Dia de la Madre

I work with a women's group. Of course we had to do something for Mother's Day! Ela invited all the women of our group, about 50 or so, to celebrate. Tuesday we pulled tables out from houses and brought ovens out from kitchens, placed them in my dirt yard and made cakes. Nine cakes.

Ela and I darted in and out of the house, grabbing clean spoons and salt, while the women worked away. 

It's always a team effort, with plenty of bystanders. 

Happily mixing. The cakes turned out great and were ready for the party the next day. 

And then the festivities began. I didn't have much planned for the day; an activity where they share what their mothers' taught them, what they like about motherhood, etc. From there, Ela took over the party really started. 

She taught us all kinds of games. Musical chairs got the women started...

Not long after that we couldn't stop the laughter. It's so fun to see these women cutting loose together and laughing. They are huge goofballs. 

The mothers of Chirijox. We had about 40 women show up that day and each contributed a word or a laugh that made the party a success.  

Pura Vida

It had been a while since Hendrick had knocked on my door. Maybe because the rains have begun and suddenly leaving those house doesn't sound as fun, even for a 5-year-old. At first it was nice to have afternoons to myself, but over the last week or so I started to miss the little rascal. This afternoon, the knock came again. I always know it's him because I can hear that the knock is low on the frame due to the thinness of my door, and also because the knock is immediately followed with a call of my name. 

I was talking with Nic on the phone when he came in. I asked him if he wanted to play cards when I finished talking to Nic, and he asked if he could wait with me. 

Once I hung up the phone I asked Henrick if he wanted some warm milk. He had never tried it before and seemed politely skeptical. His face gives it away. I assured him he would like it. He walked to my shelf and found a shot glass I inherited from the previous volunteer. Hendrick asked if he could try the warm milk out of that glass because it is small. 

We began to play Go Fish as the milk warmed on my two-burner gas stove. The thunder began. I poured Hendrick's glass full of two ounces of warm milk in the middle of the game. He didn't take a sip until about two rounds later and I could see in his face he liked it. A few more rounds later he asked if there was more. Once we finished the game, me with my mug and he with his shot glass, we talked about life. I asked him his favorite things and he told me secrets. Hendrick sat back in his chair, shot glass in his hand and milk mustache fresh on his lips and declared, "Esta es pura vida", "This is pure life". I smiled and agreed, followed by a tremendous sneeze. Hendrick said, "Salud!", "Health!" and offered his shot glass in the air. I brought my mug up to meet his with a "clink". We both drank, Hendrick tipping his head back to get all the milk. He held out his glass for more milk. Each time, two ounces by two ounces, until the small metal pitcher of milk was empty, we toasted to each other's health. This is pure life. 

Ode to Fernandito

I don't think I've given much mention to Fernandito. Fernando is the son of my counterpart's husband's sister. Got that? So if I am part of the family, then he would be my nephew. I feel like I've profiled some of the other folks in my life here in Guate, and now it is Fernandito's time to shine. 

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It was Fernando's (aka Fernandito or for short, Ener) birthday a few weekends ago. He has completed two years now. Sadly,  I have no pictures of the party or how sharp he looked as I had to take an unexpected and rapid trip to the capital that day. 

Fernando is a cute kid. He reminds me of a muppet. It has taken him probably the whole 6 months I've been at site to warm up to me. When I first arrived, when I would say hi to him he would cry, literally. Now, we're buds. When he comes up to my house to visit his grandpa, Don Juan, he comes right in my house is search of my giant exercise ball. I guess that's the sign of true friendship, when someone just walks in your house and takes your things. 

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Ela and Benancio went to Xela yesterday. Whenever they go to Xela, they bring back weird cookies or candies for the kids. Yesterday, when Fernandito came up for a visit I thought he was eating ink. Turns out, it's a grape-flavored liquid candy that was all over his mouth, hands and dripping down his chin. See below. 

I had to get a photo of this. I was trying to get just his mouth, so Ana, a lady who helps care for him that was with him, told him to remove the candy from his mouth and smile. Here's what I got:

In case you need a close up, I have that too: 

Chiqabal

Last weekend a group of us got together to celebrate some birthdays. This lake, Chiqabal, is about a two hour hike from a volunteer's sight. After burning thighs, getting slightly lost in on a jungly path and staving off the rain we arrived. 

From the lookout. 

According to Jerami and Zane, there were something like 538 stairs; parts were quite steep, as shown here. 

On our way down...

This lake is considered a holy place by local Mayans. While we were there a group of people were having a ceremony across the lake. 

The fog continually rolled over the ridge and gently fell onto the lake. It was such a beautiful sight.