La Quema del Diablo

La quema del diablo, the burning of the devil, is a tradition that people throughout Latin America participate in. Every year on December 7th at 6pm a devil, along with a mountain of trash, is burned in the city/town center or if you are at NPH in front of the comedor. Why are they burning devils you ask??

The tradition started many years ago on the eve of the Immaculate Conception. Families wanted to make room for Mary in their hearts and in their homes so they started cleaning their homes and throwing out any old belongings and trash and burning them. It was believed that the devil manifested in the items so over time the burning of the trash piles turned into a burning of the devil. Getting rid of the devil and clearing the path for Mary. The main idea is to burn all the bad from the previous year and start anew. The burning of the devil kicks off the Christmas season here in Guatemala.

At NPH we had our very own quema del diablo. The children built devils with old clothes and trash and at 6pm sharp we lit the devil on fire along with the rest of the country.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Apart from the warm weather, cloudless skies and being far from home it is beginning to feel and look a lot like Christmas here in Guatemala. The jam packed camioñetas are blasting christmas carols, the markets are filled with christmas trees, lights and decorations and houses are adorned with Christmas lights.

We are also trying to make our home at NPH as festive as possible for all the volunteers who are far from home and all the kids who are spending Christmas at NPH. Last week before starting our "tia-ship", which consists of living and working with the kids every day, we had a special holiday feast and gift exchange. Thanks to Karla and Miguel we enjoyed an amazing dinner of tamales and afterwards played a Dutch version of white elephant/yankee swap. It was a great introduction to the holiday season! The volunteers have also taken it upon ourselves to decorate the houses for the season. Each volunteer house is dressed in flashing white lights and we have an amazing (fake, but amazing) Christmas tree in our living room.

The kids have also been helping to decorate the home---we have a life size manger/nativity scene in the middle of the grounds, which is covered in multicolored Christmas lights and decorations. The comedor also is the home to a very large Christmas tree, which the kids decorated with flashing lights, big stars and many tacky Christmas ornaments.

 It certainly is BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS in its own way and a different way, but in the same moment an amazing way and in a way that I will never forget.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town...

Can you guess who is santa?

From the Heart

I recently wrote an email to friends and family asking for donations for my preschool English classroom. Many of them responded with open hearts and I could not be more thankful. The classroom is coming together and I can't wait to see the finished product. The kids are also super excited that we have our own English classroom and they are looking forward to the start of the new school year.

I received an email last week from a family friend and her daughter, Carly, is going to do a project at her school to collect donations to send to NPH. I was so touched when I received the email and wanted to share it with everybody.

Thank you Carly from me and from all my little kiddies here at NPH!

Journal #1

Explain what you are doing for the project. Explain why you chose to do this project. Who or what is it helping? What do you anticipate your duties to be during the 4 hour minimum?

For my service learning project, I am going to collect money and school supplies for a preschool for orphans in Guatemala. I am going to put collection boxes in some different areas, such as Cutler School, Winthrop School, the Hamiton-Wenham library, and I will send out an email to my friends and family teaching them about the needs of this particular school and asking them to make donations. If everyone donates even a dollar, we could pay for pencils, pens and other supplies for many orphans. 

Here is how I learned about the preschool in need. I happened to get an email from our good family friend, Thayer Lawson, who is working as an English teacher for orphans in Guatemala. She asked many people for donations, supplies and furniture for this preschool classroom which is now just an empty room. I love helping children that are less fortunate than I am, so when my mom told me about this email, I knew that this would be my project. During the four hours, I plan to make posters, send emails, put collection boxes in different places, get supplies, and send the donations to our family friend who will then send them to their daughter in Guatemala.    

Thanksgiving Poem

By: Molly with the help of Nanna and Thayer

Today we give thanks for those gathered here

Some call us friends, some volunteers. 

Thank you to Nathan for building a path

For Nadia’s sweet dispostion and

And Thayer’s loud laugh. 

For Frannie’s humor and Karla’s glow

For Mark’s medical advice

and Hannes’ “ooo”.

For Yv’s warm embraces, Nana’s silly faces

For Erika’s orientation and Edith’s organization. 

Thanks to Carrie for writing stories about everyone

And Molly for staying.. she’s almost done!

Thank you to Myriam  for teaching the babies

And thank you Mari (the dog) for not bringing rabies. 

Thanks Kristina for getting all the chavos (kids) to read

And Jader and Muriel for taking the lead.

Thank you Nika for smiles that never end

Gine for her music

And Bianca for being everyone’s friend.

 To Danny for showing us how to play with fire

To our Tia Erika who does a job that we all admire.

Montana for being as sweet as a lamb

And of course we can’t forget the dance moves of Sam. 

To Veronika for helping all the tios a great amount

And to Anni for teaching all the little ones to count

And Miguel even though you’re not a volunteer

Thanks for taking care us and always bringing the beer.  

We give thanks for the hands that have wiped our tears.

For the arms that have comforted us

And held us so near.

We give thanks for the laughs, the smiles and cheer

And even though we drive each other crazy

It’s great being here

El poema ya esta hecho

Gracias por todo…y buen provecho

Roatan--Tropical Paradise

The day after Thanksgiving—well more like a few hours after—at 3 am Molly, Francesca and I headed off for a much needed week of vacation. We were headed on a 15-hour journey with both bus and boat to get to the beautiful Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. After a long day, a night spent in the very sketchy port city, and a ferry ride with rain we arrived all in one piece.

We chose to visit Roatan, which is the largest of the three Bay Islands, because it is known for it’s long white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and amazing snorkeling. What more could we want? We stayed in the West End of Roatan, which has a very Carribean/relaxed feel. Everyone walks around barefoot on the sandy streets, there are cute little shops and restaurants, chill bars and it is all along a stretch of beautiful beach. We could also take the water taxi over to West Bay, where the biggest and nicest beach is to relax, snorkel and lay in the sun.

When we arrived we heard they may be a storm coming so our first day there we decided to make the most of. The day was beautiful, not a cloud in the sky and the blue water was calling our names. Unfortunately Fran was not feeling great so she stayed behind while Molly and I took off on the water taxi. We spent the day snorkeling, drinking fruity drinks and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. There was a reef right off the beach so we saw the most amazing fish in all colors and the prettiest coral….I had never seen anything like it. The water was so clear you could see the ocean floor over thirty feet below.

After the most amazing sunset and a fun dinner the storm hit. The winds were knocking over fences and the ocean was coming up into the streets. We thought we were going to die, but no one else seemed concerned so we tried to make the most of it. We spent the day playing cards, reading, and hanging out at the beachside bar, which was covered with tarps to keep the wind and water out. 

Luckily the storm passed in one day and we were back to the same beauty as before a day later. More sun and swimming! When it was time to get back on the ferry to start our journey home no one wanted to leave. Who knows maybe one day we will be back.

Giving Thanks

A little catch up on my blog because a lot has been going on over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago the volunteers celebrated Thanksgiving in style. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays at home because everyone comes together and it is a time to spend time with loved ones and of course eat some great food and give thanks. I figured even though we are far and the country we live in does not celebrate Thanksgiving…why should that stop us.

We (the English teachers with the help of Esme) spent the afternoon making fun decorations, such as turkeys out of our hands, and preparing our feast. In the evening we all gathered together, each bringing a dish, and had an amazing Thanksgiving. Dinner consisted of chicken (no turkey), meat rolls, green beans, salad, roasted potatoes and pumpkin bread….and don’t forget the molten chocolate cupcakes for desert.

I would say all in all it was a very successful Thanksgiving full of friends, delicious food and thankfulness for all the blessings in our lives.