Alive and kickin'

I have very definitively dropped the ball on keeping this blog updated. A ton of big exciting things have happened since my last post. I'll try to give a brief recap on the most notable occurances since January. :)

All in all, life has been good...I treasure my time spent here and I'm trying to make the most of it because I know it won't last forever. Sure, there have been some disappointments and discouraging things, but most every day has been blessed with at least a few small wins, big laughs, good conversations, silly occurances, and fun times.

• In January I was able to go to my first Visitor's Day, which is one of two times a year the kids' families are all invited to visit the house in Miacatlan. It was a day filled with playing games with some of the kids who didn't receive visitors and I also got to meet some of relatives of the kids I love. Highlights were meeting several aunts, uncles, and cousins of the famous family here that has SO MANY cousins at NPH. They are some of my favorite people, so it was cool to meet their fam. Also, I got to meet some hilarious family members of some of the goofiest/weirdest (I say that with affection) kids and understand exactly where they get their oddball personalities from! How fun is that. I was told to expect the worst but hope for the best on Visitor's Day, since it can be a day of heartbreak for the kids who wait expectantly all day for a visitor who never arrives. I was pleasantly surprised by the maturity of our high schoolers and also by the fun in meeting some new people and telling funny stories of their kids to them. I'm looking forward to the next Visitor's Day in July.
  

• In February I made my decision official to commit to another six months in Mexico! I will now be coming home to stay on Christmas Day of this year instead of in July. Mexico, get used to me. North Carolina, it won't be too much longer! I realized that, in the scheme of my life, there was no way I could regret staying at NPH an extra 6 months.
  

• Valentine's Day was a very special day at the house with the high schoolers. My roommates and I put together little gift bags of candy, body washes, earrings, and silly bands to give to each of the kids. A huge thanks and special shoutout to everyone who helped make that night so special for the kids...to lots of friends and Winslows who donated the body washes and to Kati Berlin, who amazingly made over 75 unique pairs of earrings by hand so that each girl could receive a pair. The point was for them to feel extra loved and I think it was accomplished! Also, we went out for tacos that night with the year of service kids which was a big treat and fun times hanging out with them.
  

• February 16-22 was NPH's International Family Weekend....which is a large annual convention of meetings of all the national directors of the NPH houses in 9 countries along with the boards of directors, important people from the fundraising offices, big donors, and child sponsors. My job leading up to the events was that of registration coordinator, which involved keeping track of everyone's arrivals and departures, transportation, hotel reservations, making nametags, helping out with all the special events especially the godparent/godchildren stuff, and while it was going physically manning the NPH desk at the hotel for 12 hrs a day. The hotel we stayed at was gorgeous and it was wonderful to put faces to names and meet some very interesting people who are doing lots of great things. All in all, though I'm so glad it's behind us and I now know that I don't really want to be super involved in coordinating huge events like that ever again. After 2 months without a complete weekends off, I was exhausted!
  

• Two weeks after the Family Weekend, I got permission to work a week in Miacatlan when UNC's Chi Alpha came for their spring break mission trip! This was a huge treat because I got to spend time with some dear friends along with having the chance to spend more time with the sweet littles. One section that really stole my heart was the Grandes B boys, which are boys around 11 years old. The Chi Alpha team that visited painted their dorm and I realized some projects for my work in the Sponsorship office, including throwing a birthday party for one of the boys in Grandes B. I got sick towards the end of the week, which stunk, but it was still such a fun time!
  

• My birthday in mid-March was a day filled with lots of joy and tons of surprises. While I was sad to not be able to see my family, I realized that the kids and my other friends here have become like a second family to me. They showered me with love and suprises from the moment I was woken up at 5 am by several of the kids coming into my room to sing "Las Mañanitas" to me up until late that night, when I came back from dinner to find our apartment decorated with Winnie the Pooh balloons (the kids affectionately/goofily call me Winnie Pooh) and Jane's famous brownies. Thanks to everyone for a day filled with lots of love.
  

• Danielle's wedding was a beautiful and special time in Tepotzlan, a picturesque small town in the mountains, about an hour away from Cuernavaca. Danielle is a former volunteer who now works in NPH-Mexico's administration and was a lovely bride. She married a Mexican man, so this was my first Mexican wedding I've attended. The NPH high school students studying tourism were the waitstaff for the reception and it was great fun to share the experience of the day with them as well as lots of other friends.
  

