Early this morning we skyped with Kier who’s in a clinic in Honduras. The pick-up trip into the mountains must have gone smoothly, she didn’t mention any drama. Mia showed me around the room where the docs are living for two weeks, the basic shower, Kier’s bunkbed. She is on the bottom bunk with mosquito netting (there is a malaria risk there).
Then we went looking for Kier. She was sitting outside on a sunny bench reading a book. A few of the docs hadn’t seen skype in action before (have they been living in a cave–oh right, they’ve been in med school), so they joined the conversation here and there. Paul got to see Kier right before he scooted out the door for his volcano hike.
Kier took us on a tour of the clinic. I didn’t realize they live on the same property as clinic. She showed us around the entire clinic, which was rather impressive. We asked what she would be doing every day and she said they rotate jobs. Then she said they were going to eat breakfast in one minute and she had to go and put her book away. She looked excited to be there. Because of her trip to South America last year and now going to Honduras, she has officially been to more countries than I have. Fail!
After skype I got the younger two ready for school. Then Paul called from across the lake. The guys were eating their pre-climb breakfast at The Bambu Hotel in Santiago. The day is perfect for their hike, clear skies.
There was a knock on the door as I was getting ready to walk Madi to school. There was a teenaged boy standing there with a paper in his hand. It was from the Spanish teacher saying she couldn’t make it to class today. No reason, which is too bad because they are usually out there.
This morning I went to help my friend get ready for a paka. When they host church groups (teams they call them) from the States, the teams bring down lots of clothes and medicine. She can’t give the clothes away as fast as they are donated. So we are planning a huge paka (garage sale) at The Porch. The money will go towards a house they are funding to build.
Four of us had come to sort through suitcases and boxes full of clothes. It took a couple of hours, but we got it done. They joke around so much. Work hardly seems like work with this group. Reinforces that happiness is a choice, not related to how much you have, as two of the women don’t have a lot. But what they don’t have in material posessions they make up with in fun-loving spirits. They’ve decided to do the sale Sunday morning because that’s market day, lots of people from out of town. We talked strategies on how to keep the theft to a minimum, since that’s apparently a big issue if not organized properly.
We divided the clothes in to girls/boys, grouped in sizes. Each grouping of clothes will be in a certain area and the people have to pay before they leave that pile of clothes. We will have a flat rate, 5Q for baby and young children’s clothes, 10Q ($1.30) for older children’s and adult clothing. No dickering. The price is the price. We did more planning over a lunch of lentils and rice.
I rode my bike home, stopped to borrow some books from my friend. Even though I don’t read as fast as Kier does, I still manage to go through a fair number of books. The last time I read this many books was… the last time I was here. Go figure. Amazing how much time is freed up without a full-time job and extracurricular activities for the kids. Totally different pace of life, with lots of time for reading!
At M & K’s school they’ve decided to start having Phys Ed. This is a combination of going across to the big open field at the auditorium and the creativitiy of whichever teacher is assigned to the task. They played ManHunt. Apparently you’ve never witnessed a game of Manhunt until you’ve seen it played in flip flops with ever-changing rules. Madi’s convinced they just don’t care about following rules here as much as we do at home. When the neighborhood kids play ManHunt in the park next to our house, even without any adult intervention the kids will follow the rules fairly closely because otherwise the other team will freak on thier heads. Here, the teacher who set the rules, decided to break them so his team would win. Madi was outraged, “A teacher, mom, breaking the rules. That’s just wrong!” I explained to her that here rules are more like flexi-rules–loosely defined suggestions to follow if you want to, sometimes, unless you’re in a position of power and then they can be disregarded all together, unless they apply to birthday cakes. Then there is precious little wiggle room, so don’t even try to go there.
Paul called me from the summitt of the volcano. I was going to ask if they all beat their chests and did a Tarzan yell across the land they had conquered, but he didn’t seem to be in a joking mood. He said the hike was 20 times more difficult than he’d imagined. He admitted that the rest of the guys, 14, 20, 22, kicked his butt. I can’t imagine how that hike would have turned out if Paul didn’t run or bike every day. I guess they would have been draggin the elder of the group up the mt, strapped to a makeshift 2-pole and rope stretcher. I called up there later in the evening and they had set up camp somwhere in the crater, had a fire going, and were having a hot spaghetti supper with happy beverages. Should have sent smores with them, although perhaps the name’s too pansy for such an event.
I picked up Madi from school and Cali from the family’s house. I told her that we didn’t want her climbing on the roof anymore. Lots of her unhappy opinions about fairness were expressed.
We bought our supper at PanaSuper, didn’t have to go out again. The owner always gives the girls chocolates. This time she gave them Chocolate Bob, chocolates. He’s a local chocolatier who lives in Pana but makes his chocolates in Antigua. Neither of the girls could finish their chocolates. Cali’s not usually picky, but I have to admit I poo-pooed their opinions until I popped it into my mouth. I couldn’t finish it either. It had a strong flavor that I wasn’t used to.
Madi did her homework. Cali spent a great deal of time washing her feet and then reading the book Cali for President (her favorite).
Tonight one person in our family is sleeping in a small village in the mountains of Honduras, another person is sleeping in the crater of volcano that we hope will stay dormant for at least one more night, and the rest of us in the highlands of Guatemala.