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We heard a noise at 4 am and later learned that it was Humberto's mother, Olga, Paulina, and Humberto starting to cook chickens for the pulique soup, which is made for special occasions. We got up at 6, showered, got dressed, and drank a quick cup of tea. Paulina dressed Aracely in her new baptism ensemble. She looked like a little angel and she seemed very excited to be so dressed up and the center of everyone's attention. Rocio joined us as well and we all walked down the pathway to the road. The older girls were wearing traditional Mayan skirts for the occasion. It was the first time we had seen them wear these, though Paulina wears them herself every day. It really made the girls look grown-up.
Paulina picked two gorgeous white flowers from a nearby tree and affixed them to the baptism candle. No need for a florist shop here.
We hailed two tuk-tuks to take us to San Francisco de Asis. Craig and I rode in one with Rocio and Yoselin. Today was also first communion at the church and it was pretty packed by the time we arrived shortly before 8:00. We had to split up between two pews. The church looked very festive, with white lace panels draped from the ceiling, and white balloons. By now the Spanish Mass was seeming quite familiar. We really enjoyed the music. Aracely moved between Paulina's lap and Humberto's, and she looked adorable all dressed up and holding onto the baptism candle. After Mass, all of the baptism candidates and their families went to the front of the church. There were a ton of people there. We met Paulina's dad Señor Chumil, who was very sweet, and also her brother Carlos. The priest made the sign of the cross on Aracely's forehead, and signaled for us to do the same. He then anointed the children with holy water. One by one he called the names of the children and the families went up to the font for the baptism. "Darlin Aracely," the priest called. That was us. Paulina and Humberto gathered Aracely. The priest repeated her name, and we hurried over. I held her while she was baptized, and Craig lit the baptismal candle and we headed back to stand with the rest of the family. Aracely then held the candle and came close to setting the people near us alight. We had given Vanesa the camera, and she did a great job documenting this special occasion. After the ceremony, we got family photos in front of the ornate, flower-adorned altar. By this time Aracely had had enough; she was a bit cranky and squirmy and ready to go home. As we left the church, we passed the girls' cousin Julisse, who was making her first communion today. She looked very pretty, and her brother and sister were all dressed up as well. We took a van home so that everyone could ride together, and we met Rocio's older brother Carlos, who had been taking photos with Humberto's camera. When we got back to the house, we were greeted by Olga, who had stayed behind to finish the cooking. The pulique soup was simmering away in a gigantic metal bowl. Humberto borrowed some tables and chairs from neighboring relatives and set them up in the yard. Aracely was ready to eat when Paulina noticed that she still had her pristine white dress on. Before she tucked into the certain-to-stain soup, Paulina changed her into play clothes. We all sat down and ate chicken, tomalitos (basically a cigar shaped tortilla steamed in leaves) and the pumpkin-colored pulique soup. It was rich and delicious and we savored every bite. After lunch we presented Aracely with her gifts. All of the children gathered around to watch her open them. We gave her a bilingual Bible, which has English and Spanish verses side-by-side. We also gave her a rosary which had been given to me by my grandmother on my first communion 25 years ago. It meant a lot to me to pass it along to my goddaughter. We also gave her an and an angel necklace, as she is our little angel. Craig was now her padrino (godfather), I was her madrina (godmother) and she was our ajihada (goddaughter). The party broke up at around noon, and Humberto had promised the girls that we could go swimming today. We all got changed into our bathing suits and headed for the lake at around 12:30. Yoselin put on the Patriots cap that we had given Humberto on our last visit and she looked incredibly cute. The girls' cousin Pamela came with us as well, as did Rocio. Aracely carried a flowery umbrella that was way too big for her, and she looked incredibly cute. When we arrived at the lake, the water was chilly but refreshing. The older girls went right into the water. Paola and Vanesa hung out with Humberto and Craig in the water. The guys threw them up in the air, to then splash down in the water, and the girls loved every minute of it. Paulina didn't swim and stayed with the younger girls at the edge of the water. Rocio, Yasmin, and Pamela swam in the shallower water. Aracely paraded around at the water's edge, only getting her toes wet. Yoselin got her feet wet but seemed scared to go in further. I decided that I would push her past her comfort zone a little. Living by the lake it's important that these girls learn to swim, and I'm sure when Humberto and Paulina take five girls to the beach, their attention is very stretched. I picked Yoselin up and waded into the water with her. She cried and said it was too cold, so I brought her back to shore. I let her calm down a bit and then we tried again. I wanted to take advantage of the one-on-one time to try to help her past her fear. As we got deeper she started to cry and was obviously scared. I comforted her and hugged her tight while wading deeper into the water. After a couple of minutes she was very cold, and we got out.I praised her and told her how proud I was of her. Then I dried her off and we sat on the sand with Rocio. When Pamela and Yasmin got out of the water, they huddled together wrapped in a towel, and it was very cute. A stranger from Guatemala City and his son came over and showed the girls their hamster. He let the girls pet it and hold it. Aracely was enchanted until it climbed from her hands onto her shoulder. She got a look of panic on her face that was precious. The boy put the hamster in the sand and it started to dig. The girls watched in fascination as it tunneled into the sand with its tiny paws, flinging sand behind it. Aracely started to get impatient and it was time to leave. We walked up a set of stone steps to a path. The girls stopped at a snack stall and Humberto and Paulina bought something for each of them to eat. They sat on a wall with their backs to the lake eating while Craig and I browsed the souvenir stalls with Rocio. One of the vendors had a baby was sleeping in an orange wheelbarrow. It was the perfect fit for a mobile crib! I wanted to buy a pair of earrings and I noticed that Rocio was interested in a collapsible slinky-type bracelet. I asked if she would like it and she nodded. We sent her to get the rest of the girls and told them they could each pick something out. Yoselin got a plastic "jeweled" bracelet, Paola and Yasmin got adorable beaded purses. Pamela was looking on quietly and politely, not expecting anything from us. I told her that she was included as well. She smiled shyly and picked up a pink beaded bracelet with religious icons on it. Vanesa deliberated for a while and finally settled on a wind-up fuzzy hopping "baby chick" - our little inside joke from the Richard Scarry book! When we had been studying English words from the book, they had all been enamored with the little yellow "baby chick" and they had repeated after us in English "Baby chick!" We walked home happily and played with all of the neighborhood kids. Craig played football (soccer) with Wilson and Luis while I sang rock-a-bye-baby and rocked the girls after they begged me for the "cancion" (song). Paola walked Pamela back to her house. We sat outside and chatted with Humberto and Paulina, all tired but satisfied after a long, happy day. The girls brought over home-made popsicle's from their aunt's house. Neli was sitting with us and started to sing in a very high quivering voice. "La lee la-ah vaaa-aay!" The girls seemed to recognize the song that she was singing, and everyone just started giggling because it was so adorable. We got her to continue singing while we took a short video. Eventually we all went inside for Rosa Jamaica tea, bread and cakes and English lessons. Humberto presided and used the flashcards, quizzing the kids on English and us on Spanish. Even Aracely was repeating English words. Josue, Luis, Wilson, and Rocio were there too, so it was a nice community lesson. They all seemed to really enjoy it. Paola and Rocio especially seemed to really retain a lot of the words. The cousins went home and we sat down for a delicious dinner of leftover pulique and tomalitos. The family eats dinner even later when the girls are on school vacation, and soon afterwards we were all sleepy. We chatted with Humberto and Paulina for a while, and then retired to our room at 11:05. I wrote in the journal and we went to sleep at 11:35. At one point a little kitten came into the room through the tapestry in the doorway. We laughed and shooed it away. |
      
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