From Norton:
We're still here down in Guatemala. Just been super-busy the last week. A team of six more people from our church in Denver arrived last Friday. We've done lots of construction work (mixing cement is fun!), attended two church services (our group sang and I preached at one last night...an interesting experience), and just spent time hanging out with the people here. We have two more days in the Lake Atitlan area, then to Antigua for a day, then home on Saturday. If we get a chance, we'll write more soon about our past week. But overall, it's been amazing and we are encouraged on so many levels about what is happening here and what God has called us to do. Thanks so much for your prayers.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Poverty here.
From Norton: The UN estimates that in the two villages where we are living and working 80% of families live in poverty or extreme poverty and 80% of the children are malnourished. Guatemalan government figures have estimated the specific village where we work is the 4th poorest village in the country. All of the homes are made of cinderblock and tin roofs with mud floors. All of the cooking is done over open fires, which is horrible for your lungs if the ventilation in the kitchen isn't perfectly designed. Years ago, many of the people were given filters to clean their water, but no one changes the filters (it's expensive) and they don't clean the water containers anyway. So, the filters aren't really doing anything and they are drinking bad water. As a result, everyone suffers from dysentery. Add to that: 50% of the homes don't even have toilets. Wastewater runs openly down drainage ditches on the sides of the road. The mayor (who basically runs the town) is corrupt and mean. Consequently, all humanitarian organizations have decided to avoid the village because the cause seems worthless. In fact, there is only one humanitarian organization that has decided to help the people of this village. It was started about 5 years ago by an Australian woman who has simply done some amazing things. We met her last week. I do not think she is a religious person, but she is certainly taking Jesus' command to love "the least of these among you" seriously, even if she doesn't know it. But even this incredible woman has thrown her hands up and decided to close her organization. She told us that she's simply "tired" and can't pour any more of her money, time, and life into this village. She went back to Australia for good last weekend (and I don't blame her at all). So starting this month, there will be no one in the outside world doing anything significant to help this village with education, health and hygiene, clean water, business plans and loans, empowerment, oppression, malnourishment, etc.
As our church in Denver begins a partnership with a small church in this impoverished village, we don't pretend to think we have ANY good answers for all their problems. We feel a bit overwhelmed. We know our American efforts to help them could actually hinder progress. We know that we can easily become proud of ourselves because we came to Guatemala to help all the poor people. Even in sharing this on a blog, it's easy to objectify people--turn them into statistics or objects to be examined and diagnosed and solved. But they are people, every one of them, whom God made in his image. So, with all that in mind, we're simply praying for God to show us what to do down here. To forgive us when we don't listen to him, or puff up with pride, or miss an opportunity to be agents of his love. And to give us the strength and courage and perseverance to do what he's called us to do. And doing is the most important thing. If our faith doesn't compel us to do something, then it's pretty much dead and worthless faith. May our faith never be dead and worthless, but living and breathing and risk-taking and doing.
As our church in Denver begins a partnership with a small church in this impoverished village, we don't pretend to think we have ANY good answers for all their problems. We feel a bit overwhelmed. We know our American efforts to help them could actually hinder progress. We know that we can easily become proud of ourselves because we came to Guatemala to help all the poor people. Even in sharing this on a blog, it's easy to objectify people--turn them into statistics or objects to be examined and diagnosed and solved. But they are people, every one of them, whom God made in his image. So, with all that in mind, we're simply praying for God to show us what to do down here. To forgive us when we don't listen to him, or puff up with pride, or miss an opportunity to be agents of his love. And to give us the strength and courage and perseverance to do what he's called us to do. And doing is the most important thing. If our faith doesn't compel us to do something, then it's pretty much dead and worthless faith. May our faith never be dead and worthless, but living and breathing and risk-taking and doing.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
townsend turns 5!
15 july, 2011 day 15
today is townsend's fifth birthday. i can't believe it. five years ago, norton and i were waiting for the referral of a baby from guatemala. we came to san pedro to learn spanish and were actually here in this village when townsend was born. we didn't know that until we got his referral the next month but i thought it was kinda fun that we were in his birth country for his birth. townsend has really gotten into the "cars" thing. a couple of days before we came to guatemala, norton took townsend to see the "cars 2" movie. towney's first experience in a movie theater. i decided not to buy presents at home and bring them in our luggage. i figured i could buy some things here. the first time we walked to the market townsend saw some dvds hanging in one of the stalls. there were some with a picture of "cars" on it. of course, townsend started asking for one every time we would pass by. yesterday i went by myself and bought one of the dvds. i didn't notice until i was back at the house that it was the "cars 2" movie. hmm. interesting. this movie has only been out for two weeks. it's probably made by some guy filming in the theater. :) so anyway-this morning after townsend woke up we gave him a bag with some little presents-a "cars" ball and wallet, a toy car, and some stickers. one funny thing-after he woke up he said, "now that i'm five i can read!" wouldn't it be nice if that's the way it happened? we gave him the dvd at quiet time so the kids could watch that while i was at spanish class. apparently it was truly the movie. in spanish, of course! the girls fell asleep but townsend watched the whole thing. i ordered a chocolate cake from a pasteleria (bakery). townsend was so excited to see it and have the group sing "happy birthday." tonight after the group had left, townsend told me that he had really liked his birthday and his presents. he told the same thing to norton. it is so nice to see him be grateful and thankful.
some things about townsend's year:
1. we went for his five year checkup a couple of weeks before we came to guatemala. he is in the 30% for weight and height. still a little guy.
2. he continues to be very orderly when building/creating. and he doesn't like to dismantle his creations. thus, his room is a big mess!
3. still loves paper and i have to wait until he is at preschool before i can take a bunch and put it in the recycle bin. everywhere we go, if there is a brochure, calling card, pamphlet, flyer, etc., he takes a stack. and if i try to throw anything away, he pitches a fit.
4. is starting to be a bit more social. there have been a couple of older boys here that he has latched onto.
5. he seems to love learning. i bought some workbooks to bring to guatemala and he loves doing “school” here. he knows all his capital letters and many lowercase ones. and he is getting better each day at writing his letters.
6. to be honest, he can be a bit selfish. (i guess we all are, aren’t we?) he is very clingy with his toys and has a hard time letting his sisters play with them. of course, if they have a toy, townsend is very quick to say, “god wants us to share our toys, right?”
