HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIMON---I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Had to get the most important thing out of the way, first!

As much as I tried to avoid my last day on the project, it was inevitable, and came much faster than I thought it would. The children and staff made it impossible for me to stay dry-eyed and, true to form, I was a blubbering wreck all day. It got to the point where they wouldn't even have to say anything, just a hug, or a child crawling into my lap (even with wet pants), or taking me by the hand, would set me off. The children sang a song about looking into my heart to find just a tiny bit of room for each of them---that's when the sunglasses came out and stayed on for the rest of the day. Even though I worked with, and grew to love every child at the Guarderia, this is my special group, with just three missing:

(back row, left to right): Anita, Seno Vivi, Joselyn, Emilia Maria

(center row, left to right)" The Big Cry Baby," Ubaldo, Noe, Wilmar, Edgar

(bottom row, left to right) Jean Carlo, Kevin, Oscar (the toughest nut to crack!), Rosita y Isaias

As a little remembrance, I bought beanie babies and some goodies for each of the kids. This little guy, Kevin, asked the teacher where he could keep it in the classroom because "he didn't have any toys at home"---another one said, "sure, I can go to Michigan with you, Seno Patty, but we'll probably have to tell my mom we were going." Eegads---they were killing me!

And, I had to say goodbye to the two hardest working and sweetest women on the project: Martita and Grecias, the cooks. (I know Martita looks a little stern but she never smiles for pictures because she is embarassed of her teeth---in person, she never stops smiling.) These two make 75 breakfasts, 75 morning snacks, 75 lunches, and 75 afternoon snacks every day----without the use of any pre-packaged foods or modern kitchen conventions----and then they do all the dishes by hand! I had the privilege of working with these incredible women every morning. They taught me how to make corn tortillas, churritos, atoll, refried beans (and a few things I will probably never make again in my life: i.e. chicken organs stew)----and I learned to make even the grossest and most unpleasant work fun by singing, laughing (mostly at my own silly mistakes), sharing stories about our families, and telling jokes. Although, neither of these women went to school beyond 5th grade, they taught me so much---about the strength of the human spirit and it's capacity to endure just about anything, that laughter won't fix anything, but it sure as heck helps every situation, they showed me how little it takes to be genuinely happy, and they helped me learn that truly hard work gives one a sense of value and accomplishment, regardless of the type of work. I am forever indebted to these two and they are my heroes!

Pat arrived in Guatemala yesterday and is taking the Camino Seguro tour today---I'm hoping between the tour of the project and our trip to the lake in the volcanoes that he'll better understand why I have to return----and, maybe, even want to join me.

So, I think I have to say "adios" from Guatemala---I don't think I'll have access to a computer again before I return to the States. The pictures and thoughts I shared with you are just a few of many, many, many that I'm sure I will be processing for a long time---they were all sent with love and a wish to share just a bit of this incredible and profound experience with you. I hope you know that while I was blogging all of you about my time here, everyone on the project has been getting first hand information about you, our school , and Traverse City. I am so grateful to belong to the Children's House community and I'm looking forward to being back with all of you again, soon. Much love to all,

Seno Patty

This is the director of the Guarderia, Ana Karin, with one of the students chosen to wear native Guatemalan costume for the visiting British ambassador. There are 6 classrooms of children from age 1-6 in the building.

Kids playing in the tree house.

A small group of children eating their snack outside. Snacks are provided in the morning and afternoon and usually consist of fruit, a small sandwich, or corn meal with cheese and is always served with atoll. Atoll is a beverage that is made with the milk of corn or rice and usually contains blended beans and sugar. Many of the native Guatemalans used to drink this beverage to get protein when food was scarce---the recipes vary according to what's available and it is served either warm or cold. It has become a custom now, even though food is more plentiful, and many have atoll instead of coffee, which is very expensive here.

Each of the classrooms has a sand and water play area right outside. The children love being out here and are always very focused on the activity. After their playtime, they get little brooms and dust pans to sweep up any sand that has escaped.

This is Marco Tulio---the most wonderful, fix-anything, clean everything, gardener, and custodian at the Guarderia. A very sweet man that will stop his work to walk over to tell a child "nice job" or just to give a little hug---we've been helping each other with our foreign language acquisition. This little girl is also in native costume for our visitor.

Nap time at the Guarderia. The kids are amazing--they go to sleep in two minutes flat---must be all the good food and hard play---and this is in a classroom of 12 boys and only 3 girls!

First graders from the main building---I didn't get their names but as soon as a camera is spied, smiles erupt everywhere and they all come running.

This is Kenneth---Amy, Vic and Joseph's friend at Camino Seguro. His teachers and the volunteers all say he is the nicest little guy. He warmed up to me right away and wanted to take me to his classroom to show me around.

Always smiling Chilli from the Guarderia---many of the older children have taken her under their protective care. She only has to wait a minute for one of the two swings before someone calls her over and lets her take a turn; unheard of with any of the other children

Me with my special little guy, Emmanuel, who I love to pieces. He was the only child that came to bath day with a little briefcase filled with new undies and a clean pair of socks. He has a faint lisp that makes him that much cuter---speaks Spanish like someone from Barcelona---"grathias, theno Patty". The children call us seno---or teach.

After morning group, the children are asked, in English "Where would you like to play, today?" and they must respond in English as well (very cute!). They have six different choices, only four children per area: role playing in a beautiful little play house, outfitted with full kitchen, dining room, bunkbeds for the babies, and dress up clothes. They can also choose blocks and trucks, creativity and art, pre-writing, play dough, or the puzzle table.

