Meet Carlos!

This is the most recent of my writing-children.  His name is Carlos and he lives in Guatemala.  Here is his information:

Birthdate:	12/12/2003
Information last updated:	7/1/2011
Schooling
US School Grade Equivalent:	1
School Performance:	Average
Child is attending school
Family Duties
Running errands Making beds Cleaning
Hobbies and Sport
Group games Soccer/Football Bicycling Baseball Marbles Swimming Reading Other ball games Story telling
Guardians
Father Mother
Natural Parents
Marital status of parents:	Now married
Natural parents are together Father is alive Father is living with child Father is supporting child Mother is alive Mother is living with child
Employment
Father/Male Guardian other employment:	industry worker
Father/Male Guardian is employed Mother/Female Guardian is unemployed

I have already received on letter from him.  I look forward to 12 more years of communication with him.  It is so much fun to here about how people in other countries live!!

Ana in Guatemala- Fundraiser #36 Response

Post by Katja:

This is the report for fundraiser #36 for Ana in Guatemala. Her family was in need of a wardrobe and Ana needed a bed and new clothes.
On the last day of last year John finished off the fundraiser and Ana was able to receive the things as a belated birthday gift (her birthday was at the beginning of January). There were 18 people, who helped me with this fundraiser and we were able to send $350 to Ana's family. Yay!
Ana was able to buy 1 wardrobe, 1 single bed, 3 pants, 3 blouses, 1 sweater, 1 pair of shoes and 6 underwear.

Here are the beautiful photos of my happy Ana with the things that she purchased with our money.

Ana's letter (written by her sister) is as follows:
"Ana greets you with much love wishing you are in good health along to your dear family and the people around you. She thanks you for the single bed, for the jeans and the blouses and for the pair of shoes, and the underwear and the sweater she was able to buy which were of great support to her. She says so long to you with much love and a huge hug."

Thank you so much to everybody who helped with this cause! I wouldn't have made it without you!!! A special thanks to John, who finished off the fundraiser, to Heather G. for creating the fundraising page and of course for Heather M. for getting everything started and going!

Fundraiser for Ana is Complete! Thank you!!

Just in the nick of time, John completed Ana's fundriaser!  Now she will get her bed in January!  Yay!  Thank you all for helping Ana to get a good night's sleep!

Only $50 more needed!!

http://www.firstgiving.com/wardrobe4ana

We only need $50 to complete Ana's project!  If we can pull this off in the next 3 days, she will get her bed, dresser and clothes in January!  If you can help Ana, please visit her fundraiser using the link below.  Even $1 helps!!  Thanks so much!

And the Winner for Day 2 is...

Katja used this tool http://javascript.internet.com/games/lottery-numbers.html to pick a winner and the lucky number is 7 = Sara. Congratulations to her!

Sara, make sure to e-mail you address to Katja and tell her which 3 sets of stationary you would like. Enjoy!

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

This raffle is for Ana in rural Guatemala. She would really like to have a bed for her own, as well as some new clothes and shoes. Her family is also in need of a wardrobe. Ana's fundraiser is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/wardrobe4ana . For every $1 you will receive one raffle ticket.

What you can win is a choice of 3 Diddl letter papers. I have 5 different ones and you can choose the ones you want out of these. The letter paper is DIN A4 size, which is slightly larger than the normal size of a sheet of paper in the USA. These are a great gift for a sponsor child (hint, hint, write me a letter!) or for yourself!

#1: contains 8 single sheets of writing paper, 4 envelopes and a sheet of stickers
#2: contains a writing pad with 4 collectible cards
#3: contains a writing pad with 4 collectible cards
#4: contains a writing pad with 6 collectible cards (Scratch'n Sniff Pad = the sheets smell if you rub them)
#5: contains a writing pad (also Scratch'n Sniff Pad)

Ana will have her 10th birthday at the beginning of January. Wouldn't it be a perfect gift for her if this fundraiser would get funded in time for her birthday?

This fundraiser raffle will go until 9PM CST Dec 3. Good luck!

Mack's 2010 Trip #5 – On to Honduras!

A post from Mack:
September 8th was Sam's 21st birthday. Instead of the traditional ritual of sleeping all day and partying all night, he did pretty much the opposite. We got up at 3:30 am to catch a "collectivo" to Copan Town, just across the Guatemalan border. I spent several days in the town last year, so I wanted to briefly show Sam the sights before we moved on to San Pedro Sula.

