Getting into the Groove

Good evening! It was another day here in Antigua, Guatemala, where the coffee is first class and the view of the volcano is breathtaking. I will try to take a picture of it (the volcano, not the coffee) soon.

We got right back into the swing of things for school. We're making modifications for our new student, but I'm grateful for that!! Chris and Care are both reluctant but relieved to be learning again. (Shhhh! Don't tell them they were learning lots of stuff during the "Empathy Break"!) In fact, I noticed Chris had taken my multiplication fact cards in his room today.

After school and lunch, we headed back to La Bodegona for groceries. Luis must be growing, or has an extremely lucky metabolism, since he is eating constantly! I know he got three meals a day, plus snacks, plus treats, at Casa, but I guess he's never had such unrestricted access to a pantry (or at least in this apartment, a cupboard!) or to a refrigerator. Lots of fresh fruit and proteins are readily available for him.

It took almost half an hour to walk to the store, mainly because three children tend to slow me down. But we take a different route each time, so we're discovering more and more places here in Antigua. We got almost everything on my list, including the world's largest mango (until I realized it was actually a papaya), and headed out of the store. Since there is no A/C here, the store gets really warm. With our three full black Kroger bags, the kids and I flagged down a tuk tuk for a quick ride home. It is a really unique mode of transportation, and for 15Q, less than $2, we were home in about 5 minutes. The kids loved the ride, partly because it was bumpy (cobble stone roads) and partly because they are just tired of always walking! But they really are such troopers! I've included a picture of a tuk tuk, as well as a picture of the three kids in ours today.


We had about 5 hours to kill before dinner, and the kids were getting a little bored with the 4 toys we brought from home, so I had to get creative. Remembering how much Luis likes to look for "Goldbug" in his "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go" book, I asked Caroline to design a Goldbug on paper. She did, we cut it out, and took turns hiding Goldbug upstairs. Here are the happy hunters:



We had some rain this afternoon so I let the kids watch a DVD movie. Luis patiently watched "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses" in English, and I thought it was funny when he laughed. Kudos to Chris for patiently watching it too. They will each have a turn picking out a movie, too, later this weekend. And I was happy for the chance to sit down and read a chapter in my current book.

Dinner was chicken and rice, because Luis likes chicken and rice, and then off to bed for the kids. I am grateful for the time I have at night to catch up on skype with Victor and sometimes even a dear friend. Looking forward to a new day tomorrow, full of opportunities! Have a great night!