Wendy is "shaking her sillies out" with her other three year old classmates. The songs in the morning are sung in both Spanish and English. It is almost more fun teaching the teachers the songs than the kids. Thank you Melissa for saving my life with new songs---we were all getting tired of the "Hokey Pokey!"

This is Fidelia's class. She typically has 15 children and one volunteer with her. Fidelia is 21 years old, comes from a family of six other children and she is the first to have gone through high school. She has had this job for two years and is saving to go to university. It is very clear that she loves her job and she does it very well. This is another of the pilot program's classrooms---everything they do emulates the Montessori philosphy---the kids love it and so do I.

All of the children walk in "una filita con manos atras"----a little line with hands behind their backs. The teacher walks and sings the "filita" song to the tune of "Are you Sleeping" and most of the kids are great---although there is the occassional throttling of throats, pulling of hair, kicking, tripping, pinching, and general "you should probably use your words" type of behavior. The culture, in general, is very physical and although it is difficult to watch at this age, much of it is ignored----saving energy for bigger battles, of which there are many.

Even though we've been asked not to bring anything of value to the project, I had to bring my camera in (just one day) to take some pictures of the students we work with. These are the kids at the Guarderia having breakfast---and two of the seven volunteers there. Iris, from Boston, and Tyler McCarthy. He is an assistant in the classroom with me and is from Traverse City---woohoo! He is only 17 and despite his claims that he's "no good with kids", is really wonderful with them and the boys all flock to him, climbing, chasing, and watching his every move. Many of the children don't have fathers to serve as role models so Tyler plays a very important role for them.

This little guy cracks me up. His name is Irvin but he calls himself "Moto"---in a growling voice. We all call him "Biggie" because of his incredible break dancing moves. He thinks he is a tiger and is ALWAYS in character---it is rare to see him without a snarl or claws extended ready to capture and devour something (except when he's giving you a good morning hug and kiss).

Sweet little Martin---he has some learning and speech dificulties. He is either the sweetest, most affectionate little guy or he's beating the tar out of someone! So, there's always a volunteer right by him to remind him of the nice kid he is.

And, although, it would be wrong to say I have any favorites, I really love Emmanuel. He is a gentle little boy that prefers swinging or taking my hand and walking around the playground and showing me things more than running with the pack of more aggressive boys. He always has a big smile for me and asks, first thing, if I had a good night.

These two angel faces are Chilli and Maria; only two years old but they, too, eat up their breakfast and then carry their plates over to containers where they scrape, rinse, and then stack them with the others. Chilli's pig tails always stick straight out just like Pippi Longstockings---even when she is soaking wet from her bath!

This last weekend I had the opportunity to take a day trip to the coast. On the hot and slow ride there, I envisioned the typical beach awaiting us----crowded. . .noisy. . .annoying vendors. . .opportunities galore to shop for useless souvenirs, etc. What I discovered was literally miles and miles of hot, black sand and a pounding surf all to ourselves. The fisherman that left their boats and nets on shore only ventured out in the early morning and early evening and the only noise that could be heard was the crashing of the waves against the shore. Out of nowhere, we would ocassionally see a woman walking down the beach carrying a large basket on her head, sometimes with children in tow, but they would quickly disappear back into the tree line farther down the beach.

Small fishing boats like this and coconuts that were blown from palm trees were the only things we could see. I'm sure the villagers thought we were crazy to be out in the heat of the day on sand that was not only too hot to walk on, but was also uncomfortably warm laying on with a beach towel. The violence of the surf even made shell hunting impossible---we could only find tiny broken shards.

The waters of the Pacific are extremely rough along the entire coastline. I sat and watched the surf wash up the beach, sometimes over 25-30 feet. Approximately every seventh wave was at least three times larger than the others----these are the ones that create the strong undertow and riptides that prevent people from swimming here. From my barren vantage point, I could practically see the curve of the earth on the horizon and felt like a modern day Robinson Carusoe. I thought about sailors that set out from beaches just like this, hundreds of years ago, not knowing what challenges the ocean held for them or even if they would return to tell about them . . .which lead me to wonder what, if anything, is there that would compel any of us to take such great risks today.

If you look carefully, you can see the flock of pelicans over the trees. Their roller coaster flights are effortless and beautiful to watch as they soar and dip---riding thermals the hot sands and cooler ocean breezes create for them. The house in the background has a palm roof which is common in the region and is a real work of art to see up close. Each of the fronds is added to a tight weave using bamboo for an infrastructure---creating beautifully intricate patterns---not even the fiercest rain storm can penetrate them.

The day we visited the village of Monterrico on the Pacific, it was 100 degrees---I saw this little guy keeping cool and instead of joining him, like I really wanted to do, I just took his picture.

Unlike beach resorts, this is a home very typical of those that can be seen all along the western coast of Guatemala. The people earn their living primarily by fishing, either in the ocean or throughout the mangrove swamps. The little villages are sandwiched on a narrow strip of land between the ocean and the dense mangrove swamps.

This is a more open section of the river that winds through the swamp lands. It is full of exotic birds, reptiles, fish, and malaria carrying mosquitos.

Another shot of the river at its widest. I am standing on a bridge that leads to the area of between both bodies of water.

I have a confession to make about being in Guatemala :(

(Actually, the little village of Hawaii's population is about 150 and I think 45 of them are animals!) The tortugario is a large hatchery for sea turtles. Volunteers comb the beach at night to rescue new batches of eggs from predators, and bring them back to grow, undisturbed, until they can be released into their ocean homes. For a small fee, you can write your name with permanent paint on a tortoise's shell and claim it as yours for the rest of its 75-100 years of life.