Way too fast even in Guate time.

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My last week in Guatemala was beautiful, heartbreaking, and absolutely wonderful. Thanks to everyone who helped make it so. You know who you are and I miss you more than you know.

The weekend before I left Nick and I went to Lake Atitlan for a little change of scenery and a bit of shopping. One of the lakeshore towns nearby is famous for the indigenous tops that the women wear, and I wanted to pick up a child sized blouse and skirt to have framed so that I can put it in my classroom when I start teaching. It rained quite a bit while we were there, but we had a good time going to nearby villages to talk to the locals...and when it got too rainy to go out there was always the World Cup to pass the time. That’s one weird thing about being back in the states… I’d gotten so used to having the Cup on EVERYWHERE, that now I feel horribly out of the loop. I didn’t hear about Brazil until a day after they lost, but if I was still in Guat, I bet not 10 minutes later everyone and their dog would have known!

My last week at the project was actually the first week of a two-week winter vacation for the kids, so we had a bunch of games and activities planned for them. Wednesday was really funny because the girls were all in the living room watching movies, and the second one happened to be particularly gory… I probably wouldn’t have chosen it for that age group, but then again, I’m sure they’ve already seen worse. Anyway, during the movie one of the girls comes over and stands right in front of me and tells me she wants to know what some word means in English, but that she can’t remember how to pronounce it. Just a little while earlier she was asking me what “beech” and “sheet” meant… the kids can never pronounce their “E’s” and “I’s” correctly, so instead of explaining what “bitch” and “shit” are, I tell her that a “beech” has lots of sand and sun and that a “sheet” is what you put on your bed. :-D She just gives me this adorable devilish grin because she knows exactly what those words mean but she just wants to hear me try to explain it in Spanish. So anyway, as she’s pretending to ask me “Que significa” of some dirty word, I hear this moaning going on in the TV, and turns out she’s trying to distract me so they can watch this raunchy sex scene!! Lol, so out comes my horrible Spanish “No, no, Rapido! Rapido! No es bueno para esta chicas!” She’s SUCH a funny little tomboy, and it was so cute because on Thursday we went to the park in Antigua, and she comes up to me and gives me this huge hug and looks up at me with that saucy little grin of hers and she says in Spanish, “Alisha, since it’s your last day I’ll make you a promise. But only ‘cuz it’s your last day. Ok, I promise not to say any bad words today, and I promise not to watch ANY sex on TV when we go home.” Ha! I love it! So naturally I give her a huge hug, a wet willy, and make like I’m going to throw her into the fountain in central park. :-D

That Thursday was also wonderful because as Nick and I were leaving that evening the little boys were lined up to go outside, and as I went to go past little Allan and Brandon for the very last time they call out, “Un beso! Un beso!” I had to laugh because every time Allan goes to give me a “kiss” it’s really just his excuse to rub his boogers on my cheek, bite me, or do that horrible whistle in my ear…and Brandon’s usually about the same except that whenever I practically tackle him to give him his morning hug and kiss he always wipes it off and acts like he’s got the grossest case of cooties imaginable! But when I bent down to give them a hug one at a time, they both jumped up, grabbed around my neck, and gave me the biggest hugs and the sweetest REAL kisses on the cheeks… it was so unexpected - especially from those two - that it was all I could do to keep from crying. Out of everything that happened at Safe Passage this summer, that moment has got to be the one I treasure the most. In a nutshell, Thursday was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had… I hate goodbyes, and I’ve never been one who could distance myself at all in order to make things easier. I admit that I try to, but it’s always either all or nothing with me, and nothing is never an option. I’m always hopelessly attached…and although it sucks, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Everything ends. I refuse to limit anything for fear of an ending. Do it, love it, live it - then get up and do it again.

Early Friday morning I took a chicken bus to Guate City and met Kelli and the gang at their hotel before going off to the Zoo with Tatiana and Heidi. Oh my gosh, those girls are just too adorable! It was amazing to be able to spend just a few hours with them and to watch as they ran around trying to climb fences to pet the elephants, lions… you name it! Tati is SUCH a little pistol, and those dimples of hers are dangerous because they make her too cute for her own good! After spending a couple hours with the animals we had Pollo Campero for lunch (the Guate KFC). And it just so happened that while we were eating I heard these kids call out “Alisha, Alisha!” and sure enough, the ninas and ninos pequinos from Casa Hogar were eating lunch at the zoo that day as well! Poor little Allan though! When I went over he looked all excited and asked if I was staying longer (because they thought yesterday would be the last time they saw me)… and when I explained that I was here with my sponsor child Tatiana from the city and that I had to leave for my own country that night I could just see his expression change and without a second thought he gave me this swift kick in the shins! That little dear! I can’t quite explain how flattered I was by that kick, but I knew what he meant… so I gave him a long hug and told him I loved him and that I wished I could stay. He hugged me back, but then he flashed me that little grin of his, whistled in my ear and ran off to play.
After we were back at the project site Kelli and I gave the girls some little gifts. I had a Dora the Explorer book for Tati that had little pull-tabs to translate the Spanish to English, and some pictures of her that I took in March and from when I spent that day with her the week before. Kelli also had some pictures and things for Heidi… the goodbyes were good, and we didn’t even cry noticeably until we got into the taxi to head home. I almost lost it though a couple of times…once was because for some reason the bus with the Casa Hogar kids drove by us and the kids all hung out the windows saying things like “Goodbye, Alisha!” and “I love you!”….about broke my heart.

So yeah, that was that, and now I’m back in the states attempting to be here mentally and not just physically. We’ll see how well that one works out. Just as a bit of an update… some of you knew that I was supposed to go to Hawaii yesterday to visit some friends. Turns out, I got a voicemail from my friend Kyle as soon as I got into Chicago, and the military gave him about 4 days notice before they decided to have him shipped him off to Iraq on the 3rd. He could be gone anywhere from 4 to 16 months…he really has no idea… so he sold his house in Oahu and put everything he owns in storage, and I really have no idea when I’ll talk to him again. So Kerri and I cancelled our flights (kind of… long story), and I’ll be here at home until it’s time to go student teach. Which I’m perfectly fine with of course, but I just pray to God that Kyle stays safe and that his mother stays well until he comes back home.

Other than that, I’ve been spending time with the family and some old high school friends… finally took the motorcycle out today because she was teasing me into insanity. So this will probably be the last blog for a while, but come mid August I should have some more adventures posted for y’all…

Love & Hugs
Alisha

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Photos

Sisters
The girls at the Zoo. Tatiana is the one peeking out in the green, and Heidy is in the middle with the hat. Tatiana's sister is in the front, and Heidy's sister is hiding way in the back. Oh, they're SO cute!!

Little Victor
One of the ninos pequinos during our track and field day.

SO cute!
Kelli's little one...is she not an absolute doll?!

Un beso!
Brandon...my favorite little tough guy.

*Wink!*
Tatiana being downright adorable.

Mmmm!
Gretchen and I got the girls a strawberry cream cake the day we went to Antigua, and it was SUCH a mess! :-D We ended up holding the younger girls by their feet as they attempted to wash their hands in the park fountain, lol.

Comments

[Drake]

Thanks
Thanks, Alisha, for the updates. Looks like it's been a great experience. Nice pix, too! Travel safely...