Our time in Antigua is coming to a close and the thought of being at the Finca is becoming even more of a reality! While we are excited to make our way to Honduras for the next adventure, over the last seven weeks we have had enjoyed brushing up on our Spanish, spending time with our host family, volunteering at a nearby children’s hospital, and exploring the city.
For the past several weeks, Kenna and I have had the privilege of helping out at a nearby hospital called Nuestros Ahijados–Casa Jackson (God’s Child–Jackson’s House). The hospital is specifically for malnourished babies and children to receive proper nutrition while also educating mothers on proper care for their children. While most mothers are present with their child(ren), some are without family so my job was to provide interaction, love, and care for the four children without. The jobs change from day to day but they mostly consist of playing with, feeding, changing, and holding these babies while interacting with the other mothers and nurses.
Outside of the hospital, many of our evenings have consisted of playing soccer or wall-ball with the host family’s kids in the small, uneven, concrete courtyard of the house. Though, often times, we lose the one ball we had on the roof of the house, and the small courtyard isn’t entirely functional, we make do, and do so with lots of laughter and joy–one of the many things that have been teaching me the gift of simplicity.
Last, but not least, during our time in Antigua, I have been taking in the culture as much as I can and have been learning so much. Here are just a few (serious and lighthearted) things I’ve learned in my time here:
*Family is everything here. It is custom here that families live together in multi-generational homes. Our family has four generations under one roof!
*Black beans can go with just about everything. Need a side? Need a dessert? You can’t go wrong with whole, pureed or even whipped black beans. Black beans are present at every meal in one form or another here in Guatemala.
*The best medicine for a hectic life is a rooted prayer life and lots of laughter. Even though the host-family’s house was flooding due to a huge rain storm, I can’t forget the image of mother and son joking around and laughing as they scoop out buckets of rain from the house.
*Plastic stools or plastic bags make for great umbrellas when it’s pouring out. Have to get somewhere but it’s raining out? Try a big plastic trash bag or throw a stool over your head. It’s common to see Guatemalans hop on their motorcycles with a big trash bag over their body and small trash bags over their shoes and head to ride around the town, or one time, we saw a lady wearing a stool to keep out the rain. Very creative.
I wish you all the best, and here’s to our next stop: Honduras!
Peace, Natalie