Post by Mack:Gladys, of Children International Guatemala, arrived at our hostel promptly at the agreed-upon hour of 9am. I was ALMOST ready to leave, but not quite, as I was stressing out over rubbing my sunscreen in properly.
I had a little incident earlier this year with skin cancer on my face, so I wanted to be extra cautious while basking in the Central American sunshine. A friend sent me a link to the Environmental Working Group's 2010 sunscreen guide (http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen), and I'd invested a couple hours prior to my trip on researching and determining the best skin protection I could afford. I ordered some all-natural (and vegan!) cream, but upon application found myself looking like a zombie extra from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Already pale to begin with, I was afraid that my death-like complexion would terrify poor Nicty!
As I struggled with my sunscreen (entirely unaware that it was going to rain most of the day, anyhow), Sam kindly helped to load my many bags of gifts into the CI van. A few minutes later, we were off to the local community center to meet Nicty!
First, a little bit about "my" sponsored child, Nicty, for those who don't know her:
She is 5 years old – about to turn 6 in October. She is technically my father's sponsored child … he pays the fees, but I make sure that he writes to her regularly and I handle the mailing of letters and packages.
On the other end, Nicty's big sis, Heidy (age 12), does the same thing. She writes letters to my father on her young sister's behalf. I was looking forward to meeting Heidy, as I consider her my colleague in Correspondence Assistance. I also wanted to inquire about the correct spelling of our little girl's name, as CI calls her "Nicty", but Heidy always writes "Nicti" … but, umm, I forgot to ask. However, I've decided to use "Nicty", because when I came home yesterday, I found a letter from Heidy waiting for me … she used both "Nicti" and "Nicty" this time around, so I guess the name can go either way?
Now, that the Nicti/Nicty debacle has been addressed, on with the story …
We soon arrived at the community center to be immediately greeted by the vivacious Nicty. She is a very animated and outgoing little girl, and there were no shyness issues as she hurled herself first into my arms, then into Sam's. We met the rest of the family: Nicty's mother, Heidy, and Brian, the 18 month old brother. While the others waited downstairs, Nicty tagged along during our tour of the community center (videos to one day appear on LiftOne).
Before we piled into the van, I first wanted to show Nicty a short video I had taken of my father and his dog at the park, so she could understand who her REAL sponsor is. Because there is no sound during playback on my camera, I had memorized a Spanish script so I could narrate along with the movie. When I came to the part about the dog liking to chase rabbits in the park, I got flustered and stumbled on the word "conejos" (rabbits). Instead, I said a more familiar word that flowed off my tongue a bit more naturally – "cojones". Yep, you all know what THAT means! Gladys was quick to correct my verbal slip-up before the family became too confused!
The "plan" was to take Nicty's family shopping, meet up with some other sponsored kids for lunch, then return to visit Nicty's home at the end of the day. After some further inquiry, I determined that we'd be better off going to the house first, to drop off the gifts I'd brought before loading up the van with even MORE purchases. Gladys was dubious about the change in agenda ("Just how much are you planning to buy???"), but left the decision up to me. It turned out to be for the best that we go to Nicty's home first, because:
1. 1. We could have NEVER packed everyone into that van along with all of the gifts/purchases.
2. 2. Since Nicty's family was dropped off first at the end of the day, the other kids would have had to wait for a long time in the van while I was showed around the home.
3. 3. Nicty was overdressed in a hot sweat suit, and the trip to her home provided an opportunity for everybody to change clothes.
to be continued...
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