Well, it´s a jungle out here!! Not only figuratively... but literally of course.
We have made mention of the many adjustments to life we have had to face in our time here. Among the biggest, is the day to day interaction with the wild life....snakes, rats, monkeys, spiders, scorpions, rats, bats and brats. (All but the latter can be found living in our backyard :o) )
A quick story of our slow adjustment to our new surroundings. For those of you arachnophobes, you may prefer to skip this part.
One night after putting our kids to bed, Doug and I returned home to make a quick meal and our 8:30pm bedtime deadline (4:30am comes very quickly). With my candle in hand, I went to use the bathroom only to find that it was already being used....by a very large, and I mean VERY LARGE, yellow and black spider. Well, as I am not one to enjoy an audience on my bathroom breaks, I of course did the brave thing and called my husband to ¨take care of it¨. We soon realized however that this was a two man job, and while I held the flashlight steady on our GIGANTIC friend, Doug took a broom and tried to swap it into the next world. Well, we had obviously underestimated our large friend, and it quickly escaped and ran to the floor.
The next few minutes were rather scary...and more than a little embarrassing in hindsight.
Needless to say ALOT of noise was made yelling directions at each other (in high-pitched voices) as our 8 legged friend remained one step ahead of us. In our frustration and concentration however, we became oblivious to the audience that was slowly gathering in our entrance way. Hearing the cries from the ¨new white couple¨, the locals could only assume that a mass murderer or wild animal was on the attack and so quickly came to our rescue. We turned around to find 5 locals, (machetes in hand), in our main room, ready to take on the culprit. Needless to say the explanation (in our broken Spanish) of a spider in the loo, will no doubt be told around the orphanage and nearby villages for years to come.
We now battle all our wildlife friends BIG and small....in silence!
Some of the local Howler Monkeys that have the pleasure of waking us up at 4 every morning.
On the farm, the many pigs that well.....soon become lunch.
A friendly frog that decided to join us for dinner one night.
Hard to see, but a few of the thousands of Leaf Cutter ants that patrol past our door each day.
A little rat I had to escort from the premises one day.
Our local bull who is free to roam past our door at leasure (we don´t wear red).
One of 3 scorpions we have had the pleasure of ¨putting down¨recently.
Well, it´s been a busy 2 weeks at Casa Guatemala for Lyds and I.
I had to look after the Varone Grandes by myself for 10 days as my partner (Patricia) went on her break. I was a bit worried about how things would go at first, (given that she´s usually the hard hand and also a natural Spanish speaker), but in the end it was the best thing that happened for me. I got a lot closer to the boys and was forced to speak and learn a lot more Spanish in a short period. The boys were great and I think they took to my ¨more relaxed¨ style of leadership.
For the first 6 days I had the full 28 boys which meant that my days went really fast as I was constantly - tending to scrapes and cuts, making sure they did their chores, breaking up fights....yet still taking some quality time for some solid foozeball playing. The only bad thing has been that because I was on my own, we couldn´t leave the Casa for 2 weeks. We love it here, but we cherish our brief time on the net each week to catch up on what it going on in the rest of the World.
It was Guatemalan Independence day during the week, so for the second part of the 10 days, their was a 4 day weekend and I went down to only 13 boys. (Casa Guatemala is a true orphanage, but they also take a lot of kids whose parents are basically just too poor to look after them for the whole week).
The week leading up to Independence Day was great as there were a lot of activites for the Kids, and for 5 days straight they did performances and dances to celebrate. Overall a great week.
We are both certainly finding that the days are going by faster, and it´s a lot more fun interacting with the kids as we get to know them and they get to know us better each day.
Here´s our latest slideshow...
If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - Recent Pics
Well it is with a bitter sweet taste that our week off has drawn to an end. Our initial plan was to go to Honduras and learn to dive, however Hurricane Felix put a damper on that plan (no pun intended). We instead decided to stick around Guatemala and see some of the areas we had not yet visited.
