on-the-job perks.

One thing I've quickly realized is, as librarian, I receive a lot of on-the-job perks. Why? We have the only TV available to the teachers. Whenever they want to show their class a movie, they bring the students to the library. They usually bring snacks too. A class last week watched The Incredibles while chomping down on hot dogs topped with ketchup, mayo, and onions. They kindly offered me one. A hot dog at 9:30 in the morning? Sure, why not. Yesterday, another teacher decided her class had behaved well enough to watch Chicken Little. These kids got a lot luckier. There was chicken salad sandwiches, the most delicious fruit salad doused in syrup, chicharrones (a local sort of chip), orange jello, and soda! I gladly accepted the offer for some chicken (something that is lacking in my Guatemalan diet) and yummy fruit. I also may have sneaked a couple glances at the movie when I got the chance :)

But that's not all! The classroom downstairs has shared too. The Etapa class was created for those kids who come to the orphanage with little to no education. Thus, it is typically a class of kids ranging anywhere from 11 to 16 who have roughly a 1st or 2nd grade education. They take on a sort of "life skills" approach to the class, which is why they have a kitchen available to them. The other week they made mole! I originally thought this was a dish typical to Puebla. Turns out the salty kind is local to Mexico, but the sweet kind is common elsewhere. The Etapa kids made a sweet mole with plantains and chocolate. Boy, did I say yes to that offer!

Oh, by the way, if you were expecting this post to go beyond just the food perks, you obviously forgot who you're dealing with :)

juegos del mundooo!

Six times a year the volunteers put on Kermes, a carnival-type event for the kids. Yesterday was my first one! The theme was Juegos del Mundo or Games of the World. There were a handful of stations, with everything from a three-legged race to a dueling station to Twister!

I worked Holland's station with Regine and Yvonne. We dressed up to look like the flag and played Spijkerpoepen (pronounced spiker-poopin' haha) with the kids! It was a game in which you had string tied around your waist with a nail dangling from the back like a tail. The objective was then to get your nail in the bottle first. It was quite the sight as kids squatted and bended over backwards as they tried to beat their opponent. Not gonna lie, I even played a few times against my students. Is it any surprise that I won? :)

the fedex sleigh.

Merry Christmas to us? Why yes, if your image of Santa Claus' sleigh is a FedEx truck. That is precisely what stopped at NPH yesterday.

Yami, the other librarian, and I were routinely working yesterday morning. Out the window, the mad dash of children running towards a FedEx truck caught our eye. Then the news crew caught our eye. Then the monton of boxes caught our eye. Inside each box, were dozens and dozens of books! For us! We couldn't believe it. The next thing we knew, these boxes were making their way into our library. It went on for quite some time. Al fin, there were about 60 boxes (I counted them) stashed in our humble, cozy library.

Since then I've had a lot of fun exploring through each box. A good portion of them can definitely be utilized in the library. Another chunk can go to the school, as they are workbooks perfect for the classroom. Another slice can go to the English department, as they are in English. The final group? This consists of books to learn French or Dutch, fashion books from the '80s, and books such as "1oo Things to Do With Your Personal Computer" ha. They will probably be recycled or donated elsewhere. It is very exciting to receive so much new literature for our kids! Now to just figure out where to put them all.

Note: To give you an idea (because I was curious myself), we currently have 6,100 books in our library. This donation alone presented 5,400 books. Holy guacamole.

only aquí.

Only here will one of the two showers in your house emit icy cold water and nothing else. In a house full of 8 girls. Luckily I haven't had to brave the freezing shower in lieu of the functioning shower :)

Only here will both toilets in your house get clogged. And stay clogged. For two days (...and still counting). In a house full of 8 girls. This one's a bit more of a problem haha.

Only here will you hear shrieks and the rustling of furniture in the other volunteer house as they try to kick out their newest roomie, a rat. Eeeeek!

Only aqui :)

feliz día de chófer!

I found today very fitting to blog about the ever-famous chicken bus, or camioneta. Mark, Molly, and I realized today was "Happy Chauffeur Day!" since music was bumpin' when we pulled into the bus station. Each chauffeur had taken it upon himself to celebrate in correct fashion. Whether an arch of balloons, colorful streamers, or even Christmas garland, they sure knew how to embellish their already-colorful buses for the big day.

Now, what exactly is a chicken bus? There are, in fact, no chickens on these buses. Rather, it is the name given to the mode of public transportation here. If I had to go with an animal name, I would actually call it a "sardine bus," as passengers are packed like sardines. Back during the good ol' SSJ elementary school days, I would share a seat with fellow kindergartener Chelsea. Here, Chelsea is replaced by a family of four. That's right folks, there were FIVE of us in one seat. Que loco, no? Let's just say these chauffeurs know how to get their money's worth.

The amount of passengers is not the only shocker about these chicken buses. Every ride is a new adventure. The man who collects bus fare weaves in and out of passengers in the aisle, hangs halfway out the bus calling down to pedestrians, and even climbs on top of the bus to gather belongings... while the bus navigates through windy roads. You're pretty much always guaranteed this sight. Every so often, you'll get another sight. While waiting for the bus to rival a sardine can at the station, solicitors hop on to ask for money. Sometimes it's a darling child, other times it's a grandma with poor eyesight. Today? Well today we had a man who began his story and, halfway through, ripped open his shirt to unveil a bag that evidently contained part of his intestines (blood, guts, and all). Yup. Thank you, chicken bus. You always seem to keep the excitement alive.

papa americano.

This weekend I got my American on for a couple different reasons..

Reason #1

We received an invite from volunteer coordinator Erika and hubbie Sandro to have dinner at their house. You'd be silly to say no to a couple so incredible in the kitchen (remember that cake I blogged about earlier? Ya, Sandro's work). They served a savory veggie lasagna followed by ice cream with Toblerone chocolate sauce on top. Plus, the appetizer was chips and THE BEST guacamole of my life. Even though they're from Switzerland, I classify this as American because I ate American-sized portions :)

Reason #2

We went for a stunning hike. One that even rivaled those back home in Phoenix. It took us up into the hills and through a itty-bitty town called Corrales. Every so often I just had to turn back and catch the beautiful view into the valley.

Reason #3

We had ourselves a fogato! What's that you ask? Why a bonfire. Complete with s'mores. Mark, Sam, Erika, and myself were the instigators (we also happen to be the token 22 year old college graduates from the states). I'm still pretty impressed with our ability to find chocolate, graham crackers, AND marshmallows at the local grocery store.

Reason #4

Lunch with Conor Mahoney! Conor is a good friend from college who just so happens to be studying at a language school a few towns away. This weekend he passed through Antigua, which is about a 30 minute bus ride from NPH. Of course we took advantage of the opportunity to reunirnos by grabbing lunch and catching up. It was so great to see you bud!

my friday was made when..

My chore this week was to pick up the loaf of bread from la panaderia. It wasn't quite ready during my lunch break on Friday. So what did one of the boys suggest? That he would bring it to me in the library! Just as he promised, way-too-kind Henry and a freshly-baked loaf visited me later that afternoon. There's nothing quite like the scent of warm pan to welcome the weekend :)