7. he still loves, loves, loves all his stuffed animals. he sleeps with about fifteen of them. if he is misbehaving, all we usually have to say is, “if you keep this up we will take away your _(insert name of animal)___.”
townsend, we are so thankful that you were born here in guatemala five years ago. and we are so thankful that we got to spend your birthday in your birth country. you are our very favorite little boy. we love you towney.
today is townsend's fifth birthday. i can't believe it. five years ago, norton and i were waiting for the referral of a baby from guatemala. we came to san pedro to learn spanish and were actually here in this village when townsend was born. we didn't know that until we got his referral the next month but i thought it was kinda fun that we were in his birth country for his birth. townsend has really gotten into the "cars" thing. a couple of days before we came to guatemala, norton took townsend to see the "cars 2" movie. towney's first experience in a movie theater. i decided not to buy presents at home and bring them in our luggage. i figured i could buy some things here. the first time we walked to the market townsend saw some dvds hanging in one of the stalls. there were some with a picture of "cars" on it. of course, townsend started asking for one every time we would pass by. yesterday i went by myself and bought one of the dvds. i didn't notice until i was back at the house that it was the "cars 2" movie. hmm. interesting. this movie has only been out for two weeks. it's probably made by some guy filming in the theater. :) so anyway-this morning after townsend woke up we gave him a bag with some little presents-a "cars" ball and wallet, a toy car, and some stickers. one funny thing-after he woke up he said, "now that i'm five i can read!" wouldn't it be nice if that's the way it happened? we gave him the dvd at quiet time so the kids could watch that while i was at spanish class. apparently it was truly the movie. in spanish, of course! the girls fell asleep but townsend watched the whole thing. i ordered a chocolate cake from a pasteleria (bakery). townsend was so excited to see it and have the group sing "happy birthday." tonight after the group had left, townsend told me that he had really liked his birthday and his presents. he told the same thing to norton. it is so nice to see him be grateful and thankful.
some things about townsend's year:
1. we went for his five year checkup a couple of weeks before we came to guatemala. he is in the 30% for weight and height. still a little guy.
2. he continues to be very orderly when building/creating. and he doesn't like to dismantle his creations. thus, his room is a big mess!
3. still loves paper and i have to wait until he is at preschool before i can take a bunch and put it in the recycle bin. everywhere we go, if there is a brochure, calling card, pamphlet, flyer, etc., he takes a stack. and if i try to throw anything away, he pitches a fit.
4. is starting to be a bit more social. there have been a couple of older boys here that he has latched onto.
5. he seems to love learning. i bought some workbooks to bring to guatemala and he loves doing “school” here. he knows all his capital letters and many lowercase ones. and he is getting better each day at writing his letters.
6. to be honest, he can be a bit selfish. (i guess we all are, aren’t we?) he is very clingy with his toys and has a hard time letting his sisters play with them. of course, if they have a toy, townsend is very quick to say, “god wants us to share our toys, right?”
7. he still loves, loves, loves all his stuffed animals. he sleeps with about fifteen of them. if he is misbehaving, all we usually have to say is, “if you keep this up we will take away your _(insert name of animal)___.”
townsend, we are so thankful that you were born here in guatemala five years ago. and we are so thankful that we got to spend your birthday in your birth country. you are our very favorite little boy. we love you towney.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Notes from Norton
A few random notes about our time down here:
1. Elevation. Each day I walk about a half-mile to school (Spanish language school) around 7 am, then back to the house around noon. It's not too far length-wise, but our village is built on a hill and Antonio's house (where we are staying) is at the top of the hill and the school is at the bottom. It's 400 ft elevation change on my short walk. I have an altimeter and have measured it. If that doesn't mean much to you, just think about being on the top level of a 40-story building and walking down the stairs each morning to the ground floor, then back up 4 hours later. I'm not complaining...it's great exercise and I love walking through the village. But it's life here. And we (the whole family) actually walk about halfway down (200 ft.) to another house for breakfast, then Janis and the kids walk back up, then back down for dinner and back up to the house. And sometimes in the pouring rain. Surprisingly, the kids have done pretty well. They don't complain too much about the walk and seem to have settled into this way of life.
You know what's crazy? In Denver, we live 2 flat blocks (literally) from King Soopers, Rite-Aid, Sunflower Market, the public library, Starbucks, the park, etc. And how often do we walk? Practically never. It's amazing how enculturated we are in Denver. Driving is just what we do.
2. The big city. When I told Rosa, my Spanish teacher, how big Denver was, her first comment was "Muchos banditos?" Because of the large amount of gangs, thugs, and crime that happens in Guatemala City, in her mind, big city = violence.
3. Getting the word right. I don't know why I keep doing it, but it seems like every other time I mention Janis to my Spanish teacher, I call her "mi esposo". That means "my husband". "Esposa" with an "a" is the feminine form of the word spouse, meaning wife. I should say "mi esposa" not "mi esposo". It's just a slip-up, but I wonder if my teacher is beginning to think that I actually have an "alternative lifestyle."
4. LLuvia (rain). I love the dry climate of Denver. I don't miss the humidity of the south (NC, GA, or TX) at all. But there is something attractive about the weather here. It's rainy season, and that means it rains (lluvia) almost every day. I think we've had 2 non-rain days in the last 15. Most mornings it's sunny or partly cloudy and beautiful: a crisp 55 degrees. Sometimes it will start raining by noon and set in all day long. But oftentimes, it gets to a perfect 75 degrees during the afternoon while clouds gather over the lake; then by 4, 5, or 6 pm, the rain starts falling in buckets. And frequently, all night long. I guess it could put you in a melancholy mood if you lean that way. But it's a welcome change from Colorado and there's nothing like sleeping with the windows open while it's pouring rain.
1. Elevation. Each day I walk about a half-mile to school (Spanish language school) around 7 am, then back to the house around noon. It's not too far length-wise, but our village is built on a hill and Antonio's house (where we are staying) is at the top of the hill and the school is at the bottom. It's 400 ft elevation change on my short walk. I have an altimeter and have measured it. If that doesn't mean much to you, just think about being on the top level of a 40-story building and walking down the stairs each morning to the ground floor, then back up 4 hours later. I'm not complaining...it's great exercise and I love walking through the village. But it's life here. And we (the whole family) actually walk about halfway down (200 ft.) to another house for breakfast, then Janis and the kids walk back up, then back down for dinner and back up to the house. And sometimes in the pouring rain. Surprisingly, the kids have done pretty well. They don't complain too much about the walk and seem to have settled into this way of life.
You know what's crazy? In Denver, we live 2 flat blocks (literally) from King Soopers, Rite-Aid, Sunflower Market, the public library, Starbucks, the park, etc. And how often do we walk? Practically never. It's amazing how enculturated we are in Denver. Driving is just what we do.
