Guatemala's Independence Day and booking of flights!

Saturday was Guatemala's Independence Day (September 15th) which I celebrated by going with the other volunteers up to Camanchaj to help out with the parade. I thought about going to Xela or just staying in Pana to watch the parades then I thought about how cute the kids at the school were going to be and made the right decision to spend the day with the kids. The teachers had been decorating all week and when I got to the clinic that morning both cars were decorated as floats and all the kids started showing up in their costumes. This year the teachers decided the kids should dress up as different modes of transportation. All the parents were responsible for coming up with their own costumes and they all did an amazing job. Not only did all the kids have a cardboard or styrofoam vehicles, but then they all had matching outfits. I cannot even begin to describe how adorable the kids were. Hopefully these pictures can help you imagine how great of a day it was and how much laughter was had.

Some of the first grade girls were sailors. They were so adorable and came up with a little dance with their boats. Their sailor hats were my favorite part of their whole outfits. The parents really did an amazing job making the boats. 

 These little biker chicks are in the first grade. They were the first kids behind our car in the parade, so they led all the other kids. For the first half of the parade (which lasted about 3 1/2 hours even though we only drove up one hill) then got too tired and just started walking and pushing their bikes. Going up the hill at the very end was really hard for them, so I had to take turns helping the girls with their bikes. Adorable.

Our job for most of the parade was to drive in the car which led our school in the parade. Our car drove after the kids in the public school and in front of our school kids. Heather drove the car while I was in charge of music. All I had to do was put in a CD and hold the player in my lap. We had a loud speaker on top of the car which was blaring the music. Heather and I just watched the parade in front of us and laughed at the ridiculous kid music that was playing. Half way through Wayne took over driving and we were able to jump out and play with our kids and walk through the village watching the rest of the parade.

The pilots were another favorite. Please notice Rena and how over the parade she is. She is one of my favorites and was so tired. I ended up walking by her and holding her hand just so she wouldn't pass out. All the kids were so exhausted by the end of the parade. 

This was one of the 2 cars we had in the parade for our organization. No one could explain to me why this truck was decorated like this dog looking thing. Who knows. The 3 princesses from our school rode in the back of the truck and were super adorable doing their little princess waves.

 After the parade was done all the participants gathered at the public school down the road from Salud y Paz and watched the princess crowning ceremony. During the ceremony I kept looking around at our kids and after they finished eating their snack most of them were either sitting or laying on the floor. Such a hard day walking through town as cute little vehicles.

These 2 sisters are my favorites. Luisa Elaina is in first grade and Rena is in kindergarten. I walked by them and they grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. Both of them are really big on hugging and kissing on the cheek. They do it daily and it always makes me smile. Their mom is extremely nice and also always hugs me when she sees me. She reached for the camera in my hand and asked if she could take a picture of us. I love that even though I technically don't work in the school anymore I still have that connection with the children and parents. Walking through town in the parade also helped me realize the connection I have with the community of Camanchaj. Sometimes I hate that I don't serve in the community that I live in. I think it would be a completely different experience if I both lived and served in the same village. However, even though it is different I feel a real sense of community in both villages. Just something I need to get over. 

 Now here are just some cute pictures of me with random kids. After the ceremony we all went back to our school and took down the decorations. While the parents and teachers were cleaning up I played with the kids (in my defense I did my share of cleaning after everyone left). The kids at the school love taking pictures with my camera. So while sitting on the steps I had so many kids come up to me and want to sit in my lap and play with my camera. Very easy way to entertain them for hours.

These sailor girls were super cute! We took about 20 pictures of us on the playground. They were both wearing make up for the first time and loved to take their picture and then zoom in and look at their eyes. They then kept touching my eyes and saying something in Spanish. I am sure they were talking about how I never wear make up. Who knows.

Karla Marlany as a chicken bus with her little daisy sun hat was a clear winner for my favorite. At one point during the parade she reached out her arm from one of the windows of the bus and grabbed my hand. It was really difficult to walk and hold her hand through the window because of the angle, but she held on so tightly. She has been one of my favorite kids since she had surgery in our clinic last year. She sat in my lap for a long time before hand then when she was waking up she held my hand again really tightly. Such a special little girl to me.

This little girl is Saydie. She is in kindergarten and was one of the princesses for our school. She was also really excited about wearing makeup. Heather told me she talked about how they had "painted her lips and eyes" that morning. Just precious.

 

Some of the kids had already left, but here are most of them after the parade which is why they are not smiling that much. Man were they all really exhausted. I can not imagine them looking any cuter than they were on Saturday. They bring so much joy to my life. 

On a random note I booked 2 flights this week. The first one is to Costa Rica the first week in October. The group that was just in Guatemala that I went to Tikal with are volunteering down in Costa Rica right now. However, both Scott and Carol Ann are moving back to the States in November. They finally convinced me to come visit them (even though I am a little concerned about spending the money right now) because in the long run it will be my cheapest chance to go. If I go now then I can stay with them for free and cook some meals at their apartments, so I wouldn't be spending so much money. I set aside some money out of my savings to travel this year and am glad I can take advantage of this "slow" time at work. Pretty soon my schedule is going to be crazy busy and I won't have time to do any traveling. Hopefully it will be a great trip with great new friends!

The second plane ticket was home to Houston. The last week in October Salud y Paz is having both a benefit and board meeting in Houston. Wayne mentioned this summer the possibility of all the volunteers going, but honestly I didn't think it would ever be possible. Then after booking my ticket to Costa Rica I had pretty much made up my mind that I couldn't afford to go to Houston for that week. Then I got the news that a couple of donations came in and were going to be able to cover both my plane ticket and Heather's. Janet and Wayne are also going to the benefit and I am very excited to have them all in Houston! It is going to be a lot of fun showing them my home and having them see where I am from. I am also more than excited to have a trip home next month! This is going to seem way lame, but I was actually sad I wouldn't get to see the pumpkin patch this year so just for that reason alone this makes me really happy! :)

Tomorrow I'll go up to the clinic and hopefully conquer my MASSIVE to do list. However, I am constantly being told by the other volunteers that it is laughable to make to do lists here in Guatemala because you'll always be disappointed. Hopefully I can prove them all wrong tomorrow. :)