Our Little Adventure

 

Shortly before we left we took a taxi on our own to Pana. This is a town we had been to before and we wanted to take a little adventure. It was only 20mins. down the mtn. We paid a mere 35 Quetzals or 5 dollars. When we were let off at the market area I realized quickly this was not the area we were in with Vicki a few days ago. We started to walk and everything looked the same. I tried not to panic. Finally, I thought about going towards the lake. I asked some school girls ,"Donde esta el lago?" They pointed down a street." Ok girls let's go", I said trying to be confident. We walked and walked, again I asked...I got another pointed hand. We turned a corner and viola! We found the textile market venders. Rows and rows of them.

   

We shopped and bartered with Maria's  expertise with Spanish numbers. She giggled when the person would speak solely to her thinking she was fluent in Spanish. We ate lunch at a partially open restaurant. 

Carolina eating a hamburger and fries with ice tea!!

While eating ,started to do what it does everyday this time of year-RAIN. A lady came up and started to show us her wares. She dressed Carolina, Maria, and even me up in these traditional head pieces. "For photo," she repeated in her memorized English. Que es su nombre? I repeated in my memorized Spanish! "Teresa", she said with a huge smile!!

I bought these items knowing they may never wear them again. They are a sweet remembrance of our day!

We had difficulty finding a taxi back up the mtn. Finally, we got one and paid twice the amt. back as we did going. I was just so happy to get back with my girls. When I got back home I found this picture of them when they first came to America. Who knows maybe they WILL wear them again?

Maria and Carolina

                                                      

Last week my mother had a very special birthday! Since I promised I would not splash her age around, let's just say that she was born the year after women got the vote! My brother and his family came down from Delaware to help her celebrate. We went to the Bleckley Inn for some pictures.  

    
Here she is Rosemary Matazzaro Munson born July 15th to John and Mary Matazzaro in New Haven, Conn.

Nana and her grandchildren    

Birthday Queen

Randy (my  brother), Rita, Josh, Carolina, Jordan, Erin, (my nieces) David,Maria, Mason, Randy, Kim

What a fabulous time we had celebrating our mother and grandmother ! A gray head is a crown of glory! Proverbs 17:6    You wear it well mom:)

Thanks for remembering !

One day we went back to where the girls were in the first orphanage called Hogar Cuna -Home of the Cradle.

It was now a small hospital. The top floor where the children stayed was not being used. It was quiet and empty. We just looked around speechless. It was hard to imagine it being full of active children.

We went up a mountain that overlooked the city of Quezaltenago. This is a big city of about 500,000 people. They had these cement slides there that we had taken the girls on when we visited 13 years ago.

This picture overlooks Quezaltenago.

Later we went to see three of the "mamas" that took care of the girls at the orphanage. They are now retired.

Mama Elvira, Mama Carmen, and Mama Vicente. They were so happy to see the girls so grown up and happy. We had cafe, fruit, and cookies at Carmen's house. Vicki translated as the ladies reminisced about some of the children they took care of. They asked Carolina where her curly hair was-lol." She straightens it" I said. Curls are not a common attribute among Mayan children. When it was time to say good-bye the ladies thanked the girls for remembering them, told then to be good to their parents, and remember their roots in Guatemala. They expressed love and happiness that they are doing well in America. We were all crying. It is a moment I will never forget. 

One of the signs that your children are maturing is when they say something that makes you proud. Carolina said to me, "now I know why Mama Elvira was so hard on me when I was young, it was because she loved me."  That was priceless!

Food Glorious Food !

From the time the girls got off the plane they were looking forward to the food.

This was pollo frito which is fried chicken with tomato,cucumber salad, rice, carrots,and some kind of squash.

It was delicious. The lime was present often at meals.

There was a local Mayan lady who came to Eagle's Nest daily selling her wares. She usually sold tortillas, but today we hit the jackpot with sweet potatoes, tamales, and some kind of plantain I think. The girls loved it !

This is our young vender!

We had this taco like dish two times because we all loved it. We got it from a local street vender. It had shredded chicken or beef, onions, sauce, with homemade tortillas! Deeelicious:) Nothing like our tacos here.

Another version of the fried chicken and note the radish salad. Carolina loved radishes when she came now I know why!!

Delicious fruit, mangoes,watermelon, papayas, pineapples !

Ok , I really love fish so even when presented 

with the head and the tail I went for it !

The girls have always loved coconuts. When passing by coco frio stands we had to stop. It is a peeled coconut with a straw to drink the milk out of-then eat the coconut. They loved it!!!