2. The big city. When I told Rosa, my Spanish teacher, how big Denver was, her first comment was "Muchos banditos?" Because of the large amount of gangs, thugs, and crime that happens in Guatemala City, in her mind, big city = violence.
3. Getting the word right. I don't know why I keep doing it, but it seems like every other time I mention Janis to my Spanish teacher, I call her "mi esposo". That means "my husband". "Esposa" with an "a" is the feminine form of the word spouse, meaning wife. I should say "mi esposa" not "mi esposo". It's just a slip-up, but I wonder if my teacher is beginning to think that I actually have an "alternative lifestyle."
4. LLuvia (rain). I love the dry climate of Denver. I don't miss the humidity of the south (NC, GA, or TX) at all. But there is something attractive about the weather here. It's rainy season, and that means it rains (lluvia) almost every day. I think we've had 2 non-rain days in the last 15. Most mornings it's sunny or partly cloudy and beautiful: a crisp 55 degrees. Sometimes it will start raining by noon and set in all day long. But oftentimes, it gets to a perfect 75 degrees during the afternoon while clouds gather over the lake; then by 4, 5, or 6 pm, the rain starts falling in buckets. And frequently, all night long. I guess it could put you in a melancholy mood if you lean that way. But it's a welcome change from Colorado and there's nothing like sleeping with the windows open while it's pouring rain.
Friday, July 15, 2011
great pic
our camera was stolen (see previous post about no-fear ninja). so we don't have many pics. but here's a great pic of the kids on the road from our house to the village. san pedro and lake atitlan in the background.
tuk-tuks
in the last few years san pedro has established a very fun, cheap way to get around town. it is called the tuk tuk. there are three wheels. no doors. the driver sits up front and the passengers sit on a back seat. it is covered which is the most important thing. and red. they just go around the village and pick up people to take them where they need to go. most people walk and i love to get the exercise but right now is the rainy season and there have been several times where the kids and i have hailed a tuk tuk to get a ride up the huge hill instead of getting drenched. no matter how far you travel the cost is 5q. about $0.60. kids are free. yippee!
gt updates july 11-13
july 11, 2011, monday, day 11
marin-i don't think i had many expectations of how the kids would transition to living here but i think that marin has exceeded any that i did have. she is having such a great time. maybe it's the age. she hasn't complained about bugs, dirt, not having her toys, not being able to understand people. pretty much just goes with the flow. she talks to everyone in english and when they talk back in spanish, she just says, "what?!" and smiles a really cute smile. she is learning some spanish words and will use them often. the funniest thing is how people react to her. everywhere we go, kids and adults will either stare, reach out and touch her hair or face, call her "cancha" which I think means blonde. they are just mesmerized by her presence. our friends here say that it's because she is different-skin, hair and eye color. townsend and ellory just kind of blend in. (unlike in the US where everyone comments about them and ignores marin) she's a little oblivious to it, too. as we have walked around the village i haven't seen another little blonde girl around. not many families with young kids come here i guess. anyway. i'm really proud of her. she has adjusted well and i think will have good memories of our time here.
july 13, 2011, wednesday, day 13
norton finally seems to be on the mend. hallelujah! today as we walked down the hill to go to dinner, i once again had thoughts such as, "wow. what a beautiful place we are in. i can't believe we are in guatemala, living with a mayan family and experiencing this culture as a family. thank you god." when norton was so sick, all i could think about was how isolated i felt and how scary it was to have an illness and not feel confident in the medical care. no fun.
marin-i don't think i had many expectations of how the kids would transition to living here but i think that marin has exceeded any that i did have. she is having such a great time. maybe it's the age. she hasn't complained about bugs, dirt, not having her toys, not being able to understand people. pretty much just goes with the flow. she talks to everyone in english and when they talk back in spanish, she just says, "what?!" and smiles a really cute smile. she is learning some spanish words and will use them often. the funniest thing is how people react to her. everywhere we go, kids and adults will either stare, reach out and touch her hair or face, call her "cancha" which I think means blonde. they are just mesmerized by her presence. our friends here say that it's because she is different-skin, hair and eye color. townsend and ellory just kind of blend in. (unlike in the US where everyone comments about them and ignores marin) she's a little oblivious to it, too. as we have walked around the village i haven't seen another little blonde girl around. not many families with young kids come here i guess. anyway. i'm really proud of her. she has adjusted well and i think will have good memories of our time here.
july 13, 2011, wednesday, day 13
norton finally seems to be on the mend. hallelujah! today as we walked down the hill to go to dinner, i once again had thoughts such as, "wow. what a beautiful place we are in. i can't believe we are in guatemala, living with a mayan family and experiencing this culture as a family. thank you god." when norton was so sick, all i could think about was how isolated i felt and how scary it was to have an illness and not feel confident in the medical care. no fun.
mosquitoes
i don't remember there being so many mosquitoes in guatemala. five years ago we were here in the same month. maybe i just forgot. norton doesn't have any mosquito bites. typical. marin seems to have her father's smell/blood because she doesn't really have many either. i have around fifteen, but they haven't been that itchy and are just some red spots on my arms and legs. then there's townsend and ellory. if we had our camera i would take pictures. they have bites all over their bodies. ellory even has one on her little tushy. and they aren't just little red spots. both kids have huge whelps. every single bite. and when townsend or ellory scratch them, the skin breaks and puss builds up and there are big bubbles all over them. it's a sad situation.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
no fear ninja
this is my tribute to aubren. tributes are for the living, aren't they? maybe i have the wrong word. saturday, the group took a boat to a village across the lake, panajachel. norton and i have been there many times. one of aubren's friends is working there so aubren, the kids and i hopped on the boat with the group and went across. our kids loved it. i took the group to our favorite coffee shop there called crossroads cafe. it is run by a family who see their business as a ministry to the many foreigners in that town. and they make truly awesome coffee. after lunch aubren, the kids and i went back down to the dock to find a boat-ride home. we needed to get back before the group. the afternoon water is much choppier than the morning. but once again, the kids laughed and shrieked with glee as our boat skipped across the lake. after getting to san pedro we found a tuk tuk and headed up the hill to antonio's house. we were dropped off right at the soccer field which was filled with guys playing the sport. i paid the guy. we hopped off and he started back down the hill. it was then that i realized that i had left my backpack in the back of the tuk tuk. i started running down yelling, "alto! alto!" (all the stop signs say that. it was the only thing i could think of) there was a guy standing by us watching the game and he started yelling too but the tuk tuk guy kept going. the helpful guy then went to his motorcycle and offered to give me a ride to go catch the tuk tuk. while i was quickly contemplating this, aubren immediately said, "i'll get on!" and off she went with the hopefully nice, honest, trustworthy man. the kids and i sat on the bleachers. they watched the game. i prayed for aubren. after about fifteen minutes, the tuk tuk guy came back up, waving his hand. i grabbed my bag and was so grateful. "gracias! gracias!" then i continued to pray for aubren. about five minutes after that, she came back on the motorcycle. safe and sound. as she got off, i told her to wait because i wanted to take a picture of her and the nice man. alas, there was no camera in my bag. i guess i can't say for sure that tuk tuk guy took it, but i don't know what else could have happened. big bummer. that was aubren's first superhero action.