On the (short) road between the border post and Copan Town, we drove past CI's relatively new Western Honduras community center. I knew they had established a program in Copan, but I didn't know exactly where. Later, I learned that they've got about 1,000 sponsored kids in the area, but their goal is to be able to accommodate 3,000.

It was about 10:30am when our van arrived in town. Since we were still burdened with suitcases full of heavy gifts, we hired a tuk-tuk taxi* to take us to our hostel.

*Just as a note of interest, tuk-tuks are small "auto rickshaws" used for short distance transportation. The name originated in Asia (probably Bangkok), and I find it odd that other countries – such as Honduras and The Netherlands – have adopted both the vehicles and the term "tuk-tuk". I would expect them to come up with more culturally fitting names for their versions.

Our day started out badly, when halfway to the hostel Sam realized he'd left one of his bags behind. Our 'guide' took him on a mad dash back to the bus station, and eventually they tracked the suitcase down at a different hostel with some of our fellow collectivo passengers. We were now indebted to this man and his tuk-tuk, and he welded himself to us for the remainder of the day (and night).

I took Sam on a zip-line canopy tour, and to see the Mayan ruins. I had a grandiose plan that we would float down the river to the ruins on inflatable tubes. This scheme was thwarted by two insurmountable obstacles:

1. Sam forgot to bring his tube.

2. The river flows in the opposite direction of the ruins.

We had to take our friend's tuk-tuk to the entrance.

When it was time to return to town, I wanted to share one tube and float BACK on the river. No dice. We discovered that there is a high fence built around the ruins, with strands of barbed wire along the top. This is presumably to keep tourists from sneaking into the ruins without paying the $15 entrance fee, not to prevent honest ticket holders from accessing the river afterward.

We pre-paid our tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 5:30 the next morning to catch a 6am bus to San Pedro Sula. Hint: Don't do that. When our driver had not appeared by 5:45, we jogged to the main square in search of alternate transport. Nope, none around so early. When we eventually flagged someone down, it was our apologetic driver out looking for us. We loaded the tuk-tuk, and he got us to the station just in time to see our bus disappear over the bridge. Fortunately, we had planned for such a contingency. Really, we were aiming to take the 7am bus!

Arriving in San Pedro Sula around 10:30am (again), we took a taxi from the bus depot to the hotel where we would be meeting Victor later in the day. I didn't want to admit the name of our hotel to the taxi driver … but there was no other option. I was hesitant for good reason, because when the man found out that his filthy backpacker passengers were staying at one of the best hotels in the city, he quoted us $40 for the ride into town. When we pulled up to our hotel, I 'tattled' to the bell boy. He approached the taxi driver on our behalf and politely informed him that we would be paying the usual rate of $5, instead of the 'rich, dumb tourist' fare.

Unless you are insistent upon opening doors for yourself, there's nothing bad to be said about the Real Intercontinental Hotel of San Pedro Sula. They will treat you like royalty, and your stay will be completely comfortable. The restaurant is good, and the swimming pool will cool you down at the end of a long, hot day. The hotel is located directly next door to a modern shopping mall, providing you with easy access to a movie theater and food court. Of course, you could sponsor a child for 6 months for the price of one night's stay at Intercontinental.

Alternatively, try staying at Dos Molinos B&B, only 300 meters away from the Intercontinental. Basic rooms for two rent out at $25 per night, plus you get to eat breakfast with the family in the morning. Luis, the proprietor, will pick you up from or drive you to the bus station/airport. My dad and I stayed at Dos Molinos last February, and we were quite satisfied.

But, since Victor was willing to share the extra bed in his room, Sam and I dumped our bags at the Intercontinental and grabbed one of their honest taxis. Our destination was CI's new central office … which the taxi driver couldn't find.

After stopping for directions, we arrived at the CI office, where we were greeted warmly. We enjoyed a tour, and I was reunited with my friends Miriam and Jessica, our hostesses from last year's visit.

The new office is truly astounding! It is beautiful, modern, and air-conditioned – a vast improvement from the previous office. The best part is that CI owns the land and the building, whereas they were renting at the other location. Much of the construction material was donated, and by using local labor, the office was affordable to build.