Our first few days were spent in Flores which is a cute little island town not far from the famous Tikal ruins. The town itself was a pleasant surprise with lots of cute restaurants on the water, beautiful views, and cobble streets with ice cream parlors and cafe´s on every corner. Our reason for staying there was to do our last (I hope) tour of Mayan ruins in Central America. The Tikal ruins are some of the biggest and most unearthed Mayan ruins and definitely the most impressive. We opted for a 3:30am tour which included sitting on the top of the tallest ruin to watch the sunrise. Although we were all exhausted, the sound of the jungle waking up and the view of the sun climbing over the ruins was breathtaking. The rest of the morning was spent walking though and learning about the ruins, and the local flora and fauna.
Tikal in the early morning...
The next part of our trip, (although less appealing) was a much needed flying visit to Guatemala city to extend our Visas for another couple of months. The city is a bit of a dump, so we got out of there as quickly as possible and headed back to Rio Dulce as we only had a few more days to relax before duty called back at Casa Guatemala.
The last few days were by far the most relaxing and best of our week off. A friend of ours recommended a little getaway not far from the orphanage that was run by a British and Polish couple. The place was built a few years ago, and consists of a few small bungalows just off the river, in the middle of the jungle where nothing but solitude and relaxation awaits. Our days were filled with good food, laughter, reading, siestas and one particularly special afternoon at a private waterfall only an hour kayak away.
We return to the orphanage tonight relaxed and ready to start our next 21 day stint.
Here´s a slideshow of our week off
If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - Break Pics
Well having worked with my little men for three weeks now, I thought it time that I introduced them to you. I may not have a photo of each right now, or write about all of them at once, but hopefully this will help give you a visual as we continue to share stories of our lives at the Orphanage.
First off, here's a quick vid with some of kids we took last week, as they say hi to all of you...
and another interview Lyds did with some of the kids...
David, Sebas and Hugo
David: is another sad story with a misformed arm and no family but he also happens to be one of the funniest kids I know. He is a real clown and I took to him immediately. He can be very moody and unpredictable, but I enjoy being around him and especially his Canadian accent imitation.
Sebas: Loves to brush and braid my hair while touching up my chapstick. Nuf sed
Hugo: I call him my "little gentleman" as he always seems to wear collared shirts and dressier shorts than the others. There is a distinguished air about Hugo that makes him incredibly endearing...although like all my little men, he certainly does have a stubborn side to him. As you might have noticed, he also LOVES the camera.
Jose Armando:
I hate to admit it but he is definitely one of my favorites. A straight A student, he is quick to help, and very respectful of all the volunteers. The other kids comply immediately when he barks orders to "get in line", "listen up" or "go to sleep". Life would definitely not be as easy for me without my Jose.
Samuel and Tito
Tito: is the littlest of my "pequenos hombres" (little men) and the most adorable child of the lot. Not to mention the toughest. Being the baby of Casa Guatemala he gets a lot of attention from everyone, however is still expected to hold his own in sports, wrestling matches, and general rough-housing....which he does. I have never seen such a little person pin boys double his size, hit the ball harder, or say no to any challenge that comes his way. (he did finally jump from the balcony which we didn't catch on video unfortunately). His mother works across the lake at the backpackers (which provides funding for the orphanage) and he has one brother and a sister that also live at Casa Guatemala with us. Samuel: is our second little one. His family story is a sad one with both his brother and sister also living at the orphanage (his older brother Eduardo is also one of mine and has many emotional and physical challenges). Thankfully Samuel is a very well adjusted child (although VERY stubborn at times) surrounded by love and a huge fan of both Doug and I. He is extremely charming and knows it...look out ladies.
Eduardo: is a very sad boy with many problems as mentioned earlier. He is often teased by the other boys and although he is old enough to be one of the Vanona Grandes with Doug, I fear he never will be due to his emotional intelligence. We just give him as much love and understanding as we can and hope for the best.