when we finally got back to the house, norton was looking really bad. cata offered to call their doctor to come by the house. i don't like that my first thought was, "is he knowledgeable? equipped?" but that's what i thought. but we didn't really have any alternative. so he came by, diagnosed norton with tonsillitis and gave us a prescription for an antibiotic and an antihistamine. nancy said that the pharmacy was open so aubren, nancy and i hopped on a tuk tuk and went down to pick up the medicine. on the way back to the house there is a huge hill. i mean huge. as we got about 1/4 of the way up the tuk tuk wouldn't move and we started going backwards. down, down, down. we got a good start and started up again. this time we got around 1/3 of the way up before it started to slow down. that's when aubren jumped out and started pushing from the side and running along with us. the tuk tuk got some momentum, aubren jumped back on and we made it back to the house. superhero action number two. thank you, aubren.
when we finally got back to the house, norton was looking really bad. cata offered to call their doctor to come by the house. i don't like that my first thought was, "is he knowledgeable? equipped?" but that's what i thought. but we didn't really have any alternative. so he came by, diagnosed norton with tonsillitis and gave us a prescription for an antibiotic and an antihistamine. nancy said that the pharmacy was open so aubren, nancy and i hopped on a tuk tuk and went down to pick up the medicine. on the way back to the house there is a huge hill. i mean huge. as we got about 1/4 of the way up the tuk tuk wouldn't move and we started going backwards. down, down, down. we got a good start and started up again. this time we got around 1/3 of the way up before it started to slow down. that's when aubren jumped out and started pushing from the side and running along with us. the tuk tuk got some momentum, aubren jumped back on and we made it back to the house. superhero action number two. thank you, aubren.
july 10 (past due)
july 10, 2011, sunday, day 10
well. it's been a doozy of the past few days. seems longer. i was just starting to get a little routine started with working with each kiddo on workbook type stuff and going to my spanish class when norton started going downhill again. aubren (a friend of ours from church) got here on thursday night and i am so grateful for her presence. she has helped out a ton and has the most awesome attitude. my next post is dedicated to her. but beyond that our days ave been pretty similar. eat breakfast with the high school group. either walk around the market area/gringo area which is downhill another 200ft and tires out the kids. make pbj sandwiches back at the house. "quiet time" while janis goes to spanish class on the weekday afternoons. play around the house. go eat dinner with the high schoolers. get ready for bed and lights out.
well. it's been a doozy of the past few days. seems longer. i was just starting to get a little routine started with working with each kiddo on workbook type stuff and going to my spanish class when norton started going downhill again. aubren (a friend of ours from church) got here on thursday night and i am so grateful for her presence. she has helped out a ton and has the most awesome attitude. my next post is dedicated to her. but beyond that our days ave been pretty similar. eat breakfast with the high school group. either walk around the market area/gringo area which is downhill another 200ft and tires out the kids. make pbj sandwiches back at the house. "quiet time" while janis goes to spanish class on the weekday afternoons. play around the house. go eat dinner with the high schoolers. get ready for bed and lights out.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
ANOTHER HEALTH UPDATE
From Norton: Okay, so I spoke too soon. Literally, I posted the last update on Saturday around noon, began walking home from my school and started feeling horrible again. I was coughing like crazy (felt like I was going to keel over in some coffee bushes on several occasions) and by Saturday night my fever was back up to 103.2. My head, jaw, and throat felt like they were going to explode from the pain and coughing. We knew I had to see a doctor. It was probably something serious. Someone said Dengue fever and that made us worried.
Doctors are notoriously bad in this region. Americans are told to stay away from them. In fact, before we came, one family who had stayed in our village for six months last year told us to bring our own suture kit because when their son needed stitches and they went to the local clinic, the staff didn't even have any sutures, needles, etc. There is only one real hospital in the area across the lake and up the mountain in a town called Solola and it has a really bad reputation. Westerners are urged to avoid it at all costs. Remember that fact. Bottom line: if you really need a doctor or any kind of medical attention, you need to go to Antigua or Guatemala City 4 hours away.
Before making a long trip to Antigua, we asked an American friend who runs a local humanitarian organization and has lived nearby for a few years if she knew of a local doctor that was good. She did...his name was Francisco and he was in our village and he was familiar with Westerners! Awesome! But unfortunately it was Saturday night at 7 pm and he wasn't available until Monday. Cata (the woman we are staying with) said she would call her doctor to come see me--her doctor works at the hospital in Solola and would come by after work around 8 or 9 pm. Ugh, against all the advice we had received, this is where we just had to trust Cata and trust God was taking care of us. I was getting worse by the hour and we decided to take whatever help we could.
The doctor Miguel arrived about 9 pm. He was wonderful. I told him my symptoms in broken Spanish and he agreed that he didn't think it was just the flu. He took my blood pressure, listened to me breathing (and coughing) and then looked down my throat, after which he immediately said I had an infection in my tonsils, or tonsillitis (or some other kind of infection and my tonsils were inflamed). At first it was puzzling. Then I was a bit scared because I thought that most people that had tonsillitis had to have their tonsils taken out and I certainly did not want to do that in Guatemala. But then it started to make sense. My throat wasn't sore in the typical "sore throat" kind of way, but it was painful and tonsillitus explained many of the symptoms. And after looking down my throat, he seemed pretty darn sure. He prescribed an antibiotic and said it should clear up the infection in a few days; he also prescribed a liquid specifically for the pain/inflammation in my throat. He was so nice. When I asked him how much we could pay him (you just pay doctors on the spot in Guatemala), he said not to worry about it. Turns out he isn't just Cata's doctor, but a cousin of hers and he wanted to do a favor. So Janis gave him a bag of chocolates instead.
The pharmacy was still open so Janis, Aubren, and Nancy went down there, got the medicine and I started taking it Saturday night.
So...now it's Tuesday around 1 pm. I've been taking drugs for 3 full days and honestly, I haven't felt a lot better yet. Just today, I'm getting a little bit of energy back and coughing a little less and getting around a little more and we're hoping that the antibiotics are now having their full effect and I'll feel a lot better in the next few days. Thanks for praying for us. We do have other updates about more "positive" things. We'll post those soon.