I wish I had a picture of Claire's homemade apple pie we had on the Fourth of July! It had to be the best I have ever had ! We had so much good food. Mama Luky at the home was the main cook who took care of us like her own. She made us delicious meals in the evening (she always served me first). I guess because I was the oldest (that is one advantage of age). Claire said they have never had children from the states who came back that enjoyed the Guatemalan cuisine like my two girls!!!

Mama Luky -the queen of the cocina!!!

Musings from the Heart: Getting to know one another

Musings from the Heart: Getting to know one another: "The first week we were here the children were out of school. This is their winter so the temps are cooler and it is the rainy season. The ch..."

Getting to know one another

The first week we were here the children were out of school. This is their winter so the temps are cooler and it is the rainy season. The children will be out for summer in mid Oct.-January sometime. There are about 22 or so children from 5mos. to 13yrs. In 2008, international adoptions were stopped in Guatemala. Adoptions can occur within the country. The problem is that it is generally not common for Guatemalans to adopt. So these children could grow up in an orphanage.

The second picture is of a baby named Lizzy. She is 5months old and was found in the trash. Thankfully, someone found her and she has a chance for a good life. The children are so loving and most are very friendly. Some are there due to previous malnutrition, neglect, and abuse by their birth parents. There are ladies who are called "mamas" who love and care for the children. Two of the mamas that took care of Carolina and Maria still work there. It was a blessings for all that they could see each other again. 

 

 Mama Ana, Carolina, Maria, and Mama Mimi (who was just 18 when she cared for the girls).
Another day we traveled to Quezaltenago to visit with some other retired "mamas", but that story is for another day!

Buckeye Girl Goes South

When my husband Randy and I decided to move to South Carolina in 1984, little did I know how much our lives would change. We traded in our snow tires and began our adventure south for sunshine and year round '' sweet tea''!I grew up only 37 miles south of Lake Erie. When my parents decided to retire here, Randy and I wanted to join them. The first day moving into our apartment my new neighbor shouted "hey" and I jumped in fright. I was soon to learn "hey" was another way of saying hello. This expression was one I quickly found myself using as well. I also found y'all very handy when I was  teaching and I wanted to address all of the children y'all seemed such a handy term. ''You guys'' soon sounded foreign even to my northern ears.
One of my students missed the bus so I volunteered to take him home. I remember him telling me "to turn over yonder and turn back to the right",''what did he say?" I thought to myself.We eventually found it after some hand motioning on his part. 
I admittedly had some preconceived notions about the south that have proven wrong over the years. The first wedding I attended here was what I thought all southern weddings would be like. The bridesmaids came down the aisle in hoop skirts and parasols just like Gone with the Wind. The gowns were even different colors! I was soon to learn this was not the typical southern wedding.
I love the way the children here are taught to say "yes or no ma'am and yes or no sir'' from the time they are in diapers. Have you ever heard Oprah interview a convict? You can always tell they are from the south when they say, "Yes, ma'am I sure did shoot his head clean off."
Randy and I thought we better teach our own children manners like these. We certainly did not want them to be considered ill-mannered children. It is funny that when we go north and my children say "yes ma'am'' the adult almost always tells them not to call them that as it makes them feel old. It should make you feel respected not old!
I do miss my Buckeye state at times. I miss being able to open my windows in summer to get some cool air, good Italian restaurants, family and friends, people that have known me since I was a child, being around others who are Ohio State and Indian fans and yes, even the snow is something I long for sometimes(just not the shoveling and driving in it).
In the south,I did not realize I would be viewed by some as a foreigner and intruder in their land. I thought the Civil War or the "War of Northern Aggression "was over more than 100 years ago.I did not know that when people are rude or bold others would say, "well, he or she is a Yankee". Even my son who works at a grocery store would tell me he could tell who was a Yankee not just by their speech, but by the way the person treated others.(ouch). I did not know I was the one with an accent! I did not know I would sweat from 90 plus temperatures from June-August.
Well, before you say get back on that northern bus, let me tell you what I love about living here. I love the innumerable days I wake up to sunshine, I love how friendly people are here, I love living in the Bible belt, I love living a short distance from the mountains and only 4 hours from the beach, I love the dear friends I have made that have become like family, I love little children calling me Miss Kim, I love having sweet tea year-round and getting as many refills as you want for free in restaurants, I love the magnolias trees and crape myrtle,I love the variation of southern accents and expressions, and I even love grits!! 
In two more years, I will have lived here as long as I have lived in Ohio. When I cross over will I be more southern than northern?? I don't think so. I believe I will  have my Buckeye roots forever. I will just have Palmetto tree branches. So there you have it,a Buckeye and a Palmetto and in the end they are both trees!