December 29, 2014

Up early on Monday morning, our first work day. We boarded the vans at 8 AM and drove to San Antonio Aguas Calientes. San Antonio Aguas Calientes is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Sacatepéquez. About a 15 minute ride from Antigua, San Antonio is nestled in a valley, away from the main roads, and is a safe, very picturesque town. This town is known for its weavers. Mayan women in the area use a backstrap loom to weave traditional patterns . It has one of the best reputations for quality textiles. Each region in Guatemala has its own particular design when it comes to traditional dress. In San Antonio, for example, their traditional dress (the huipil or blouse specifically) is woven with the same pattern on both sides. This makes weaving a San Antonio huipil harder than others, which is why they take pride in their weaving abilities. Their huipiles are considered by many the best in Guatemala.

We arrived at the town square. We divided into two groups; those who were going to work on the housebuilding left with Soraya. The rest of us stayed as we would be the workers at the day camp. Some parents with children were already there and soon others arrived. In a relatively organized way, we divided into groups. Ed and I had a group of about 12 10-11 year olds, about evenly divided between the boys and girls. I thought our group should have a name and queried the children. No one was forthcoming with any suggestions so we became "El Grupo Sin Nombre," the group without a name. Nametags were distributed. Once the groups were organized we set off to walk to the park, past Soraya's house, past the preschool, about ¾ to 1 mile total. The park is private property. The owner was there to unlock the gate. The building in the front housed the toilet. There was a small open building behind which we used (later) to prepare snacks. There was a long open concrete building whose use was not at all apparent. Some wooden play structures and springs were toward the back and then there was a large adjacent field further back.

Joel, Cindy's husband, was the designated camp director. In real life he is an interventional cardiologist in Raleigh, North Carolina. The first activities were some games with two large parachutes which worked really well to get everyone to participate together. At the end of the parachute games Ed took the group to make strings for their nametags, and I ended up helping Sue get 80 snacks together. We had homemade banana bread, tangerines which I peeled, and grapes. We got them all on plates. I finished just as the children were finishing making their pet rocks, with paint, feathers, and all sorts of decorations. Tye die T-shirts was the next order of business. The children had to put on gloves, put the rubber bands around the rolled up shirts, and then squirt the colors on. It was interesting watching who was very neat and precise and who way overdid the pant. Once those were all done everyone got a snack. Diego, a friend of Soraya's came with his guitar and led some songs.

After the snack it was time for sports. Our group went to the back field for baseball. Ed ended up with the boys and I with the girls. We were using sponge rubber bats and either balls of the same material or whiffle balls. In a very short time, they picked up on the game. We started with some fielding practice throwing and catching and then moved on to batting. Most of the girls caught on quickly; I think they had seen the game, but for a few it was brand new. We finally got to pitching, hitting, and running around the bases (labels from the balls0 I hadn't gotten as far as how you get someone out, when one girl got the ball and threw it at the runner/hitter, getting her out. Who would have ever thought I would be teaching Guatemalan girls how to play baseball.

I was able to be camp doctor twice. One boy in group, Eddy, arrived before we started carrying a towel which he was holding over his eyes. He was with his mother. I asked him if he had a problem with his eyes, and he told me they hurts. I looked at his eyes and the inside of his lower lids was very red. His mother told me he had no other problems now, had no allergies, and had no eye drainage. I told her I would watch him. I was hoping we could come up with some children's Tylenol, but that never happened. (jumping forward, his eyes were better the next day.) Then in the middle of the camp session a little girl found me and showed me her thumb and said, "Me duele" (it hurts.) She had a tiny cut about 1/4 inch long, no blood, just the most superficial layer of skin had been lifted off. A little antibiotic ointment and a band-aid and she was much better.

We all regrouped and had some more parachute games. The children collected their pet rocks and departed, happy and excited to meet again the next day. Even though there were language barriers, the children were really good and the whole experience of working with them was so much fun and so rewarding. We collected all the remaining supplies and trash and had some big bags. Tuk-tuks were called to take everything we couldn't carry to Soraya's house. I carried a parachute as we walked the ½ mile or so to her house.

We were chatting with the women there. I had negotiated the purchase of a weaving, but hadn't the Guatemalan money with me when we had been there before. The woman with the weaving was there as was I with the money. Daniel was taking a few pictures. Suddenly we both realized we were the only people left other than Sue and Cindy and that the bus to Antigua had left without us. Cindy and Sue were about to make the sandwiches for the next day. I offered to help and would go back with them. Daniel decided to take a taxi. We made 70 turkey and 10 cheese sandwiches. We used two pieces of white bread for each. Two big plastic bags appeared, one filled with mustard and one with catsup. Angelica, Soraya's mother showed us how to open them by snipping the corner and then squirting the contents out like a big pastry bag. We put mustard in my bowl and catsup in Cindy's bowl and we each covered a piece of bread for the sandwich. Sue laid down a piece of processed turkey meat or cheese on each. Dulce, one of the teachers, was there , and she cut the sandwiches and bagged them. I thought these were the poorest excuse for a sandwich I had seen in a long time, but we hoped the children would like them.

Time to head back to Antigua. I walked with Sue and Cindy to catch a chicken bus, a bus the locals take. The cost was 4 quetzals, about 30 cents. The bus was packed. Cindy and Sue had never seen a bus so full. Cindy found a seat. I was in front of her partly sharing a seat with two other people as was Sue across the aisle. We were more or less wedged together and totally blocking the aisle. Then we came to the next stop and more people got on who were trying to get to the back of the bus. Some of the women were on the larger side. The moving and contortions were all quite comical. Then the money collector came up and down the aisle. We finally got to Antigua and stopped at the sort of bus station by the market.

Sue and Judy wanted to shop for some more items for the next day. I headed back to the hotel, stopped in a few shops along the way. I found a very cute store in the courtyard next to the hotel and bought some earrings. It turned out the fellow working there knew Soraya and knew of Cindy and Nueva Generacion. Time for a little rest and then out to dinner at Posada de Don Rodriguez. I had a margarita and Guatemalan enchilada that was really good, more like a tostada with beets and hard-boiled eggs and a side of guacamole. There was entertainment during dinner, a troupe of dancers dressed in costumes sort of like mythical warriors. Back to the hotel and time to sleep.