Our last few weeks at the orphanage flew by. As difficult as it was leaving all of our little friends and our fellow volunteers, we decided that the time had come to move on to our next adventure.
Dominic finally gained control and respect as the library teacher which two months ago, seemed hopeless. At first the library classes were full of energetic, yelling children bouncing off every corner of the room throwing books to and fro and ripping the pages as they eagerly turned to look what was next. After some strict, consistent rule setting and structure from Profe Dom, the children learned to sit quietly for ONE hour and read, or at least pretend to read. When Dom broke the news to them that we were leaving (de una vez), the kids looked up at him with sad droopy eyes and said "pero quién va a estar en la biblioteca?" (who's going to teach library?)
For our last weekend at the orphanage, we all decided to take the kids on a trip to Rio Frio. It is about an hour and a half walk from the orphanage to, you guessed it, a big cold river with a swimming hole. This is the closest thing to a 'field trip' these kiddos ever get, but even though they have been there a dozen times, it is still a treat. When we broke the news to them that they would have to skip there Saturday tareas (chores) and instead go to the cold river, they were infused with excitement.
After a long hot hike through mud and puddles (most of the children preferred to walk barefoot), we finally made it to Rio Frio where we spent the afternoon. The youngest orphan Shana, three years old, walked the majority of the trek without a single complaint. The older kids managed to lug three HUGE pots full of spaghetti, tortillas, and refresco for lunch. The children swam, fished, and climbed along the wall of the river for three hours, all the while with a huge smile on their faces.
The time we spent at Casa Guatemala taught us a tremendous amount about the sacrifice it takes as a volunteer to assume the role of 'mom', 'dad', 'nurse', 'teacher' for these orphaned, less fortunate kids. We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be a part of their lives, if only for a short period of time.
Hasta la próxima,
Yasmin