Now for the downside … the office is not located in a very "nice" area of the city. In fact, it's way off the edge of the tourist map that Intercontinental gives its guests. Obviously, real estate in the more central parts of town comes at a premium that CI doesn't want to pay. Unfortunately, some problems with crime occurred, and CI has been forced to hire a 24-hour guard for the building. His gun is HUGE.

(Don't worry, this is not a building where any of the children come. It's exclusively offices for program administrators and letter translators.)

Nothing much else happened that day. We shopped (read other post), saw a movie, and connected with Victor after he finally arrived. We spent the evening at the mall buying even MORE stuff to give to our boys the next day.

Mack's 2010 Trip #4 – No Greasy Chicken!

A post from Mack:

When we finished shopping, we drove to the central park to meet up with the families of Steve's child, Blanca, and Robyn's child, Wilmer. This get-together had been postponed back in January, and finally the kids were having their day out.

I thought the plan was to eat lunch in the park, but the sky started to sprinkle as we pulled up. Gladys jumped out and located the kids, then herded both families into our van. It was a tight fit to squeeze everyone inside, but nobody minded lap-sitting. The newcomers were: Blanca, her mother, and her two sisters + Wilmer, his mother, his 5-year-old brother, and his infant sister.

I was surprised when James dropped us off in front of an expansive McDonald's restaurant. No greasy chicken for us, Steve – so, HA!

The McDonald's had a nice courtyard with a fountain. The sky had cleared, so we began moving tables together so we could sit outside. Just as we'd secured the correct number of chairs, the rain started back up. We retreated to the covered patio, and again began pushing together tables and chairs.

It was decided that we would go inside to order our food in family groups, starting with Wilmer's. While the boys were gone, I passed out gift bags to keep the girls entertained. When Wilmer and his brother returned, they received their soccer-themed bags. In exchange, both Blanca and Wilmer gave me the "Thank You" cards they had made earlier on the expectation that we would have a fun day together. It's a good thing we DID have fun, or it would have been a tragic waste of glitter!

The annoyingly indecisive sun popped out again, so I herded those who had finished eating (or who had not yet ordered) back out into the courtyard to take photos in front of the fountain, and also with a plastic replica of Ronald the Clown. Everyone enjoyed posing, and they all brought out their cell phones to snap their own sets of pictures. I felt a little jealous that not only did the sponsored families have better phones than mine, but they also know how to use the features! Seriously, though, I'm glad they have a way to stay connected from their remote homes, but I really hope that the service plans in Guatemala are cheaper than ours are in the States. Otherwise, having a phone could easily use up a third of the family's monthly income.

Sam was quite popular with the ladies – all of the mothers wanted to be photographed with him … then Blanca and her sisters … then the CI staff members (except for James).

Once the Big Macs and McFlurries were all eaten, I passed out the bubble wands I'd brought for each of the kids. We had a bubbly good time playing outside (check out the videos on LiftOne later) … until the rain returned once more. Hurray for the indoor McDonald's Play Place! Double hurray for age limits that weren't enforced!

Wilmer was the life of the party with his crazy antics. In an early photo session, a CI staff member made the mistake of telling him to say "whiskey" (instead of "cheese"). For the rest of the day, the boy would randomly shout out "Whiskey!" at regular intervals – whether or not a camera was pointed in his direction. Wilmer was full of high spirits and funny dances. Everybody laughed when he took a drink straight out of the fountain, and when he tied his seat belt around his neck like a noose. Yes, as far as I know, Wilmer survived our day out … but possibly with a stomachache later from the unpurified water.

Blanca and her siblings get along better than any set of sisters I've ever met before. I don't know what the situation is like in the privacy of their home, but all I saw was love and happiness among the family. And they were constantly laughing about something … although most of the time I wasn't sure what was so funny (probably my ridiculous-looking sunscreen!). I do know that the sisters thought it was hilarious when one of them asked how long it takes to get from the United States to Guatemala, and I answered "Four hours by plane, or three weeks riding horses." That's assuming the horses are strong swimmers.

The kids were allowed to play for a long time, and 3 o'clock (the hour I was told we'd be taken back to our hostel) came and went. Eventually, the CI staff decided they'd better wrap things up if they wanted to get home before dark. Most of them needed to return all the way back to Guatemala City! I really appreciate the personal sacrifices the CI staff members always make to ensure that sponsors have plenty of time with their kids.

