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We awoke at 7:20 am and chatted. Eventually Yoselin's head peeked in around the tapestry on the door. She came in and went straight over to Craig for a hug and then laid her head on his chest. She didn't have zapatos on, and within minutes she was snuggling in bed with us, sleepy and cuddly. She would touch our noses and say "beep" very softly. Eventually we heard Aracely outside of our room and we called to her. Rather than Aracely, who stayed outside, Yasmin came in and joined us in the bed. Paola came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Then Aracely came in and took her own shoes off without prompting and we placed her onto the bed.
We all played in our room until breakfast was ready. We went into the dining room for panqueques (pancakes) with maple-flavored syrup. We also had toast (The bread comes in pre-toasted loaves here, which we found interesting) with marmalade. One of the girls ran down the street to Paulina's father's juice stand, and came back with a pitcher of delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. Rocio came over and played wit the girls while Craig and I took turns taking showers. We and the five girls and Paulina went to the market at around 11 o'clock. We walked past Yasmin's school, where Yoselin will be attending kindergarten in January. Nearby was a large gymnasium. We walked to town and while Paulina was in the bank, an older American gentleman approached us and said hello. We assumed he was just a stranger amused to see two fellow gringos with a gaggle of Mayan children. The girls seemed friendly to him, but we knew he was a friend when the sometimes-shy Aracely walked right over to him and attached herself to his leg. He introduced himself as Terry, an expat from Wisconsin. Humberto had talked about their friend Terry in the past, and we were happy to meet him. Paulina came out of the bank and greeted Terry with a warm smile. Then she realized that she had left Yoselin in the bank. She giggled and ran back to fetch her. I took a photo of Paulina and all of the girls with Terry, and then we continued on to the market. Aracely wanted Craig to carry her, so of course he was happy to. We entered the market through the back indoor part. Paulina was looking for a baptism gown for Aracely, but didn't see anything that was suitable. We bought vegetables from the vendors, and then went to one of the butcher stalls to buy chicken. The butcher stalls always had a certain overpowering smell of fresh meat. We went to a fruit vendor and Paulina bought strawberries. The seller weighed them on a hand-held balance. Craig and I bought Gatorade and the girls bought plastic baggies of juice which they drank with straws. Aracely had a literal marble in her mouth at one point and I was impressed with the smooth move that Yasmin pulled to get it away from her, distract her, and discard it without her knowledge. We started to walk back and stopped at a store to look at dresses, but Paulina seemed a bit frazzled by the girls' impatience, so she hailed a tuk-tuk back to the house. We all piled into a single one - Yasmin and Yoselin in the way back, myself, Craig, Paulina, and Aracely in the back, and Paola and Vanesa in front with the driver. It was fun and the girls in the back held on and giggled as they were bounced up and down during the ride. Humberto had finished his tour early, and was mopping the floor when we got home. The girls were no sooner home than they wanted to go to the tienda. All of them except Vanesa went with me. They wanted to buy some snacks, and there were two side-by-side displays of munchies. One of them was Frito-Lay, and the other was Guatemalan-made varieties. Aracely desperately wanted some Cheetos, but her sisters told her that they only had enough money for the non-Frito-Lay varieties. I gave the clerk a dollar so that Aracely could buy what she wanted. The clerk seemed nervous - she didn't know what to do about giving me change. I told her to keep it and she seemed surprised. We walked back up the street to the house. Humberto and Paulina took some measurements of Aracely, and Humberto headed off by himself to buy her clothes for the baptism. We ate chicken in mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes and tortillas. Humberto came back and they tried on Aracely's new clothes. The dress was so adorable, and there were little ruffly bloomers to wear under it. He had also bought white patent leather Mary Janes and a hat. Paulina and Humberto dressed her up and stood her on the dining room table. She looked adorable. The hat and the shoes were too small, so Humberto left to exchange them. We played with the girls and took movies and photos. Yasmin decided to take a bath in the sink. Aracely stubbed her toe and started to cry. It was around this time that we realized Paulina did not seem to be here anymore. I brought Aracely to the sink and dipped her ouchy toe in the water. She wanted to take a bath with Yasmin, so Paola helped me to get her ready. Aracely poured plastic bowls full of water over her head while Paola soaped her up. Aracely was taking a long bath and I decided that she should probably get out. I picked her up and she started to flail her legs wildly midair as if running in place. She whined and it was obvious she wanted to get back into the water, so we put her back in the sink. Then I realized why - the water in the sink was pleasantly warm. (Humberto would tell us later that once in a great while, they have warm water.) We had only experienced cold there, so I can see why Yasmin and Aracely were languishing in the sink for so long! After a few more minutes she was ready to get out, and we wrapped her in a towel. The girls had been splashing around and there was water everywhere. It was a good thing the sink was outdoors. We brought Aracely into the girls' room and the girls helped me to get her dressed. I sat her on my lap on a chair in the kitchen to put on her socks. Paola helped me to put the shoes on, and before we were done with this process, Aracely was slumped over, sound asleep, just like that. They put her into her bed and I propped her up and combed her wet hair and then left her to sleep. I combed Yasmin's hair as well. Yoselin hates getting her hair combed, so I was glad she didn't need it. I sang Rock-a-bye baby and Yasmin and Yoselin loved it. I picked each of them up in turn, and rocked them while singing. It was a big hit. Craig came inside and we would hold a girl's hands while she walked up our body and then flipped around. It was easy with the younger girls, but Paola was a bit big. Still we managed to flip her as well. Humberto and Paulina arrived home with the hat and shoes for Aracely and tried them on her sleeping body. They realized they had forgotten the baptism candle, and Humberto went out again. It was obvious that both he and Paulina had so much on their plates, with the girls, business, and Humberto's school. As it was, he had some bookings for tomorrow (the baptism day) which he had given to some guide friends of his. Yoselin followed Yasmin's lead, and started to call me "Steph" today as well. We played with flashcards and the Richard Scarry word book with the girls and then we studied English words with Paulina as well. Humberto came back with the candle and we all studied together. Dinner was the same as lunch had been. As usual, Yoselin went to bed first and I sang Rock-a-bye baby to her and Yasmin at Yasmin's request. Paulina's sister Olga came over and they started to prepare food for tomorrow at Humberto's mother's house next door. The older girls went back and forth between there and here. We chatted with Humberto, looked at photos and went to our bedroom at 11:30. Yasmin poked her head in at around 11:40 to say goodnight. We went to sleep at around 12. |
      
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