Doctors are notoriously bad in this region. Americans are told to stay away from them. In fact, before we came, one family who had stayed in our village for six months last year told us to bring our own suture kit because when their son needed stitches and they went to the local clinic, the staff didn't even have any sutures, needles, etc. There is only one real hospital in the area across the lake and up the mountain in a town called Solola and it has a really bad reputation. Westerners are urged to avoid it at all costs. Remember that fact. Bottom line: if you really need a doctor or any kind of medical attention, you need to go to Antigua or Guatemala City 4 hours away.
Before making a long trip to Antigua, we asked an American friend who runs a local humanitarian organization and has lived nearby for a few years if she knew of a local doctor that was good. She did...his name was Francisco and he was in our village and he was familiar with Westerners! Awesome! But unfortunately it was Saturday night at 7 pm and he wasn't available until Monday. Cata (the woman we are staying with) said she would call her doctor to come see me--her doctor works at the hospital in Solola and would come by after work around 8 or 9 pm. Ugh, against all the advice we had received, this is where we just had to trust Cata and trust God was taking care of us. I was getting worse by the hour and we decided to take whatever help we could.
The doctor Miguel arrived about 9 pm. He was wonderful. I told him my symptoms in broken Spanish and he agreed that he didn't think it was just the flu. He took my blood pressure, listened to me breathing (and coughing) and then looked down my throat, after which he immediately said I had an infection in my tonsils, or tonsillitis (or some other kind of infection and my tonsils were inflamed). At first it was puzzling. Then I was a bit scared because I thought that most people that had tonsillitis had to have their tonsils taken out and I certainly did not want to do that in Guatemala. But then it started to make sense. My throat wasn't sore in the typical "sore throat" kind of way, but it was painful and tonsillitus explained many of the symptoms. And after looking down my throat, he seemed pretty darn sure. He prescribed an antibiotic and said it should clear up the infection in a few days; he also prescribed a liquid specifically for the pain/inflammation in my throat. He was so nice. When I asked him how much we could pay him (you just pay doctors on the spot in Guatemala), he said not to worry about it. Turns out he isn't just Cata's doctor, but a cousin of hers and he wanted to do a favor. So Janis gave him a bag of chocolates instead.
The pharmacy was still open so Janis, Aubren, and Nancy went down there, got the medicine and I started taking it Saturday night.
So...now it's Tuesday around 1 pm. I've been taking drugs for 3 full days and honestly, I haven't felt a lot better yet. Just today, I'm getting a little bit of energy back and coughing a little less and getting around a little more and we're hoping that the antibiotics are now having their full effect and I'll feel a lot better in the next few days. Thanks for praying for us. We do have other updates about more "positive" things. We'll post those soon.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
gt update july 3-6
july 3, 2011, Sunday, day 3 continued
We hopped on the back of antonio’s truck around 4pm and headed to san Pablo for church. Their church starts at 5pm just like our church. Cata motioned for us to sit in the front row and at some point during the service Antonio talked about us and then everyone clapped. Who knows what he said. :) we sang a couple of songs all together and then a group of kids got up and sang. Then a group of women. Then a group of men. Don’t know if they always do that. One thing I noticed. Guatemalans may be quiet in general but not during a worship service! Those women sang sooo loud. Even the one using the microphone. They really belt it out. And Antonio preached pretty loudly also. Marin kept asking, “why is Antonio yelling?” about halfway through, marin needed to go to the potty. We walked out the back and there were a bunch of kids playing there. They just stared at marin and then came up and were touching her hair and skin. Marin was like a statue. I don’t think she knew what to do. I told her that they probably didn’t see children with blonde hair and fair skin too much. It was kinda cute. After the service we headed back home where cata made dinner and then it was almost 9pm! I thought for sure the kids would sleep later the next morning after all the activity during the day and no nap.
July 4, 2011, Monday, day 4
Guess how late the kids slept in?? 6am! Why was I not too surprised? We got up and took showers and ate mosh again for breakfast and were basically into our day before 8am. Kinda makes for a long day. Norton left for his first day of Spanish classes and I helped cata clean dishes and did some “school work” with the kids. I got a call from Norton around 8:15am saying that the school had too many students and not enough teachers so he was going to have to wait until tomorrow to start. So this week he’ll go Tuesday thru Saturday. He came on home and we piddled around a bit and then left to go walk down to the “gringo” part of san pedro to have lunch and meet with a lady we’ve been in contact with who does work in san Pablo. Antonio and cata live at the very top of san pedro and the gringo part is all the way near the edge of the lake. Nice to walk down. We weren’t sure how the kids would do coming back up. We ate at the place where Norton had been before. Three tacos for 10 quetzales (a little over a dollar) it was pretty yummy. Then we got the kids some ice cream and found a coffee shop to wait for our friend. the kids had colors and paper and really did pretty well considering they had to stay put for so long. Marin fell asleep on norton’s shoulder during the whole meeting. She was so tired. Afterwards we started the long walk up to the house. The kids kept wanting to ride a tuk tuk again but we encouraged them and they made it back. So proud of our little guy and gals. They have transitioned pretty well overall. Some fighting but also using their imaginations to make up games. Although I sometimes feel so out of place, they have not complained about how different it is or anything. Today when townsend asked me a question, I answered, “si” (yes). He said, “say yes!” I think he was tired of the whole Spanish thing at that moment. :)
July 5, 2011, Tuesday, day 5
just some highlights-there's a group of high schoolers who are here to do some work with Antonio in San Pablo. we met them this morning at breakfast. we will be having breakfast and dinner with them for the next few weeks. Cata is cooking. I'm helping. Or at least trying to. :) after breakfast this morning i took the kids to a "park" where there is a fountain with some big fish and turtles swimming around. while we were there i noticed the back of a woman who looked like my spanish teacher, ana maria. from five years ago. it was! we talked for a bit and then made plans for me to go to her house for an hour in the afternoons for spanish lessons. she was ready to start today so i went up to her house around 3pm and we began. she is such a great teacher for me. her sense of humor fits mine and we have a great time. it ended up being more like two hours. i'm so glad we could work out for me to get a little bit of classes in. norton signed townsend up for classes at his school during the third week that we are here. there was a family with a five year old daughter who was taking classes and they told norton that it was going well so we decided to let townsend give it a shot.