We dropped off Nicty and her family first, and I said my sorrowful farewells (with promises to return someday). Next, we drove to Wilmer's town, and then to Blanca's. In both cases, we did not go to the kids' actual homes, but dropped them off somewhere within walking distance. Finally, the staff got rid of me and Sam so they could get on with their own lives (hopefully clocking overtime hours?). Sam and I arranged our bus tickets for the next day, then went out to eat. I'd only ordered a pie at McDonald's because I didn't want to be distracted from my picture-taking by food consumption. After dinner, we tried to find our way back to our hostel in the dark. We wandered for a couple of hours – covering pretty much the whole city of Antigua – before we gave in and flagged down a taxi.

Mexico, Guatemala, & Tabaco

Now that I can post pictures, here are the packages for 3 of the centers. Mexico and Guatemala were shipped several days ago, but Tabaco went out today. We are going to have quite a few happy children :o)

Mack's 2010 Trip #3 – The Antigua Shopping Expedition

A post by Mack:

Antigua is definitely the place to sponsor a kid, because the city has NO BIG MALLS! On the one hand, it's fun for the children to visit a modern shopping complex, where they probably don't often buy things, but money goes SO much further in the local marketplaces.

First, I asked that we stop at a grocery store. I had brought Nicty many "fun" items, and wanted to invest some money into useful life necessities. Our driver, James, pulled us up to the back entrance of a supermarket, and as we entered, Sam and I recognized it as the same place where we had bought our dinner (peanut butter, jelly, and bread) the night before. This was good, because we already knew our way around + what cool stuff was on sale.

I lifted Nicty up into the shopping cart so I could push her around the jam-packed aisles. It was very hard to maneuver as a group in the crowded supermarket, so we all scattered in different directions to collect the things Nicty's family needed. We filled up the cart with beans, pasta, rice, sugar, cereal, powdered milk, laundry soap, diapers, toilet paper, etc. Nicty was pretty much buried alive by the time we were done!

At the end, I wanted to hit the cookie and candy aisles for some treats, but it was difficult to convince Nicty to choose anything sugary and fun. I don't know if she felt overwhelmed by the options, or if she simply couldn't breathe underneath all of the other groceries! Heidy helped me find a few things that she knew her sister would like.

We headed for the check-out counter, where I was able to pay with a credit card and save my cash-on-hand. The total for all of the groceries and supplies came out to just slightly more than I paid last year to buy each of my two boys a single pair of shoes at the mall in Honduras.

James pulled the van up to the front of the store, so that we could load the boxes and climb inside. We started off, then stopped aburptly because the women realized that they had forgotten their purses at the bag check counter at the other side of the store!

Next, I wanted to visit the sprawling local marketplace to find some clothes for Brian and Heidy. I'd brought numerous outfits for Nicty already, and I was surprised at how well they all fit her. I bought her size 6 (because she is almost six) on the advice of an employee at Wal-Mart … but I was very dubious. The clothes were so tiny, and I just couldn't imagine a person being that small! Shows how much I know about kids.

We entered through the artisans market, where locally made crafts are sold to tourists. What a coincidence, the mother of one of my CI hostesses was the proprietor of a booth in the main square! After we were introduced, I said I would buy some goods from her stand (I wasn't asked to do this, just to make it clear that the CI staff aren't coercing visitors to support their family members!). I thought it was cool that the woman (sorry, I can't remember her name!) was able to visit with her mom in the middle of a work day. The only problem was that the booth only sold touristy stuff, and the last thing I needed was souvenirs to add to my overloaded duffel bag. Fortunately, Nicty's family was able to find some things that they could use … Heidy got red earrings to match the Zoo York t-shirt I had brought her (which she was wearing), Nicty fell in love with a backpack shaped like a turtle, and I bought Brian a toy drum to bang on. Brian, by the way, loves to make noise. Every time we got back into the van after a stop, he would scream his silly little head off!

We wandered away from the "touristy" part of the marketplace, into the area where the citizens of Antigua buy their clothes and such. We shopped for Brian first, and then for Heidy. At one stall, Nicty found a pair of jeans that she really, really wanted. According to her mother, the pants cost too much, and she wouldn't allow me to buy them. Nicty refused to give up the jeans, until Gladys told her about the surprise that I had planned – I was going to let her pick out a piñata for her 6th birthday party the next month. Gladys told Nicty (paraphrased): "Hand over those jeans, or no piñata for you, young lady!" The choice was easy for Nicty, and we departed in search of piñatas.

