Communication

Tuesday we took a field trip with the Louisiana group to the Mayan ruins, which are about an hour away, closer to the border of Honduras.  We basically just walked around and looked at the ruins.  There were a lot of big rocks with carvings on them. There was also an arena where they played pelonta, some sort of ball game.  I have no idea how they got up and down those steps. Guatemalans are rather short and I was having a little trouble.  Along the path were mango trees but since they aren't in season, they have maggots.  Some tried to eat them before they knew this. This area is also apparently known for its jade so there was a little museum/store with jewelry.

Our mini group at the ruins

In the afternoon, we moved cinderblocks that are going to be made into new rooms for the older girls in the orphanage. It was hard work but I enjoyed it. We were all dripping in sweat by the time we were done so we went swimming before dinner. After we ate, we went to the orphanage to hang out with the kids for a little bit.  It was actually a little chilly out.  If it had been any colder, I would have needed a sweatshirt. We've been with the Marist College group a lot so we have some worship together before we go to bed.

This is only about half of the little pile that we moved. We actually did this times about 7.

The view from the orphanage where we were working

Wednesday we helped out at the hospital, sweeping, mopping, and cleaning the windows and furniture to get the first three floors ready to be open. After lunch, Rachel and I went to Causelife, the village started by HOL.  Two doctors were there taking heights and weights of the kids so we helped with that as much as we could with our limited knowledge of Spanish. The med student led a mini class on women's health that we sat in on. I understood the general idea of it.  Then we played with kids for a little bit. I put Claudio on my shoulders because he ran up to me and then when Rachel showed him the picture she took of us, he took it and started taking pictures of everything. He showed me his house and the puppies in front of it. The other little boy had a camera too and they had such a blast taking pictures of each other taking pictures. I think I used every single Spanish phrase that I know.

This is Claudio's house, which he very proudly showed me

Our little photographers

Claudio and his puppies

More kids! They all just want to take pictures.

Before dinner we went to a soccer tournament that HOL was hosting.  I thought it was just going to be a few games but they went all out.  The entire village was there and the teams had jerseys.  They're legit.  I had my camera out and one of the kids wanted to take pictures so he took it and then someone else got it and so many others too.  So lesson of the day: the best way to get pictures of the people in the village is to have a kid walk around with your camera.  Other than that, Rachel and I mainly played with the kids while the others played soccer. I learned my body parts again thanks to a little girl.  Also, there was a group of girls from the orphanage that had on cheerleading uniforms from Virginia Tech.  They were precious.

Anna Paulo, basically the most precious baby I've seen

Hugo, one of the translators, and Rachel

The men's soccer team

I think this is James?

The most valuable lesson that I learned today was that a lot of communication is nonverbal.  I already knew that from my gcom class but it didn't sink in until today.  I speak barely an Spanish but I was still able to interact with the kids through motions, facial expressions, and just showing them  love in general.

I have so many more pictures that will be up on facebook so look at those!