#6.

#6. The Lake

Lago Atitlan is one of the most beautiful places in Guatemala and probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. The lake is surrounded by volcanoes, hills, deep green mountains and breathtaking views. I am going to miss going to Miguel's house (thank you Miguel and Karla) and spending the weekends hanging out on the dock, laughing with friends and enjoying the amazing vistas. I am going to miss going to Casa del Mundo and jumping off the balconies into the freezing yet refreshing water. I am going to miss the air, the boat rides, the memories and the beauty.

#7.

#7. Mari

Laying outside the house/protecting us!

I am going to miss Mari, the loyal street dog that has taken residence at the volunteers house for the past year and maybe even longer.  She sleeps on a chair that we have outside, she eats our left over food, she greets us outside the house in the morning and when we come back from work at night. She has now taken to following us (Yvonne and I) to school in the morning and standing with us while the kids have formation/line up in the morning. Mari has been such a fun/loving addition to our living experience here at NPH and I am going to miss seeing her jumping up and down as I walk down the stairs from work or following me to the back of the house when I wash my dishes to see if there is anything left over for her.

In formation...standing infront of Yvonne and I

#8.

#8. Los Colores

I am going to miss the vibrant colors of Guatemala. Whether you are walking to the market to buy fruits and vegetables,  watching a sunset or passing by a woman in traditional dress...the streets of Guatemala are always alive with color. The traditional dress of the men, women and children range from every color in the rainbow and the markets are always bursting with fresh fruit in yellows, greens and reds. I am going to miss the vibrance and the warmth of these colors that I have grown so accustomed to over the last year.

#9.

#9. Esme

Esme is one of the girls in my section who has greeted me with hugs and giggles from the beginning. She is pint size, but has the personality of a giant. Esme is always yelling, laughing, telling jokes, running around the section, talking about how much she loves Jaden Smith and singing High School Musical songs at the top of her lungs. I am going to miss her bubbly personality, her hugs, our talks laying in her bed at night, pausing the radio every two seconds so we can write down the lyrics to her favorite songs, her teaching me crazy dance moves and just spending time together.

Modeling photo shoot....

Hanging in the section with Lupe.

Looking at magazines from the states......very excited!

Turkey hands in English!

Things I am going to miss....

Over the past few days it has hit me that I am only going to be leaving Guatemala soon and heading back to the states. It wasn't until today when I was looking at my calendar that I realized that I only have 10 more days and I can't stop thinking of all the things I am going to miss about being here. Over the next ten days I am going to share with you/show you all the things I am going to miss.
( Idea stolen from Molly Malone.)

#10. The babies! I am going to miss my daily intake of hanging out with the babies section (a group of eight boys between the ages of 2 and 4). They have the amazing talent of always making me smile and laugh. I am going to miss their hugs, their kisses, their loud voices, their pronunciation of my name, their love for my colored sun glasses and seeing their smiling faces every day.

So long, farewell....

It is a tradition here at NPH to have a despedida (farewell party) with the section of boys/girls that you have been spending time with all year. Spending time with my section of girls was by far the best part of my NPH experience. We spent many a night laughing, telling stories, braiding each others hair, reading magazines, playing cards, breaking out hilarious dance moves and singing to the newest pop songs. This past month the sections all changed so we decided to have a despedida for the whole girls house..around 100 girls. We had a afternoon full of water, screaming, laughing, ice cream and fun music. The other volunteers in the girls house and I set up a home made slip and slide, we had water balloons, the girls bobbed for apples and everyone got a kick out of spraying one another with the hose. 

Being sprayed with the hose!

Slipping and sliding....

Don't let the water balloon break...

Ice cream!

Group shot- Me, Nanna, Sam, Nika, Carrie, Erika
and the gaggle of girls!

Somos muy buenos amigos....(buenas amigas)

This past weekend it hit me that my time at NPH is coming to an end and my time with my amazing friends that I have made here is also coming to an end. I know that the relationships I have formed here are friends that I will have forever, but we will no longer be living together, laughing until we are basically peeing our pants, drinking way too much Gallo around the kitchen table, sharing secrets, traveling to crazy beautiful places, working together, crying together.....it will be different.

What did we do to celebrate our time together and despidir Molly (the first to head off) we went to a concert of a local Guatemalan band,La Gran Calabaza in Antigua and danced and sung the night away. It was a blast.

Dinner/Garden party before the concert at Alejandro's house!