I guess beating cute animals with sticks is a huge deal in Central America, because the piñata selection was plentiful and impressive! I steered Nicty away from the ones that were twice her size (who needs THAT much candy?) and encouraged her to choose one only 2/3rds her height. She spent the rest of the shopping trip 'bonding' with this giant yellow rabbit. I wonder if she will have the heart to bash in her new friend's head with a stick when her birthday arrives? I also wonder if the kids will be able to resist eating the filler candy before October 6?

Next, we meet up with Steve's child, Blanca, and Robyn's child, Wilmer …

Mack's 2010 Trip #2.2 – Nicty Meets a Friendly Ghost

Pst by Mack:

When we arrived at the house, I was pleased to discover that Nicty has a very decent place to live (by Guatemalan standards). Her home is in a small, enclosed compound that accommodates six families (all or mostly relatives, I believe). Each family has a single-room house, and they all share a communal kitchen, bathroom, and medium-sized courtyard. Nicty's small home contains a mirrored dresser, a table, and two beds – more than adequate for a family of four (again, by Guatemalan standards). I'm glad that Nicty has a safe, dry place to live, with plenty of cousins and other kids on hand to play with!

Inside the house, I unloaded the gifts that I'd brought for Nicty and her siblings. Heidy was most excited about the wrist watch I gave her, and Nicty loved her Minnie Mouse doll. I didn't have much for Brian, as I was unaware of his actual age when I packed, but he was perfectly happy to take possession of the candy I'd given to his big sisters, trying in vain to rip open the bag with his teeth. Another jealousy issue arose when Nicty decided that she was the rightful owner of the lip gloss set that I had brought for Heidy. She didn't throw a tantrum, but simply clutched the package to her chest and smiled sweetly as she refused to relinquish the lip gloss back to her big sister. I can only assume that the two of them worked it out later.

After the gift distribution, Sam and I stepped outside so that Nicty could try on the clothes I brought her and pick which ones to wear on our shopping expedition. This gave me time to pass out lollypops to the other little children in Nicty's community. Whenever you visit a sponsored child, it helps to come bearing candy – there are always lots of other kids around!

To be continued …

Mack's 2010 Trip #2.1 – Nicty Meets a Friendly Ghost

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...

Mack's 2010 Trip #1 – Getting to Guatemala

A Post by Mack:

Hi, all!

I got home yesterday, but I'm very sick. I don't know how quickly I will be able to produce these trip reports, but I'll give it my best shot.

As many of you know, the visit I just made to my sponsored children was a "replacement trip" for the one I missed back in January due to illness and other complications. Good things come to those that wait, I guess, because my second visit attempt this year was planned to be more adventurous, rather than just a quick in-and-out affair. Instead of travelling mostly alone (but meeting up with Victor in Honduras), I arranged to go with a friend, and also to spend some time in Nicaragua (a new country for me) after the child visits.

My first step was to connect with my friend, Sam, in NYC, so we could fly together to Central America. Unfortunately, I was restricted to using Frequent Flyer miles, which offered no availability to JFK at such short notice. I began searching for an open FF flight to ANYWHERE on the Eastern seaboard, and Boston turned out to be the big winner. I took an overnight flight to Beantown, then relied on JetBlue Airlines for cheap one-way transport to JFK. I allowed myself four hours between the two flights (in case of complications), so I had plenty of time for a leisurely stroll – pushing a cart piled high with luggage – from Terminal A to Terminal C.

Here are a few airport security tips:

1. If you are transporting big bags of batteries to power children's toys, remove them from your carry-on before you run it through the x-ray machine. The guards don't like bags full of batteries.

2. Don't let Barbara (WorldTraveller) talk you into taking a pretty crystal knick-knack to her girl in Guatemala. The guards think that pretty knick-knacks are far too bomb-like to pass by without through inspection.

3. If you DO transport a gift for Barbara, don't carry it in a pretty box tied with a big bow. Otherwise, you will have to re-tie the big bow after each suspicious bomb-scare (3 times, in my case.).

When I got to New York (two hours late because of a delayed cheap JetBlue flight), Sam was waiting for me at our hotel. We headed first to Central Park, where I had some business to attend to, and then we hit the closest Target store to shop for our kids.