July 6, 2011, Wednesday, day 6
pretty routine day. breakfast with the mission group. marin has latched on to one girl who is from boulder, colorado. they were both coloring away this morning. i don't think marin will leave her alone now. after breakfast i took the kids back to antonio's house. (we've been doing the meals at cata's parents house) i spent some one on one time with each kid doing some workbooks that i brought. norton came home for lunch and then i left for my spanish class. when i got back norton had a headache and fever. i gave him some advil and then the kids and i walked down to dinner. right after everyone had finished, the power went out. i think it's pretty typical. it had been raining alot today. we walked back to the house where i am now. fortunately the power just came back on. i don't like that norton is sick. we seem so far removed from everything. no internet to find out what he might have. or to email the doctor. and i think about how these people have lived like this always. the last couple of days antonio had a headache but he just went about this business. no laying down to rest. or at least i didn't see him do that. kinda different. norton and i are a bit concerned about ellory. she just seems so anxious or something. she always wants to be right by mommy. this morning i got some bottles of bubbles and we went to play with some kids next door. townsend and marin ended up running around with the kids but ellory just stayed on the porch blowing bubbles with me and the other mom. it doesn't necessarily surprise us, but we want her to enjoy this trip and are trying to think about how we can help her have more fun.
pics to come soon...
We hopped on the back of antonio’s truck around 4pm and headed to san Pablo for church. Their church starts at 5pm just like our church. Cata motioned for us to sit in the front row and at some point during the service Antonio talked about us and then everyone clapped. Who knows what he said. :) we sang a couple of songs all together and then a group of kids got up and sang. Then a group of women. Then a group of men. Don’t know if they always do that. One thing I noticed. Guatemalans may be quiet in general but not during a worship service! Those women sang sooo loud. Even the one using the microphone. They really belt it out. And Antonio preached pretty loudly also. Marin kept asking, “why is Antonio yelling?” about halfway through, marin needed to go to the potty. We walked out the back and there were a bunch of kids playing there. They just stared at marin and then came up and were touching her hair and skin. Marin was like a statue. I don’t think she knew what to do. I told her that they probably didn’t see children with blonde hair and fair skin too much. It was kinda cute. After the service we headed back home where cata made dinner and then it was almost 9pm! I thought for sure the kids would sleep later the next morning after all the activity during the day and no nap.
July 4, 2011, Monday, day 4
Guess how late the kids slept in?? 6am! Why was I not too surprised? We got up and took showers and ate mosh again for breakfast and were basically into our day before 8am. Kinda makes for a long day. Norton left for his first day of Spanish classes and I helped cata clean dishes and did some “school work” with the kids. I got a call from Norton around 8:15am saying that the school had too many students and not enough teachers so he was going to have to wait until tomorrow to start. So this week he’ll go Tuesday thru Saturday. He came on home and we piddled around a bit and then left to go walk down to the “gringo” part of san pedro to have lunch and meet with a lady we’ve been in contact with who does work in san Pablo. Antonio and cata live at the very top of san pedro and the gringo part is all the way near the edge of the lake. Nice to walk down. We weren’t sure how the kids would do coming back up. We ate at the place where Norton had been before. Three tacos for 10 quetzales (a little over a dollar) it was pretty yummy. Then we got the kids some ice cream and found a coffee shop to wait for our friend. the kids had colors and paper and really did pretty well considering they had to stay put for so long. Marin fell asleep on norton’s shoulder during the whole meeting. She was so tired. Afterwards we started the long walk up to the house. The kids kept wanting to ride a tuk tuk again but we encouraged them and they made it back. So proud of our little guy and gals. They have transitioned pretty well overall. Some fighting but also using their imaginations to make up games. Although I sometimes feel so out of place, they have not complained about how different it is or anything. Today when townsend asked me a question, I answered, “si” (yes). He said, “say yes!” I think he was tired of the whole Spanish thing at that moment. :)
July 5, 2011, Tuesday, day 5
just some highlights-there's a group of high schoolers who are here to do some work with Antonio in San Pablo. we met them this morning at breakfast. we will be having breakfast and dinner with them for the next few weeks. Cata is cooking. I'm helping. Or at least trying to. :) after breakfast this morning i took the kids to a "park" where there is a fountain with some big fish and turtles swimming around. while we were there i noticed the back of a woman who looked like my spanish teacher, ana maria. from five years ago. it was! we talked for a bit and then made plans for me to go to her house for an hour in the afternoons for spanish lessons. she was ready to start today so i went up to her house around 3pm and we began. she is such a great teacher for me. her sense of humor fits mine and we have a great time. it ended up being more like two hours. i'm so glad we could work out for me to get a little bit of classes in. norton signed townsend up for classes at his school during the third week that we are here. there was a family with a five year old daughter who was taking classes and they told norton that it was going well so we decided to let townsend give it a shot.
July 6, 2011, Wednesday, day 6
pretty routine day. breakfast with the mission group. marin has latched on to one girl who is from boulder, colorado. they were both coloring away this morning. i don't think marin will leave her alone now. after breakfast i took the kids back to antonio's house. (we've been doing the meals at cata's parents house) i spent some one on one time with each kid doing some workbooks that i brought. norton came home for lunch and then i left for my spanish class. when i got back norton had a headache and fever. i gave him some advil and then the kids and i walked down to dinner. right after everyone had finished, the power went out. i think it's pretty typical. it had been raining alot today. we walked back to the house where i am now. fortunately the power just came back on. i don't like that norton is sick. we seem so far removed from everything. no internet to find out what he might have. or to email the doctor. and i think about how these people have lived like this always. the last couple of days antonio had a headache but he just went about this business. no laying down to rest. or at least i didn't see him do that. kinda different. norton and i are a bit concerned about ellory. she just seems so anxious or something. she always wants to be right by mommy. this morning i got some bottles of bubbles and we went to play with some kids next door. townsend and marin ended up running around with the kids but ellory just stayed on the porch blowing bubbles with me and the other mom. it doesn't necessarily surprise us, but we want her to enjoy this trip and are trying to think about how we can help her have more fun.
pics to come soon...
103.4 degrees
Quick update from Norton. Wednesday night I had a temperature of 103.4. Lots of chills and a terrible head-ache, and whole body-ache. I've been taking fever-reducers, but it took a while for them to do anything. On Thursday morning, I couldn't move. Hadn't slept at all the night before and the fever was still around 102. On one hand, it's pretty clear that I've probably got the flu. I'll just keep resting, drink lots of liquids, and try to keep the fever down. On the other hand, we're in the middle of nowhere. The only "good" hospital/clinic for foreigners is 3 hours away. And there really isn't any counting on 911 in this part of the country if you need it. So it's natural to start thinking, "what if I have pneumonia or typhoid fever or malaria?" Highly doubtful, but when good medical help isn't readily available, it certainly changes the way you think about things.
