Hot Pools, Hot Chicken, Hot Day

Two days ago, the other half of the team, including myself, had an excursion outside the walls of the hogar. We went to the natural hot pools and Pollo Campero. The Hot Pools were about an hour (including traffic) from zona 1 where the hogar is located. We took a normal school bus, packed a few extra nannies and were on our way.

It was the first time that I was outside of the hogar with the younger kids. It was quite an incredible experience, getting to see the adventure through their eyes. I was sitting with one of the 8yr old boys and we were counting how many motorcycles passed. He was also telling me to look at all the colors of the buildings, pink and green and yellow...Some of the other kids were trying to get the passing trucks to honk for us. We passed through a lot of marginalized towns to get to our destination of a country club style resort.

Once we got there, the kids immediately got their suits on, and didn't waste a minute outside the waters. I was a human jungle gym, with a minumum of 3 little ones hanging on me in various positions. It was a blast! There were 4 pools all varying in temperature, one being boiling hot water falling from a waterfall. Two had diving platforms. I spent a lot of time being a tiburon (shark), chasing the children around. A few of the missionaries were throwing them into the pool. Father John even had the little ones "walking on water." The kids were just so excited to show us what they could do, "Larisa, look at me, Larisa, watch this!" It was wonderful to see the kids embracing the experience. They were full of such life and joy.

Then we made our way to the infamous Pollo Campero (Country Chicken), which is the Guatemalan version of McDonalds. We filed into this back room, obviously prepared for our party of 40. There was also a giant play place. None of the kids stepped into it, until given permission, and neatly placing their shoes in the cubbies. It was incredible to see the discipline being practiced in public.

When lunch was served (500 legs of fried chicken, papas fritas, 10+ liters of soda), everyone didn't just dig in. They all patiently waited for prayer and permission. These are 4 yr olds I am talking about! I had a little one on either side of me, helping them with ketchup or what have you. I didn't eat my chicken down to the bone, but there really wasn't much meat left. One of the boys asked me if I was finished and he got every crumb and drop of ketchup off my plate. They have been taught not to waste anything, and they truly respect this. Dessert for the children were donuts, and the missionaries the choice of prepackaged flan, ice cream with chocolate sauce, or tres leches cake (guess which one I picked). Even though it was an unhealthy meal, this deep fried feast really satisfied the kids' need to get out and indulge a little. And not one failed to thank the missionaries for the pools and lunch.

When we got back, we all examined our sun burned faces and backs. We were all so exhausted. I thought that would be the end of the night, but Madre gave a blessing to watch Invictus, the Mandela-Rugby movie. It was a great time. One of the missionaries brought popcorn, so we pulled the little microwave out of my room and prepared that for the older girls. It was a really moving movie, and the girls' thrist for knowledge was amazing. I know a little about Mandela so it was nice to be able to share that with them. The actual world cup in the movie was intense. We were all holding hands and biting our nails, hoping South Africa would pull through. I won't ruin the ending. It was a day full of highs. We had beautiful weather for the pools, which we weren't expecting according to the weatherman. I felt the love of all the children in so many ways. I got to know some of the older girls better than I did. I even had a nice conversation with Erika, who just does so much for the hogar. It was a blessed day.