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11/22/10

So, I really didn't want to come home from vacation. Oaxaca was so wonderful and relaxing! And warm. The thought of going back to work was almost too much.
But I ended up being happy to return today. I worked with two of my favorite children, who I'll call Pedro and Marcos. We had so much fun! They're incredibly adorable. They were so happy to see me, and I was so happy to see them!
Later on I saw Tomas. He wanted to come to speech with me! It was so really cute. He came up to me and gave me a hug, and his tio explained to him that I was just coming to drop Pedro off at the baby house. After that, I saw another one my boys. He was yelling my name (with the help of his teacher Fabiola)and gave me a hug. (He also shaved his mustache.)
Before that, I also saw a lot of the kids in my section. They're amazing! I gave them hugs and Isabel asked when I was going to come eat dinner and read with them. She's one of my favorites. The cool thing is that I don't have therapy with her, so we just have a friendship. Socialization is really important for her because she lives with a bunch of special needs children who can't speak.
All in all, the vacation was wonderful. And it made me realize that coming back was wonderful too. On Dec. 3 all the volunteers will start working as tios for the month of December, so I'll have a different job for a month. Today I'll find out whether I'm working in the baby house or with the children with special needs. Tomorrow we have the day off work for a holiday and are going to go hiking.
And in 31 days my familia comes!! I can't wait.

Another interesting observation - Yesterday when I was walking through Antigua, I noticed something strange: I was walking more quickly than everyone else. Slow down and enjoy yourself, you aren't in any rush, I thought.
The reason it was strange (that I was walking more quickly) was because at home in the U.S. I usually walk more slowly than everyone else and wonder why they're in a rush. Last summer I had an internship at the ADA (AMericans with Disabilities Act) Center in Chicago. The first day that I took the train downtown I seriously thought I was going to get run over by commuters when I got off the train. But here in Guatemala, I sometimes walk quickly. How strange!