Friday, July 23, 2010

I got up this morning about 7, got ready, and went to have breakfast with Hussein at 7:25. I had sliced bananas, cantaloupe, pineapple, and watermelon with a tablespoon of strawberry yogurt on top. My stomach was not feeling very well. I hope I’m not catching Erika’s sickness. We walked to class, arriving right at 8. I set up my stuff at our table, and then Any came. We talked about yesterday, and then I read her the story I wrote about Rinku. We went over the conditional tense today. There are seven different uses of the conditional tense. I had to write five examples for each one. It is funny at this school because they have a set number for everything. “There are X many irregular verbs in this tense.” “Do you know the X uses of the preterite tense?” A lot of times I know the rules, but I couldn’t tell you how many of a certain kind of stem-changing verbs there are! We stopped for the break in the middle of the conditional tense.

I walked by myself to the XelaPan up on the hill. I wanted to buy some Shecas con frijol for my trip to Antigua. I got back with a few minutes to spare. I didn’t have tea because I wonder if some of my stomach issues have to do with the fact I have been drinking tea at school this week. I believe they use tap water (which you shouldn’t drink), but they heat it up very hot in a big coffee pot thing. I wonder if maybe it doesn’t get hot enough to kill the bad germs that are in the water. Just to be safe, I skipped the tea. I got a picture with Any and also a picture of the four morning students (Hussein, Filippa, Benjamin, and me).

We finished going over the conditional tense, and then I had to write something using all seven uses. I wrote about what my life would be like if I were a nurse. Then we read some legends from Guatemala. They are little booklets that came in the newspaper. There is one legend from each department of Guatemala. The first one we read was from Quetzaltenango (Xela). I found it especially interesting because the story centered around a bridge that I have seen. It is interesting because I thought the bridge was built for people to walk over to avoid the traffic. Brenda and I commented on it because we didn’t understand why there was a bridge over that particular road when it is not any busier than other roads. Now I know why. Maybe someday I will get around to retelling the story of the Puente de los Chocoyos. It is a sad story, though. We also read two others. After each one, I had to retell the story to Any. I also told her the embarrassing story of how I chased down that man at midnight and asked him what he was doing. (If you don’t know the story, read last Sunday’s blog.) When school was over, Hussein and I walked home. The road is so dusty here even though it has rained every day that I have been here. It is really awful sometimes when we are walking along the road and a truck goes by because it kicks up all the dust and sends it flying into our eyes. I feel like I need goggles! We got home for lunch around 1:15.

We had chicken flavored soup with rice, tortillas (black and yellow), and some tortilla-ish things that reminded me of empanadas in Argentina. They had cheese and other stuff inside and looked like a tortilla folded in half. They are called Chiliquilas (or something close to that). As soon as I finished eating, I went to my room and got ready for the afternoon. I changed into my daycare clothes and walked to the daycare, arriving a few minutes after 2. My stomach was still really bothering me. I waited the token five minutes, and then they let me in. Rosa Bella was not asleep, so Juanita told me to take her out of the crib and play with her. I was holding her and rocking her when I noticed that her pants were dampish. I thought it might be from her bottle, which she had had in the crib. Then, I noticed the smell. She smelled strongly of urine. I felt her diaper, but it felt flat, not like a full, wet diaper. Juanita noticed me checking the diaper and asked if she was wet. I said I thought she was. Juanita came and changed her and I saw that she wasn’t really wearing a diaper at all! She had a piece of cloth wrapped around like a diaper, but it was really thin. No wonder I hadn’t been able to feel anything! Juanita also changed her pants, so when I got her back, she was much cleaner. Elisa was asleep on the bed with the children. Yadira did not come today because she is sick. There is a lot of sickness going around… Yadira, Rosy Bella, Erika, I hope I’m not next!

Rosy Bella crawled around on the floor. The floor was really dirty with food and wet spots all over. Rosy tried to do her best to help clean it by wiping the floor with her knees as she crawled around the floor. I followed her around and kept her from eating things off the floor. Usually they let her crawl around unsupervised, but when I saw the kind of things that were on the floor, I was worried to take my eyes off of her for an instant. At one point, she tried to eat a used match that was on the floor! Speaking of differences between here and the U.S, they have a table that they use to change diapers, but I have seen them use the same table for the older children to eat lunch on… without wiping it off or anything! I think back to Hong Kong when I spent half my summer mopping the floors, and there they didn’t even have anyone who crawled around on the floor! The children slept a long time today, thankfully. Most of them slept until 3:30 or 4. I helped Elisa make red tissue paper flowers to decorate the classroom after it is painted. When the children woke up, I played ball with Victor, Katy M., and Carlitos. Lesly watched us.