• The day after the wedding, I found out I got into UNC's School of Social Work! I'm so excited that I'll be back in Chapel Hill again eventually to study in such a great program. I've deferred and I'll start school in August of 2012...which seems like forever away right now but by the way time is flying, I know it will creep up and be here before I know it.
  

• Matt's Surprise Visit! Matt is a sneaky guy and although before he had told me he was planning on coming to visit the first weekend in April, he later told me that his boss said it wouldn't work out. My dad convinced him to tell me he was coming on Monday of the week he came because I was naturally starting to think about what I was going to do on my weekend off. Matt showed up on Wednesday afternoon and stayed until the next Tuesday morning...almost a week! We did tons of exciting things while he was here including going to Six Flags in Mexico City with Edith and Sarah (volunteer buddies), playing soccer with the kids at the house (Matt bought some new soccer balls for them), walking around the centro some, and he even took me out to eat for a late birthday dinner at Italianni's, a delicious Italian restaurant in Cuernavaca's swanky mall. Thanks, Matt, for being so awesome. Maybe someday I'll be able to repay you for your generosity...doubtful, but we won't rule it out!
  

• Semana Santa and Easter is a very special time at NPH Mexico. The kids get a whopping 2 weeks off of school! Yikes! In the afternoons and nights we had really intense girls and boys soccer tournaments. In the first few games I scored a lot, which was rather exciting, but eventually our team of the "Encargadas" including female volunteers, directors, and year of service girls ended up in 4th places...err. On Thursday, we closed up shop here in Cuernavaca and all the high school kids and their posse (directors, volunteers, etc.) headed to Miacatlan for the rest of Holy Week. We arrived for mass on Thursday night, followed by dinner and more fast-court soccer action. On Good Friday we had a "prayer service" at noon (which honestly I can't figure out how it was not a mass) followed by chillaxing, lunch, and then later a Cuernavaca vs. Miacatlan full outdoor field soccer game in the blazing heat. Despite the Miacatlan girls dominating, we somehow held our own and ended up tieing 1-1...with a notable amazing performance by Edith in goal, per usual, and me scoring our only goal, yay! After soccer, we all felt like we were going to melt, so we jumped into the pool and went swimming for a bit before dinner. After dinner, roughly 500 kids all grabbed spots outside of the chapel to watch "Passion of the Christ" on a not-nearly-big-enough-to-actually-see tv. Even so, I love being there spending time with all the kids like a family. Saturday was el Sabado de la Gloria, the day of NPH's traditional house-wide water fight. We had brought some water balloons and immediately walking out of the dining hall after breakfast, no one was safe from getting soaked in the water fight mayhem. Hilarious times ensued. The fight ended with everyone jumping into the pool and swimming for a while. We all took showers and packed up and the whole Cuernavaca crew headed out after lunch. On Easter morning, while the kids went to mass, we hid eggs for a huge housewide Easter egg hunt after church. Before the hunt, though, Father Phil gave everyone a chocolate egg and we all shared donuts and hot chocolate. After the egg hunt, which included some eggs for prize money (1 golden egg, 2 silver eggs, 1 bronze egg, and 97 plastic eggs) and some real eggs filled with confetti and flour (someone definitely cracked one on my head), we took it easy and continued playing massive amounts of Scum the card game, which here we call Presidentes y Mensos, jaja.
  

• On Wednesday, since the kids are still on vacation from school and there is a fair going on not too far from where we live, all of the high schoolers got to go to the fair! This was a super fun treat for them, as they all were given around $13 to spend at the fair...buying clothes/jewelry/bags/*hilarious sunglasses*, getting food, or going on rides. I tried my first boli, which was yum and refreshing. Mostly I wandered around with several kids, just trying to see everything. It was a blast!

I have this weekend off so Edith, Mario, and I may try to escape somewhere relaxing....I hope we do! So that's my update on the major/most exciting things that have been going on lately.