We took TACA Airlines from NYC to Guatemala. This is a reliable and affordable (keep an eye out for specials) airline to use if you are travelling to Central or South America, but they fly out of only a handful of select U.S. cities. Check their website to see if you live close enough. I don't.

One great thing about TACA is that they allow a whopping TWO free bags! Hence our visit to Target to take full advantage of this generosity. However, our Target shopping experience was less than successful. This particular store was a mess! Pretty much all of the merchandise was in one huge pile in the middle of the floor, and you had to dig through and wrestle with other shoppers to grab the items you needed. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the place was extremely disorganized. I hate shopping in the best of circumstances, and this Target was so frustratingly crowded and confusing that I just gave up. The one cool thing about the store was that it was the first place either Sam or I had seen an escalator with a mechanism for moving shopping carts to the second floor. That was fun to play with.


Our shopping took longer than anticipated, so we headed straight to Manhattan to catch a Broadway show without going back to the hotel to drop our bags. After some research, we decided that we couldn't afford Broadway, so we settled for "Off" instead.

The next morning, we enjoyed a pleasant flight to Guatemala City, with a brief layover in San Salvador. Our goal was to spend as little time in violence-ridden GC as possible, which was easy since my sponsored child is lucky enough to live outside of beautiful Antigua, about 45 away. We arranged for someone from our hostel to pick us up at the airport and drive us straight to Antigua. He graciously slowed down for me to take photos of Pizza Huts, which was all that the big city had to offer me.

I'm sure that you've all been following the storm situation in Guatemala. At the time of our visit, many major roads were closed due to mud slides. We were fortunate that the route between GC and Antigua was not affected.

We stayed at Casa Bellona, a quiet hostel on the edge of the city. The owner, Danielle, was very helpful and friendly. A basic private room with shared bathroom cost us $22 per night (Dorms = $8 a bed). A good breakfast of cereal, fruit, and toast is included

A Letter from Eloina

A Post by Barbara;
"Dear Barbara

Eloina thanks you for the letter you sent her and she is happy to know that even though you are far away you think about hder and she tells you that she has a dog called Estrella and she likes to watch channel 13 and she likes to watch cartoons and Eloina tell you that what she likes the most from school is to draw and to color and she is learning to read and to write because she wants to write letters and Eloina tells you that she already knows the numbers from one to one-hundred and she tells you that she loves her teacher and friends and they share snacks and they play and she says so long with a hug and a kiss. Eloina"

No pictures were included, but they will be added to this post when available.

A Letter from Marelyn

A Post from Barbara:
I recently received the latest letter from 11 year old Marelyn in Guatemala in reply for her Easter package. This time I included a scrapbook which I made for her in which I included many of my favourite photos of her as well as many of my own life. This was to outline our relationship since I began sponsoring her in 2005. You can see that it was well received.

Dear Barbara Rogers

I want to thank you for your nice gifts; I received, 1 pair of pants and 1 pair of panties, 1 dress, 1 blouse, one two piece swimming suit, 1 toy egg, 1 telescope, 1 sticker game, 4 small stuffed toys (for her siblings) 1 Easter box and 1 beautiful album (the scrapbook). I can see that it was handmade by you. Thank you very much for all the photos, the markers, eraser and 1 pair of scissors. All the gifts are so beautiful. Let me tell you that my pants fits me so well as well as the dress and the swimming suit; it is so beautiful too. I hope to use the swimming suit during summer time because I am going to visit some pools soon.

Here in Guatemala we are celebrating Easter time. I attended a service during the Ash Wednesday and during the service a cross was done on my forehead. The weather is so hot here in Guatemala. I am going to try to send you an Easter calendar. [ instead she drew me a clever copy of the beautiful flower carpets which cover the streets in Guatemala at Easter as well as another drawing of the beach with waves and palm trees - she is a very talented artist for her age].

I am sending you some photos of myself. In one of the pictures I am with the uniform that I wear when I play in the school band; and the others are about the wedding of my parents. After visiting the pools I am going to take some pictures and then I will send them to you. [Probably with the digital camera sent to her won during a lottery].

My parents were so happy with the photo album (scrapbook). Take care in your next trip. I love you so much. May God bless you. Your sponsored child Marelyn.

Doesn't she write a wonderful letter for her age?

Cheers

Barbara