Diter:
As much as I hate to admit it...I did not have "easy love" for Diter when I first arrived. My first few days with him were terrible as he tested and pushed me to the brink of insanity. On day 4 however something clicked with us, and that night to everyone's surprise he accepted my goodnight hug and kiss. From that day on he has been my prized little man, helping me with every chore and quick to keep the others in line on my behalf. I get frequent spontaneous hugs and kisses (apparently very surprising according to those who have worked there for a long time) and can honestly say that he has worked his way into my heart forever.
Osman:
Yikes, Osman. Well, the first two days with him were a dream....the next 5 a nightmare, and the last 10 not too bad at all. Osman was with his family (who are too poor to keep him full time which is often the case with some of our children) for the first week I was there but joined us in the second. I immediately took to him as he solemnly shook my hand and showed off his new gold ring (plastic of course). I was warned however that first impressions can often be wrong.
The following day was great, the calm before the storm if you will, and than all hell broke loose. Osman is the type that when disciplined, gets more angry and there is no stopping him. I soon learned the delicate balance of ignoring his temper tantrums and praising his good behaviour....and praising him, and praising him..and pra...you get the picture. We have recently had more good days than bad as he has figured out that my attention will only be had by being good and not the opposite.
Bryan:
Is very cute but has to have the worst potty mouth of any child in Casa Guatemala. Thankfully I don't understand a word (at least that is what he thinks) and my blank smile and laughter always cuts his outbursts quickly.
Jairon: Jairon and his brother Selvin have one of the saddest stories I have heard so far. Having seen their parents shot in front of them only a few years ago (his little sister still has terrible nightmares) they came to Casa Guatemala very angry and scared. My first connection with Jairon happened a few days after we met when he lost a tooth. As I kissed him goodnight he shyly pulled the tooth out from under his pillow and proudly explained that it had just fallen out moments before. I got very excited for him and gave him lots of hugs and excited kisses making sure he put the tooth back under the pillow.
In the morning he came running over beaming, holding the two Quetzales that had replaced the tooth in the night. I couldn't help but laugh however when the next day Jairon again came running, proudly displaying yet another tooth that had "apparently" just fallen out. I howled when I saw it as it was a third of the size of any of his teeth and had clearly never been in his mouth. I gave him a hug none the less which seemed to be enough. Later that night little Tito got a visit from the tooth fairy and found two Quetzales under his pillow.
Selvin:
Selvin as mentioned above is Jairon's brother and one of my youngest crew. He is desperate for attention and will get it any way he can. For the most part it is positive but we know soon enough when he is not getting enough as he can be seen climbing on the roof, hitting a girl or climbing into one of the many forbidden areas of Casa Guatemala. Still a very sweet child whom I am especially protective of.
Juan, Luis Antonio, and Higinio: These three brothers are beautiful, smart, and a big...enormous handful.
The oldest Juanito
Is one of my favorites (yes I can't help but have favorites, but no one would ever know of course) and a huge help to me with his brothers. I befriended him early on and referred to him (and the three other eldest boys) as my helpers and the "Grandes" of the Verones Pequenos. When it comes to his brothers however, he will defend them to the end and no one can stop him...even if they are in the wrong. He is often seen helping them with their chores as well as lending them clothing or comforting them at night during the storms.
Luis Antonio:
Is the middle brother and a royal pain. He is very angry and lashes out in the most bizarre times. One of my scariest moments happened with him last Saturday on my very first night watch alone. All were asleep (finally) when I heard a loud thump and immediate crying. I ran into the room to find Luis on the floor having fallen from the top bunk. That night was a very long one as Doug (who was spending the night with his guys downstairs) Yfat (the coordinator) and I comforted him until he fell back asleep at 2am. His shoulder was obviously causing him a lot of pain and we later found out that his collar bone had cracked in the fall. These are some tough kids. It reminded me of a long night I had when I was about seven and had broken my patella in a biking accident while my parents were away. I was unable to get to a hospital for hours and the minutes were some of the longest of my life. My heart went out to him and I understood exactly what it must be like to see one of your own children in pain.