Comfort the fainthearted, Uphold the weak, Be patient with all

I found this post that I'd written on Feb. 6th that I'd never posted. January and February were tough months here and I think this reflects that. On a positive note, things have gotten better and life goes on. :) I think I didn't post it at the time because I felt like it sounded dramatic, haha.



This week I was exhausted, discouraged, frustrated, disappointed, and sick with a rotten cold. Sometimes I'm tempted to miss the forest from focusing on the trees. I made the decision to commit to staying here in Mexico at NPH until the end of the this year instead of leaving in July as originally planned, and I think to myself "Am I crazy"? One thing I remember, however, is that I'm not here for easy times. It's silly for me to hope or expect it to be easy. Things are messy when people are involved. I get cranky when I'm denied sleep. I have run to God desperate and with my face down, humbled more than ever before, crying out for the people suffering around me because when I'm honest with myself, I am not the one suffering.

The other night I was passing out in my bed when I grabbed my little devotional book from which I read a few Bible verses every night. One verse caught my eye as I was reminded what I'm called here to do and even just upon reading it, I was reminded of the hope living in me.

I don't have much else to say besides I'm joyfully surrendering to the hope that when things aren't easy, God will bring us through on His strength.

Here's the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5 - Comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

That's my plan!

Just checking in...!

Happy New Year! I apologize for not having updated sooner. Surprise, surprise, things have been moving at breakneck speed and I don't find myself with much sitting around time.

I didn't write about Thanksgiving and my family's wonderful but quick visit or about the craze that was preparing for Christmas at NPH. And I won't now. HA. I will just say that it was so great having my parents and brother here in November and that it was hilarious/fun trying (and let's be honest, in some ways failing) to get everything together for Christmas. Our awesome dance with the Cuernavaca year of service kids didn't end up coming together, but Edith and I did write a really funny parody song called "El Encargado" (a parody of "El Enamorado" by Los Titanes del Durango", look it up). Sooner or later, we plan to make a music video of it that will take youtube by storm. You just wait.

After much pondering, I have decided that how I feel here at NPH follows a three or four week rollercoaster patter, which I blame for my frequent pure exhaustion.

week 1: Life is amazing. I am with the kids, things are 'tranquilo', we are all enjoying the routine and each other's company.

week 2: Something (or more like 5 things, especially if it's last week) major and really not good happens. When you live in a community of 200 and then about 600 (including the little kids) and then about 800 (including the kids in college), major life events...good and bad...happen all the time! This week we are like !!!WHAT!!! I'm not blaming the kids, nor am I trying to be overly dramatic, but that's just life. A lot of life has been happening around me here.

week 3: We are recovering from the insanity of week 2. The other volunteers and I find ourselves worn out and praying that nothing else crazy will happen.

back to week 1 again: Nothing crazy is happening. Life is wonderful....then BAM!

That said, I am learning to surrender things to God a lot more. Sure, I knew I was just me, soooo much less than a superwoman (that's my roommate Jane, btw), but I am seeing more and more that while I'm not useless, I'm limited. Extremely limited. Problems seem to abound in limitless amounts. The hope I hold onto is that I know the only Unlimited One. And the cool thing is that when I look for what He's doing, I see His mercy in every tough situation.

I'm also learning to appreciate weeks 2 and 3 in this crazy cycle of life and to look around at the others who are going through this with me. What weeks are they experiencing?

Gotta go, just wanted to say that I love it!

Several días festivos: All Saint's Day, Halloween, and the Day of the Dead

El Día de los Santos

Just eight hours after I arrived back to Cuernavaca from my trip home, I woke up at the beautiful hour of 5 am to celebrate one of the most fun days of the year at NPH-Mexico: El día de los santos (All Saint's Day). It is a day in which they celebrate all the kids' birthdays. The kid mariachi band goes from dorm to dorm, playing "Las Mañanitas" to wake everyone up, from the youngest kids to the oldest. It is a shame we don't celebrate this one in the US.