Update: It's early Saturday afternoon and my fever has come down to about 99/100 and I feel much better (thanks to Ambien and Ibuprofen!) I'm still pretty worn out and my body is achy and I have a really bad cough (which I think is allegies since it started 1 hour after we got of the plane and seems unrelated to the sickness.) But overall, I'm feeling a lot better. The elders of Antonio's church prayed for me, and all the kids were praying too. Thanks for any of you who happened to be joining them.
Update: It's early Saturday afternoon and my fever has come down to about 99/100 and I feel much better (thanks to Ambien and Ibuprofen!) I'm still pretty worn out and my body is achy and I have a really bad cough (which I think is allegies since it started 1 hour after we got of the plane and seems unrelated to the sickness.) But overall, I'm feeling a lot better. The elders of Antonio's church prayed for me, and all the kids were praying too. Thanks for any of you who happened to be joining them.
Monday, July 4, 2011
guatemala update days 1-3
note: the following updates are from our trip to guatemala. pics to come when available.
july 1, 2011, friday, getting to Guatemala
Although the kids were up a bit past bedtime on Thursday night, they were wide awake at 5:30am Friday morning! That’s even earlier than usual. I think they were excited about our trip. Fortunately, our flight wasn’t until noon so we didn’t have to rush around or anything. Our friend, Laura Peters, came over to drive us to the airport and we got there at 10am. Checking in and security went faster than usual it seemed and we were heading to our gate by 10:20am. About 15 minutes into the waiting the kids were ready to get on a plane. “be patient” was our mantra. We finally got on board and were headed to Dallas. Marin doesn’t remember her first plane ride and she was very interested in what was happening. “are we flying yet?” “what’s that sound?” I don’t think she went one minute without asking me a question. I hope she enjoys flying and doesn’t take after her worrywart mommy. :) at the Dallas airport we ate some popeye’s chicken and then got on the plane to Guatemala city. Marin and I sat together again and she went from reading to coloring to watching a dvd and then the cycle would start again. Mommy was getting tired. The kids did really well. They were getting so tired on the last flight, yet we really didn’t want them to go to sleep because we wanted them to sleep that night. Once in Guatemala, we found our friends Julio and Oscar and they took us to the mission compound where Julio lives and hosts groups. He set us up in the apartment and it was really nice. The grounds there are gorgeous. Just full of lush plants and flowers. Courtyards and big doors. We weren’t too surprised that the newness of the place seemed to wake the kids up and they were running around with no thoughts of sleep anymore. Eventually we got everyone in bed. Marin woke up screaming a couple of times. Poor thing. The other two did fine.
july 2, 2011, saturday, day 2
Even with all the travelling and late night, the kids were awake at their usual 6:15am. Can we not get a break?? :) after everyone was up and dressed we heading to the dining area where we had pancakes with crema and strawberry sauce, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, pan dulce (sweet breads) mosh (kinda like cream of wheat but oh so much better!) and fresh squeezed pineapple and papaya juice. The kids must have had 5 glasses of that juice-it was awesome! We chatted with Julio, his wife Jodi and their kids. Such a wonderful family. Love Jesus and love people. Townsend and Marin eventually got up from the table to run around the courtyard area. The courtyard where there is a fountain. Filled with water. The one that we had told them the night before that they were not to put their hands in. one of Julio’s daughters came in to the dining room and said, “ I think you need to go see the kids.” There they stood. With not just a hand in the water. No. they were in the fountain. Fully clothed. their only pair of tennis shoes on their feet. And they didn’t seem to think that what they were doing was wrong in any way. Sigh. Anyway-Julio’s daughter, Deborah, took us to buy some cell phones so Norton and I can keep in contact while we’re here. The other daughter, Linda, took care of the kids so we could go run errands. We finally got in the van, driven by Javier, and headed to San Pedro. It ended up being a pretty long trip. We had to go through Antigua to drop off a couple of men. We also stopped for lunch and went to see some ruins in ixmiche. The craziest part was being flagged over two times by the policia. Not for speeding or anything. Just so they could talk with Javier, look really mean, and make him give them money for lunch. Javier didn’t know much English but I had my dictionary and the words he kept using were, “swindling, fraud.” Pretty sad. The second time the policeman even opened the van doors and asked us questions about where we were going. I was a little nervous. Especially with having two Guatemalan kids. But I guess it could have looked like they belonged to Javier so that wasn’t even an issue. Praise God. We finally made it to Antonio’s house. it’s a lovely house built around a courtyard. With coffee plants and an avocado tree right outside. But it’s still pretty rustic. And Nancy, the daughter, is the only one who speaks English. And she’s not fluent or anything. And there are steps going up to where we are living. With no rails. Hard cement. I am praying extra hard for protection for us and the kids. As the adults were trying to have a conversation, Antonio and Cata, his wife, asked us what we were doing for dinner. Awkward. Well, we just got here. We have no transportation. It’s raining and they don’t live near a store. We said, “don’t worry about us. We brought some food.” But in the end, they said that we could eat with them. Black beans, tortillas-just what I wanted. Townsend was a little overwhelmed at one point last night. We were really tired but needed to eat and with all the Spanish conversation going on I guess it just hit him. He told me he wanted to go home. Poor little guy. Then Pedro, the thirteen year old son, started watching Disney channel and Townsend and the girls were just fine. :) the girls are in one room in the same bed and Townsend is with us. We’ll see how that goes.
july 3, 2011, sunday, day 3
The kids slept so well! I would have never thought that the girls would be able to sleep right next to each other. They were up around 6:30am and we got dressed and then went to eat breakfast-pancakes-with Cata and Antonio. Their kids were still asleep somehow. Even with our kids making lots of racket. After breakfast, Cata, Nancy, the girls and I walked to the Mercado(market). Sunday is a big market day in san pedro. We bought some pineapple, mango, plantains, bananas and a melon. I just couldn’t pass up all the fresh fruit. Then we went to find ground beef. You see, last night, Cata told me that she wanted me to make lunch American style. The main challenge is that they don’t have an oven so everything has to be made on the stove. Norton suggested hamburgers, thus the search for ground beef. We went to a butcher who basically cut off a hunk of some meat and put it through a grinder. I guess it’s similar to what they do in the states but in Guatemala it’s all done in the open air. Interesting. We went into one very small store to buy some chips and I saw some containers of nutella! Ironically, I had brought the family some and had given it to them in the morning to eat on our pancakes. They didn’t seem to recognize it so it was almost shocking to see it in the store. It would have cost them around $10 to buy it at their store. And the container wasn’t as big as my Costco huge container which cost about $4. I don’t know who would be able to afford it there. Maybe some desperate Americans/Europeans? The purchases were getting heavy so we took a tuk tuk back to the house. The girls loved the ride. During part of our adventure through the market Ellory seemed to hit a wall. She just started crying and after a bit told me that she wanted to go home. It’s interesting. Townsend and ellory have both missed home and Marin has been having the time of her life. She talks nonstop, per usual. And will try to speak Spanish. Or just talk in English to someone even if they don’t understand her.
