We have had quite an adventure these past few days in the Western Highlands. We left Lago Atitlan on Sunday evening and arrived in Xela. We spent Monday shopping for our donations for Nueva Esperanza, the school in a smaller village about an hour south of here. Tuesday morning, we hopped on a Chicken bus (recycled American school buses painted very loudly, often with blinking lights we like to call ¨bling.¨ They are called chicken buses because people often have live animals with them. I can attest to this, as there was a box of chicks above my head.) to get to the school. This was quite complicated, as the bus is cramped and we were carrying brooms, balls, and buckets. We were the only white faces on the bus and I´m sure people thought we were nuts. Then, in an error in communication (probably my fault) the driver dropped us off about 1/2 past where we were supposed to go, requiring a trudge back up a steep hill carrying the aforementioned things.
Once we got to the school however, we were so happy we had made the effort. I´m pretty sure the kids there don´t see many white folks, and so they all congretated to watch us speak with the director, Marvin. We brought school supplies which Marvin said they will hand out to the students who cannot afford to purchase their own. We also brought cleaning supplies for the classrooms, and 7 gallons of paint to paint the students´ desks, as this is what Marvin said would be most useful for them at this time. The teachers and students treated us like guests of honor and the kids who were brave enough to talk with us were very friendly and curious about us. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, and then the best part happened.
The next day (today) was a special celebration at the school. Marvin asked us to come back today and ¨observe¨ the event, an athletic/dance competition. Before we really knew what we were getting ourselves into, we said sure. So...we arrived this morning around 8 am. Turns out, there were 26 schools competing against each other, Nueva Esperanza included, and we were 2 of 5 judges who were going to decide the winners. There were probably about 1,000 people in the crowd, and again, we were the only white faces around. The other judges were dance teachers and PE teachers at nearby schools. We found out that this competition happens every year, and that it´s a pretty big deal. Needless to say, we felt a little out of our element, but smiled our way through it. It turned out to be a blast. I didn´t get to take many photos because I was busy with my judge duties,which is too bad. The kids were all wearing costumes and you could tell they had practiced for a long time. Some of them were downright adorable. There were even a couple of all boy schools competing. We got to choose 9 teams to win trophies (one that we bought and dontated) and we even each announced a winner (in Spanish!) in the microphone. Nueva Esperanza won the third place trophy, and after the competition was over, all the girls who had danced for the school gave me a hug and said thank you. The whole day, Matt and I were treated like special guests, even receiving our own round of applause and thanks from the crowd. It was definitely the best part of the trip so far.
On that note, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to our friends and family who donated money and supplies to help us in this adventure. It is truly helpful to these kids and we could feel the sincere appreciation from the school community. You helped us to make a contribution to this beautiful country and it´s people, and we love you for that.
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