I asked Elisa how much it costs to send a child to the guarderia. She said that if the family is poor, they don’t have to pay anything. However, the others have to pay Q50 a month. That is about $7 a month! There are 20 children maximum at the guarderia and there are two full time workers (Elisa and Juanita) and three half-time workers (the director, Ana the cleaning woman, and Auri the teacher). Not to mention the fact that the children and workers eat breakfast, lunch, and snack at the guarderia. I would like to know more about the budget of the guarderia. I asked Elisa if the guarderia gets money from the government for the children whose families don’t pay. I didn’t completely understand, but she said that they do not get money from the government. She said that there is a group of 22 women that each give Q10 per child to attend the guarderia if their families can’t pay. Now I understand why all the toys are old and nasty. The high chairs are also in poor shape. Most of the trays are cracked and there is mold on the cushions.

Oh, I keep forgetting to write about Katy M’s shirt. She has a shirt with Disney princesses on it that says: “Dream and Whishes.” Somehow I don’t think that is an authentic Disney shirt!

The children didn’t have their snack until 4:30 today. They had a drink (they called it chocolate, but it didn’t look or smell like it to me) and bread. Juanita gave me a tostada. My stomach was feeling a little better. The families started coming to pick them up at 4:55. I grabbed my jacket and umbrella and headed out. I got to see Rosy Bella’s mom and several other families at the door.

I quickly walked home. I was supposed to help Sandy cook Erika’s goodbye dinner, but I felt like I needed a shower, especially after my experience with Rosy Bella. I quickly jumped in the shower and then changed back into my clean clothes. I came in the kitchen about 5:30. Sandy didn’t mind that I was a little late. She put me to work peeling and cutting potatoes. Then I made the rice. It had onions, carrots, and tomatoes in it. Next, I fried the chicken pieces a little bit (until they were white all over on the outside). Then I fried some onions and spices. When that was done, I put the chicken back in the pan and added water and covered it. Next, I mashed the potatoes and mixed in mustard, cheese, mayonnaise, salt, an egg, and flour in with the potatoes. Sandy showed me how to make it into a ball and then flatten it. She fried them in a pan while I made more. Did you know that there is a verb for the motion of making tortillas (tortear)? I kept forgetting to write that in the blog, but making the tortas de papas reminded me. The dinner was nearly done, so I hung up my apron (delantal) and went to my room. Any had given me something to give to Erika and I wanted to write her a letter.

When I returned, Gaby was using her computer. I asked if she had internet and she said yes. I asked if I could use her computer to get Elvira’s address from my email. She said I could. I started writing down the address, but Sandy started serving the dinner. I should have waited until later, but I felt pressured to finish the email super quickly. She said I could bring my stuff by the house anytime because someone would be at the house, but in haste, I said I could wait until after four to come to the house. The meal was delicious. Besides the things we cooked, we also had bread and a pound cake with dried fruit in it. Erika was still feeling bad, but she still was able to enjoy the food (she even had seconds!). She went to go get ready to go out. I helped clean up and then I sat in the living room waiting for her to return so we could take pictures together. Gaby’s friend Cindy was there, too. We sat in the living room with Sandy watching Glee in Spanish. After almost an hour, Erika came in and we took lots of pictures. She left and I went to my room. As I looked at the map of Antigua in the Guatemala book, I realized that Elvira’s house is really near the bus station. I felt stupid for having told Elvira that I wouldn’t come until after four. I decided that I would go back in the house and ask Gaby if I could use her computer for another minute to send Elvira another email. Gaby was upstairs but she said I could use her computer. I sent Elvira another email and said that I thought it would be best if I stopped by the house when I arrived around noon. I felt much better knowing that I wouldn’t have to carry my stuff with me all day, plus I can change into a skirt because it will be warm in Antigua! I went back to my room, finished packing my stuff, and wrote the blog. I am tired, but I am going to get up early tomorrow. Breakfast is at 7, and I hope to leave very soon after that. Bed around 11:15.