july 1, 2011, friday, getting to Guatemala
Although the kids were up a bit past bedtime on Thursday night, they were wide awake at 5:30am Friday morning! That’s even earlier than usual. I think they were excited about our trip. Fortunately, our flight wasn’t until noon so we didn’t have to rush around or anything. Our friend, Laura Peters, came over to drive us to the airport and we got there at 10am. Checking in and security went faster than usual it seemed and we were heading to our gate by 10:20am. About 15 minutes into the waiting the kids were ready to get on a plane. “be patient” was our mantra. We finally got on board and were headed to Dallas. Marin doesn’t remember her first plane ride and she was very interested in what was happening. “are we flying yet?” “what’s that sound?” I don’t think she went one minute without asking me a question. I hope she enjoys flying and doesn’t take after her worrywart mommy. :) at the Dallas airport we ate some popeye’s chicken and then got on the plane to Guatemala city. Marin and I sat together again and she went from reading to coloring to watching a dvd and then the cycle would start again. Mommy was getting tired. The kids did really well. They were getting so tired on the last flight, yet we really didn’t want them to go to sleep because we wanted them to sleep that night. Once in Guatemala, we found our friends Julio and Oscar and they took us to the mission compound where Julio lives and hosts groups. He set us up in the apartment and it was really nice. The grounds there are gorgeous. Just full of lush plants and flowers. Courtyards and big doors. We weren’t too surprised that the newness of the place seemed to wake the kids up and they were running around with no thoughts of sleep anymore. Eventually we got everyone in bed. Marin woke up screaming a couple of times. Poor thing. The other two did fine.
july 2, 2011, saturday, day 2
Even with all the travelling and late night, the kids were awake at their usual 6:15am. Can we not get a break?? :) after everyone was up and dressed we heading to the dining area where we had pancakes with crema and strawberry sauce, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, pan dulce (sweet breads) mosh (kinda like cream of wheat but oh so much better!) and fresh squeezed pineapple and papaya juice. The kids must have had 5 glasses of that juice-it was awesome! We chatted with Julio, his wife Jodi and their kids. Such a wonderful family. Love Jesus and love people. Townsend and Marin eventually got up from the table to run around the courtyard area. The courtyard where there is a fountain. Filled with water. The one that we had told them the night before that they were not to put their hands in. one of Julio’s daughters came in to the dining room and said, “ I think you need to go see the kids.” There they stood. With not just a hand in the water. No. they were in the fountain. Fully clothed. their only pair of tennis shoes on their feet. And they didn’t seem to think that what they were doing was wrong in any way. Sigh. Anyway-Julio’s daughter, Deborah, took us to buy some cell phones so Norton and I can keep in contact while we’re here. The other daughter, Linda, took care of the kids so we could go run errands. We finally got in the van, driven by Javier, and headed to San Pedro. It ended up being a pretty long trip. We had to go through Antigua to drop off a couple of men. We also stopped for lunch and went to see some ruins in ixmiche. The craziest part was being flagged over two times by the policia. Not for speeding or anything. Just so they could talk with Javier, look really mean, and make him give them money for lunch. Javier didn’t know much English but I had my dictionary and the words he kept using were, “swindling, fraud.” Pretty sad. The second time the policeman even opened the van doors and asked us questions about where we were going. I was a little nervous. Especially with having two Guatemalan kids. But I guess it could have looked like they belonged to Javier so that wasn’t even an issue. Praise God. We finally made it to Antonio’s house. it’s a lovely house built around a courtyard. With coffee plants and an avocado tree right outside. But it’s still pretty rustic. And Nancy, the daughter, is the only one who speaks English. And she’s not fluent or anything. And there are steps going up to where we are living. With no rails. Hard cement. I am praying extra hard for protection for us and the kids. As the adults were trying to have a conversation, Antonio and Cata, his wife, asked us what we were doing for dinner. Awkward. Well, we just got here. We have no transportation. It’s raining and they don’t live near a store. We said, “don’t worry about us. We brought some food.” But in the end, they said that we could eat with them. Black beans, tortillas-just what I wanted. Townsend was a little overwhelmed at one point last night. We were really tired but needed to eat and with all the Spanish conversation going on I guess it just hit him. He told me he wanted to go home. Poor little guy. Then Pedro, the thirteen year old son, started watching Disney channel and Townsend and the girls were just fine. :) the girls are in one room in the same bed and Townsend is with us. We’ll see how that goes.
july 3, 2011, sunday, day 3
The kids slept so well! I would have never thought that the girls would be able to sleep right next to each other. They were up around 6:30am and we got dressed and then went to eat breakfast-pancakes-with Cata and Antonio. Their kids were still asleep somehow. Even with our kids making lots of racket. After breakfast, Cata, Nancy, the girls and I walked to the Mercado(market). Sunday is a big market day in san pedro. We bought some pineapple, mango, plantains, bananas and a melon. I just couldn’t pass up all the fresh fruit. Then we went to find ground beef. You see, last night, Cata told me that she wanted me to make lunch American style. The main challenge is that they don’t have an oven so everything has to be made on the stove. Norton suggested hamburgers, thus the search for ground beef. We went to a butcher who basically cut off a hunk of some meat and put it through a grinder. I guess it’s similar to what they do in the states but in Guatemala it’s all done in the open air. Interesting. We went into one very small store to buy some chips and I saw some containers of nutella! Ironically, I had brought the family some and had given it to them in the morning to eat on our pancakes. They didn’t seem to recognize it so it was almost shocking to see it in the store. It would have cost them around $10 to buy it at their store. And the container wasn’t as big as my Costco huge container which cost about $4. I don’t know who would be able to afford it there. Maybe some desperate Americans/Europeans? The purchases were getting heavy so we took a tuk tuk back to the house. The girls loved the ride. During part of our adventure through the market Ellory seemed to hit a wall. She just started crying and after a bit told me that she wanted to go home. It’s interesting. Townsend and ellory have both missed home and Marin has been having the time of her life. She talks nonstop, per usual. And will try to speak Spanish. Or just talk in English to someone even if they don’t understand her.
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