Friday Already!

June 5

Snack time break at the School of Hope

Parts of Guatemala remind me of Uganda, like the guards standing outside gated restaurants and houses, some of the food is basically the same, the intensity of the sun, the relevance of time, and the amount of hardships the kids have been through.  Other things are very different from Uganda, like the language barrier seems greater in Guatemala, the dirt isn't dirt- it's sand, normal clothes seem perfectly culturally acceptable for the most part, and white people are gringos versus mzungus.

The snack time bunch! Every day the younger kids sit in a circle together

Besides the cultural food, which is egg, rice, bean, hot dog, and tortilla heavy, there are several chains that we have in America.  I mentioned Taco Bell earlier, but there is also a Domino's Pizza and I saw a McDonald's to name a few.  At just about any tienda (Tea-en-duh or store), you can get a bag of Doritos or Cheetos with a Gatorade or Coke.  Paiz, a Wal-mart like grocery store, carries toaster strudels and graham crackers among many other American type foods.  It's pretty crazy what you can get here!  I think it makes it a bit easier to be in a place like this, because so much familiar food is readily available.

The day didn't hold too much- both of Marcos's classes earned a movie day, so we watched Avengers 2 with Advanced and The Blind Side with Beginners.  When school ended at 1pm, we walked with the kids back to the Fund, short for Fundacion Salvacion, which I'm pretty sure means Salvation Foundation? (Correct me if I'm wrong!)  It is the orphanage where the majority of the kids who attend the School of Hope live.  We ate lunch with the kids and then I played with some of the younger girls on the monkey bars and swings.  They had a blast pretending to need help, yelling, "Teacher! Teacher, help!" And I loved every minute of "rescuing" them!

Between lunch and 4pm, we walked to the grocery store and got all the supplies for chicken tacos!  On the way, we stopped to walk around the local cemetery!  It is incredibly colorful!!  Almost like they celebrate the lives of those who lived.  Marcos and I were back in time for him to tutor one of the older boys.  Dinner was delicious and then it was back to the Fund for a movie night. They showed Paddington, in Spanish. I was lost. But it looked funny and the kids enjoyed it, so that's what counts!