Adios, nuestros grandes y pequenos varones!

Well the day that Doug and I had both been dreading has come and gone. Our last day and Adios to Casa Guatemala and the boys we have grown to love. The past three weeks since our trip to Honduras were by far the most rewarding of our time so far. We are both in awe of the difference from those first few days of hell adjusting to our new environment. In our last month we had our routine down, the boys were peaceful & our relationships with them deeper, our Spanish and communication much better, and we found our relationships with the other volunteers had grown into real lasting friendships.

In preparation for our leaving, Doug and I decided to throw our boys a couple of going away parties for our last night together. Doug bought lots of goodies (including 30 cokes which is considered gold here) and a box filled with all the special products the boys all love to have but can´t afford (hair gel, spray deodorant etc). Before the party started, Patricia (the other orientadore Doug works with), told them that due to a few things they´d done during the week, they were all punished that night with no activities. (it actually happens once a fortnight, so not a huge surprise for them). The boys were of course ticked off, and even more so when they were sent to bed early and all the lights in the Casa were turned off. Of course it was just part of a big joke. Moments later they were greeted to the sight of Doug strolling up to the house in Candlelight, together with his swag of goodies. The anger quickly turned to uncontrollable excitement and the house was filled with music as he and the older boys danced and had a wonderful last night together.

Here´s a gallery of Doug´s last days and his party with the boys.


If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - Varone Grandes

For the Varones Pequenos we decided to do something a bit different. After surprising them all with goodie bags on their beds as they returned from dinner, Raul, Gabby and I lead them all through the orphanage to our local park and roasted marshmallows around the fire. Many of the children (including Gabby) had never done that before so the best part for me was watching the excitement on their faces as they burned the treats to a crisp (not quite grasping the ¨roasting¨concept) and gobbled them down.

Gabby is a fantastic storyteller so much of the night was spent listening intently to him tell scary stories while the children huddled around the three of us. Although my Spanish is not the best I knew things were getting intense when the children around me would push in just a little closer or clutch my hand a little tighter as the story continued. All is all....a wonderful and memorable night.

Here´s a gallery of Lydia´s last days and her party with the boys.


If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - Varone Pequenas

The following day we had another special treat planned for the boys. One of Gabby´s favorite recipes is Cola Chicken so he decided for our final lunch he would cook everyone up a feast. For the cherry on top we decided to have the lunch at my house which is out of bounds usually for any of the children. It was a great feeling looking around our kitchen table as it was covered by young happy faces stuffing themselves with good food. As part of the preparations, Raul caught the chooks from the farm and Doug actually plucked his first Chicken. Having watched his Varone Grandes go off and do it 3 times a week in the morning, on our last day he finally decided that it was time to do it himself.

Here is a couple of videos. Raul catching the chooks, and my boys at our last almuerzo together..





The final goodbye happened that night as we took the lancha back to town. It took half an hour filled with tears to finally get the boat moving. The trip to town was a very somber one as we closed the Casa Guatemala chapter of our lives.

The last few months have been among the most difficult, most challenging, and by far most rewarding of our lives. I have been dreaming of my boys for many weeks now and am certain will continue to see their smiling faces in my thoughts and dreams for many years to come.

We had to leave our mark at the Casa....



Goodbye Casa Guatemala....

Of course a going away wouldn´t be complete without the traditional goodbye drinks at Sundog and a dance of the bar at the Backpackers...



If you can´t see the above gallery, check out the link here - Last night fiesta