Feliz Día de la Madre to all the mothers out there! As with most
holidays here in Santiago, Mother’s Day (which was on May 10th) was
full of festivities and fun. The holiday was celebrated by dedicating an entire
school day to presentations by all grades that included poems, silly skits,
dances, songs and prize giveaways. All the mothers were invited and it was a
really special day that all the students put a lot of work and preparation
into. Some of the sections included the participation of volunteer moms from
the audience and it was so fun to see them let loose with the activities. The
school was decorated with streamers in all different colors and each grade made
a really big poster with drawings and poems dedicated to their moms. I was
loving every second because it was like having a ton of acto civicos rolled into one! The cuteness was oozing out of every
corner of the school. All the kids were dressed up in their finest traje (even the little kindergartners!) and
their poems, dances and songs were really heartfelt and sweet. Of course, they exceeded all expectations. I
can’t imagine how proud and honored their mothers must have been. 
I myself even partook in a dance with all the other teachers
at the school! We performed a traditional Guatemalan dance and wore the
traditional traje, which is a long,
white huipil with stripes, a cinta, scarf on the shoulder and head and
bare feet. I was really, really excited because I find Guatemalan traje and textiles especially beautiful!
My favorite part was the cinta, which
is an incredibly long piece of narrow fabric that is wrapped again and again around
your hair and then your head until it forms a large, almost disc-like shape. There
were a lot of people there and I was probably a little more nervous than I
expected but our dance went really well! During the dance, incense in a small
metal cup hung from a chain is swung around. Smoke filled the air and it was
really pretty. During the rest of the day, I wore traje (the huipil, corte and faja) and it was so fun because all the kids were so excited to see
me dressed up! They were all so cute, giving me compliments and asking to take
pictures. Even the moms wanted to take some with me! It’s not every day that
you see a gringa in traje haha It was
a really wonderful day and one that I will surely never forget. It was so kind
of all of the teachers to help me with everything and lend me all of the
beautiful clothing. It was one of those times where I felt so lucky because not
everyone gets the opportunity to partake in such a special event. 
At Panul, they celebrate Día de la Familia (family day)
instead of Mother’s Day. On Friday they had a presentation that was similar to
the one at Chu’ul. During a poem reading, the little kindergarten girls came
out wearing big flowers with their heads in the center and I just about died! Seriously,
no words can describe how cute it was. They also did a modern dance to “Hips
Don’t Lie” by Shakira. They were doing little hip-shaking moves while two boys who
looked like little pint-sized reggaeton stars circled around them. They were
wearing stylish sunglasses and it was absolutely hilarious. Some of the moms
also did musical chairs and a dance competition that was so much fun to watch. At
the end, everyone got a slice of cake and delicious tamalitos. Lucia, the principal, made my friend Alvaro (who also
comes to Panul sometimes) and I feel like such special guests. It was another
experience that I felt so lucky to have been part of. What great memories!
Last weekend was my 22nd birthday and I decided
to go to Antigua with a friend to do something special. Antigua is only about 3
hours away but I had only ever passed through. Being one of the most visited
places in Guatemala, it was crazy that I had never been so I decided to take
advantage of the weekend. I also wanted to go before the rainy season really
started getting going so that I could enjoy all of Antigua’s famed terraces and
courtyards. Antigua was the country’s first capital and remained that way until
a huge earthquake ruined a lot of the city and they decided to move the capital
to present-day Guatemala City. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to
its impressive Spanish colonial architecture, churches, convents and
monasteries. It also is framed by two volcanoes (Agua and Fuego) which make for
a breathtaking backdrop. I love Antigua because scattered all around the city
are beautiful ruins intertwined with the colonial architecture that you stumble
upon like little antique treasures. All the streets are cobblestone and are lined
with colorful buildings covered in vines or bougainvillea that open up to
gorgeous courtyards. Antigua has the most expensive real estate in all of
Guatemala and it is very chic and classy. There are lots of 5-star hotels (many
of them are converted colonial convents or mansions), fine dining and great
cafes on every corner. It is really European-esque and I spent hours wandering
aimlessly looking at all of the pretty churches and buildings. It was a really
memorable birthday in a really unique city and I had a great time. We had
wonderful food (crème brule AND chocolate lava cake for birthday dessert!),
spent the night dancing to meringue and reggaeton and met some fun new friends! 
This week we are filming the 6th grade pen pal
video. We are going to have 7 different sections showing the traje of
Guatemala, food, a Mayan ceremony, a song, presentation of artwork, modern
dance and clips showing the kids playing their favorite sports. We have been
practicing all the parts and it’s been really fun helping the kids and letting
them be really creative with it. They are a great group and I can’t wait to see
how it turns out.
