Day 72-79

It's crazy how time flies and its sad that I have just over a month left in Guatemala. It has been amazing. Though I could use a nice, hot shower, I love it here. I've gotten to know two local Guatemalan families who are helping me learn Spanish as well as want to learn English so they can talk to me! I am also starting to really pick up words when I am being spoken to in Spanish...pretty neat! The newest longish word that I just learned is "demasiado" which is "too much".

It's been fairly quiet lately but that also be because I am getting used to the lifestyle here. Thing's don't surprise me as much anymore. But one thing I did learn was if you are a woman driving alone, if a cop stops you, you do not have to stop. Why? Because the police are corrupt and there used to be reports of cops stopping woman and rapping them. Maybe I'm not THAT used to the lifestyle yet...I am learning new facts everyday.

I shall leave you with a picture of my new roomie, Tika. :)

Day 67-71

I just finished a book that is a true story on abandoned children and their emotion struggles. It was hard reading about a sweet, innocent child that keeps getting moved around from orphanages, to foster homes and back to orphanages, making and losing friends and being afraid to love again. The hardest part was reading about how children are treated in orphanages...like prison, they become a number, they line up before their meals and if they do not follow the "rules" then they get hit. In this book, Jennings, the child, lives in 4 different orphanages and in each one, he gets hit and tortured by mean and bitter nuns. It makes me wonder why some people choose to work at orphanages if they hate children so much.

One quote that really touched me when Jennings was asking his friend, Sal, why he should love people, when he just keeps losing them. And Sal said:

The more it hurts, the more you know how special they were to you. If you never liked someone because you were afraid they'd go away, then you'd never know the joy of their friendship. You would always be alone.

So my lesson, keep loving. Even if it hurts to lose someone, be thankful of your time together. And if you love someone, tell them before its too late.

I highly recommend this book - it has changed me.

Also, below are some pictures of the Mayan Ceremony we attended last Monday.

Day 61-65

There's something so sweet about these Guatemalan kids. Last Friday, I found out that my favorite kid, Wilson, asked his mom if I can take him back to Canada because he likes me so much. How sweet is that? Last week, Wilson came over and I taught him how to play Angry Birds on my laptop...hehe...he was hooked for hours!

I have also started helping out at the local cafe with my friend, Mynor, the 13 year old barista. I'm hoping this experience will help me build on my limited Spanish as well as help Mynor learn English! And plus, it's fun to make drinks again. It is also nice (and challenging) to be forced to communicate in Spanish...without my fellow English speaking friends. I can't say that I'm doing a very good job....but I am slowly starting to learn!

Today we went to a Mayan ceremony. It was so interesting! With a firepit and an altar, they decorated it with sweets, fruit, chocolate, bread, herbs, pine needles, candles and probably many other things that I didn't recognize. The purpose of this ceremony was to cleanse ourselves so we can start fresh for the next 6 months before the new year. The ceremony was done in Spanish and the local Mayan language, Ka'chikel. It was neat...I am glad I was able to attend this ceremony!

Pictures of the ceremony will be coming later...

Day 55 - 60

This week we hosted our first Social Enterprise Workshop in Guatemala! This workshop was the reason that I came here - to help Project Somos organize it. Though it was a small workshop (we had 12 people), it was one workshop that I got the most out of. A Social Enterprise is essentially a small business in which all the revenue goes back towards a non-profit organization. I have been noticing more and more that my passion lies in helping others, especially kids in a developing world. I would love to stay in the non-profit world and since I have spent so many years doing corporate event planning, so how about event planning for a non-profit organization that helps kids in a developing world? If you have any connections, please let me know. :)