One Week Already?

I am a day behind, time to catch up. After a restless night sleeping in the hostel and Lydia and I, along with the other volunteers from Patzun made the 2 hour bus ride back to Patzun early in the morning. We needed to be back for a baptism for a cousin’s son of a host family of one of the volunteers. It started with an hour and a half catholic mass, which most of I did not understand and was a lot of up, down, up, down. After the mass I was introduced to the family of the child that was being baptized and we all made our way to the place of the celebration. It was the first area in Patzun that I had seen that had a large expanse of grass. It was decorated beautifully with everything in white. As the extended family gathered and the food was prepared some words of welcome were said and we were serenaded by a sax player, who played an array of classics, such as Hotel California. After more words being said, family introduced and visited with, and a delicious Guatemalan meal, we said our congratulations and goodbyes. It was a wonderful cultural experience to be able to be a part of. What struck me the most was the heightened sense of family and community that was expressed during the baptism and celebration. The rest of the day was spent cleaning Lydia’s apartment for today, when a group of 15 or so Peace Corps Trainees visited Patzun. They had only been in Guatemala for two weeks so we had a lot in common, however it was nice because I felt like I was a bit more seasoned than most of them because I had been spending my time with a Peace Corps Volunteer and have been reaping the wisdom that she has to offer. While they were here we went out to the school where I am drawing the world map. While the trainees were busy with the teachers during recess I took the opportunity to play some soccer with the kids. It was a lot of fun and I think I am going to go out to work on the map in the mornings so I can play with the kids during recess. The progress on the map is continuing little by little, I finished drawing Europe and parts of Africa today. I can’t believe it has been a week already. I have learned so much and done so much, but know that there is still a great deal more to both learn and do. I can’t wait to see what the next two weeks have in store for me.