Yes, I am very popular here in Guatemala apparently. We have been working at the orphanage and at the school where the kids from the orphanage go. And every time I come by, the kids yell, “china, china, china,” which means Chinese girl in Spanish. Then either they come and hug me or scurry away giggling. They are super cute and super precious. It’s hard not to love these kids. I even got a love note from one of the kids. I treasure it a lot. 
At the orphanage, we were painting and fixing the windows while at the school, we have been clearing out the land, digging trenches for the bathroom and walls. Hope to have a video or picture out sometime so you can see.
Here are some other random stuff I observed…
- Do not throw toilet paper into the toilet or else be prepared to fish it out.
- “Authentic Chinese Food” is not authentic. Not quite American Chinese either, but it’s still good.
- There are no other Asians in Quiche. Apparently, there was a Korean guy who lived here a while back but died in an accident.
- The most popular place at the complex where we live at is the girls’ bathroom, which is shared by 17 girls. It’s like waiting on Disney park rides. Ok. I’m exaggerating.
- Bring your own bags to the grocery store or be prepared to pay for bags. I guess it’s like that in Canada too.
- The ice cream truck song is pretty universal. We chase it down sometimes.
- It’s actually pretty cold in the mountains (ok maybe like 50 degrees F)… note for future racers who come to Quiche: bring warm clothes. And super muddy since it’s rainy season… so bring warm waterproof clothes.
- Needed to learn how to hand wash all your clothes. And remove it from hang by the afternoon since it’ll most likely be raining. So bring warm, waterproof, easy to wash clothes. (I totally rotate through only a few of my clothes since I get it dirty often with the mud digging.)
It’s been great (minus a day of sickness) and there’s still much to learn and more love to give. With the kids, foreigners cannot adopt them, so they are pretty much at the orphanage until they are of age. And the orphanage is maxed out and sometimes some of the kids have a tough time at school partly because of their background, but they do not have the resources here as they are just barely getting by each month. They say they see God’s miraculous provision each time.
Sorry if I do not get to post blogs often or email ya’ll. Internet is tough to get here, so I hope to write as often as possible.
Mucho amor,
Chinita aka Lolita