Higinio: In the middle of my cutting gum out of his hair. (boys will be boys)
is the baby and plays it up...big time. His brothers spoil him, discipline, and defend him no matter what. He is adorable and yet a handful as well. All three of these brothers are in the process of being adopted by an American family. The process can take between 1-7 years so we are happy to have them until that time.
Louis Erique (Kike): Kike is one of the oldest and also waiting for his adoption papers to come through. An American family have adopted him but it is taking a very long time unfortunately. When I first met him he was completely checked out emotionally from the Orphanage and was constantly being punished for not doing his chores, blatantly disobeying orders etc. Kill them with kindness is my philosophy however, and Kike has really stepped up recently as the thought of disappointing me is obviously not one he relishes. We have a good thing going. :o)
Francisco: Abra Kadabra is my nickname for him as he has a way of making things disappear (and not in a good way). It didn't take long to figure out that if I played up that he was a magician he could all of the sudden make whatever it is that was "lost" appear (flashlight, money, someone else's ball etc) Any punishment has been fruitless so we continue to look for new ways to get through to this very stubborn little man.
Eliceo:
Is the shyest of the bunch. If you ever need to find him all you need do is find either myself, Raul or Gabby and he will likely be seated right beside us. It is all we can do to get him to join the others at play. Since I have been here I have been proud to watch him learn to count and swim in only just a few short weeks. Very rewarding.
Johnny:
Can be infuriating, frustrating, tiresome and yet strangely enough I love him to bits. Not sure why, but we have a great little connection and love our inside jokes.
Darryl:
Is a dream kid, one of my Varones Grandes and a pleasure to simply be around.
As an added bonus.....here's a quick slideshow of Doug's guys
Well our second weekend at the Casa saw us take a break from our weekly Orientador jobs to become Activity leaders. Basically on the weekends, the kids don't have school but have 4 seperate - 3 hour activity sessions spread out over Saturday and Sunday to keep them busy. It's up to the Volunteers to try and organise something slightly interesting to keep them busy for that time.
Each of the 4 groups (the Big boys/girls and the little girls/boys) has 3 hours of cinema (2 years ago, some volunteers paid for and built a great home stereo room)so that leaves 3 sessions to organise for each group. It's a good gig to do because it means you get to sleep in until 9am !! Believe us, it{s a big break from the usual 4.30am weekday start.
Last weekend, there were enough volunteers around so Lyds and I got to work together. We had the Nina Pequenas (little Girls) and the Varone Pequenas (little boys) over the weekend. The Girls were fantastic and very easy to please. We got some Arts and Crafts from the supply room for them and basically spent a full 3 hours making little clothes from paper to hang on a line with lots of sparkly things and strings and beads etc. etc. They loved it and it was great to spend some time hanging with the girls considering we spend all our time with the boys.
The boys on the other hand.....it's almost impossible to get all of them to want to do the same thing together. Half of them love fishing, some want to play Muerteból (Guatemalan version of dodgeball), others want to pick fruits...it's loco. For something different Lyds organised a series of relay races to get them excited and interested. Before we had them, we made team signs, a scoreboard, got some prizes together, got face paints to paint the different teams in unique colors....it sounded so good in theory.
Probably the biggest success was getting all the boys to stay in one place for an hour. Things started to go a bit pear-shaped from the start. Dividing them into teams took a while, the face painting went a bit askew with a few kids basically covering their entire bodies in paint (thankfully it was water based paint so it washed off easily). The first race went pretty well, but the rest just went progressively downhill. The first few kids in each relay would do it properly (for example - jumping in a bag correctly for the old potatoe sack race)...but then the next team member would just grab the bag and run...and so on.
All six of the races just ended up turning into a running race....Oh well. We kept them busy for a while. The best thing about the little boys is that if you have them in the afternoon, they will happily spend almost the entire 3 hour session swimming in the river and jumpiong off the balcony of their house...an easy gig and perfect on a typical stinking hot Guatemalan day.
Here are a few pics from oour latest week...
As always, if you can´t see this slideshow, please check out the link here - Casa Guatemala Week 2
