.... Making cookies!

A few weeks ago, I made cookies with my section of 15 to 17 year old girls. Cooking is always a worthwhile activity to plan because it is a good skill for the teenagers to learn, and it´s relaxing and fun for everyone! Every week, I plan something with this group of kids outside of school so that they can do different types of activities. I had a High School Musical night with them once in which we watched the movie and raffled off prizes. Another time, we made pizza and drank flavored tea. We have spent many afternoons walking to the village and playing soccer, as most kids in this country are utterly obsessed with soccer. Yet another day, the girls taught me how to make yarn bracelets.

The cookies turned out well... and were a good break from the usual black beans and rice.

The Soccer Tournament

The first week of December was a week that many of my kids had been waiting for for a long time. The second annual international NPH soccer tournament brought teams from orphanages all over central america to Guatemala to play right in the middle of our house. One night, there were cultural presentations from each country, and we got to see traditional dances from each group. A special soccer field was constructed for our home so that the tournament could take place here, and the kids trained for months to prepare. The teams came equiped with bands and cheering sections. Many wonderful friendships were forged. It was interesting for me to share experiences with other people who worked in similar situations in other places. In the end, the Guatemalan girl´s team won 2nd place, and our boys won 4th place.

All Saints Day

November 1st was an important holiday here in Guatemala. Dia de los Santos, or All Saints Day, brings people all over latin america to the cemeteries to reunite with their lost loved ones. The interesting thing about this day is the attitude associated with death... no one is crying or upset. In fact, the cemetery is practically converted into a carnival with food vendors, kite flying, and music. Here in San Andres Itzapa, the village next to mine, I saw a huge kite festival in the cemetery. People flew kites that were up to 10 feet tall and intricately decorated. Many of the kites were decorated to illustrate political or social statements...it was truly amazing. I went with my friend Christy, who is Guatemalan, and helped her decorate her grandmother´s grave with candles and flowers.