The eagle has landed!

My first post in Guatemala! Gorgeous Santiago Atitlán and I have finally met after relentless flirting through google image searches and lonely planet entries. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship :) My journey started in Guatemala City where Liz, her friend Paula and I stayed at a great hotel and I had a luxurious (and much needed) shower and sleep. We left the next day to drive to Santiago. To get there, we drove from Guatemala City and eventually encountered a twisting mountain pass. Increasing in altitude with each turn, I finally saw my first glimpse of the lake and Santiago and it was far from the image I had created in my head. The volcanoes were larger and lusher, the colors of the textiles brighter and the stunning tropical flora even more exotic. Women dressed in traditional huipiles step to the side as tuk tuks whiz by and dodge speed bumps while men sporting cowboy hats watch the commotion on weathered pastel steps. And the kids! With their big brown eyes, you can’t stop staring and smiling. Pictures can never quite capture what a place really looks like and Santiago was no exception. I have been here for a few days now and so much has happened, which is why it has been so hard to keep up with my writing! La Posada de Santiago, where we have been staying, is a cute, rustic little place made up of several stone cottages. Hammocks beckon at each turn and the restaurant serves homemade ice cream that is so sweet and creamy you feel like you can’t quite possibly eat another bite, until (obviously) you give in and do because it’s just that good. You can see the volcanoes best in the morning so I have climbed up the stairs above our cottage to take in the beautiful view each day, where the clouds hover right over the top and the rest of the sky is left a blazing blue. But now I must lead in to the best part of my experience here, the school! Upon arrival at the school each morning, there are always niños waiting at the door radiating eagerness for the few hours of camp. We start camp around 9 each morning and let the kids (we have guessed about 75 each day!) pile in to the classroom where they have free time to read books and play with toys. Then, we continue on to an activity. Liz and Paula have found the cutest things to do with them about kids around the world. They are so excited to show you their work and it’s equally as exciting to see their faces when you tell them what good work they have done. Although I have babysat and been a nanny, I have never been around so many kids! They have the most infectious enthusiasm for anything we do, no matter how simple it may be. In the classroom, it appears to be pure craziness but if you look closely, you can see each one working so hard on what they are doing. You can tell they care so much about what they have and especially, who their family is. The older girls watch over the younger ones so closely and are always looking out for them. They have to be so mature sometimes, but deep down they are young girls and it makes me happy knowing they can absolutely feel like that for a few hours at camp. Like the little kids from around the world we have talked about at camp, kids are kids no matter where they are from. They have their ups and downs, they love unconditionally and they learn from every experience they have. The real difference is where they happen to grow up. They don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else in the world. Although the niños really aren’t that different they have different fates in life. But I think it’s wonderful that the Sparks Foundation and all the other people who help in this community may have the ability to change that or at least make it better. I’m so happy to be here and I hope I will be able to help as much as I can because I already love these little niños!