Edith (my roommate and fellow volunteer), Veckry (one of the full-time caregivers), and I went down to the house at 5 am to first wake up the estudiantina (band) boys who were sleeping in the game room. They sleepily grabbed their instruments and we all quietly sneaked up the stairs to the large girls' dorm where the girls in 10th and 11th grade sleep. Once we were inside, the band arranged themselves in the middle of the room and after a "uno, dos, tres", began to play "Las Mañanitas" a traditional mariachi song for All Saint's Day. A rough translation of the song is: "These are the mañanitas (good morning songs) that King David sang. Today, since it's your saint's day (your birthday), we're singing them to you. Wake up, my dear, wake up! Look, it's already morning. The birds are already chirping, and the moon has gone away." It sounds way better in Spanish.

Lots of the kids groaned and pulled the sheets over their head, but some excitedly popped out of bed to join the group in singing to wake up the next section of kids. The girls especially had fun waking up the boys and mercilessly ripping their sheets away from them so they had to get up.

After "las mañanitas", everyone gathered on the patio and was served Tres Leches cake (delish!!) and hot chocolate. Some kids opted to go back to sleep but lots were up for good and were ready to start enjoying their day off from school. Several wanted to watch a movie so I ran upstairs and grabbed our dvd player to put on a movie down in the game room. Unfortunately, I had to go to work that day 8:30-1:30 like normal. It was so weird to have been up so long before going in!

Halloween

That night we celebrated Halloween with the kids since we hadn't done anything Sunday night. Several kids dressed up spooky-like...I was a "rockera de los 80" or 80's rocker girl. Upstairs in the big family room there was a dance contest of people in costumes and it was pretty hilarious. I was unwittingly roped into joining some girls in dancing to Lady Gaga in front of everyone, haha.

After that, there was a haunted house that several kids had put together in the little garden pathway down close to our house. I hate being chase, grabbed, and spooked, so I helped them with the smoke machine as people passed through. If disturbing people so much they puke is a sign of success, the haunted house was a great success. Lots of kids were hiding in the dark off the side of the path and threw food waste at the kids passing through....which is really disgusting. I was sitting off to the side and got hit several times, ugh! Fortunately, I didn't find out until later what they were throwing...it was dark and I just thought it was fruit or something.

El Día de los Muertos

I was really excited to see and experience the Day of the Dead in Mexico, because it is something we don't have in the US. I wanted to see what it was all about. I wasn't sure if it would be something like a Mexican Halloween. In the end, it was much more religious in nature than I was expecting.

The kids also had this day off from school. After getting up and having breakfast and they did their chores, we had mass at 11 am in the dining hall. There was a huge table set up on which was placed lots of flowers and tons of sweet goodies. There were calaveras, or sugar skulls, chocolate bars, and fruit, among other treats. This was the offering that was placed out the night before for the dead to come and feast on.

The mass that morning was very sad to me. It was to honor the deceased relatives of people connected NPH and to celebrate that they are now alive in heaven. The hardest part was when we all stood and Father Phil read a list of the deceased. It broke my heart to hear the last names of so many of the kids here that I love, as we honored their parents and other family members. I don't know how they do it, but these kids are tough cookies. I was trying not to cry but the kids stood there attently and strong. I really admire them for the strength they have, even if for some it may just be a front. Sometimes it's good and right to feel sad about sad things.

When the somber mass was over, the kids were called up according to section and were allowed to take treats from the offering to eat and we got pan de muertos, or dead bread, and hot chocolate. I grabbed a calavera and some flowers to take up to our house.

The rest of that day was super chill. We enjoyed a traditional meal of mole for lunch along with more pan de muertos. I just spent the day hanging out with the kids, watching movies, playing pool, getting sucked into telenovelas, you know, the usual.

The excitement of this week made leaving home again and coming back to the house a very easy transition, of that I'm thankful. I have to admit, though, on Wednesday, I was glad the kids were going back to school and that we picked back up with the normal routine...celebrating all the time can get exhausting!

I'll add pictures of the holidays soon!

Home, Sweet, Home

Can I just say I love my family, I love my friends, and I love North Carolina? But I do love my life here in Mexico a ton, too.

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to dash home for a few days. It was so wonderful to see my family and several friends. It was not too surprising that it was somewhat odd jetting back into my old NC life for a hot second. I had few moments of reverse culture shock that were kinda fun. Everything seemed easier in some way back home.

Some things that really stook out to me were: flushing toilet paper, drinking from water fountains, speaking English, seeing white/black/Asian/Indian (insert any other race besides Mexican) people, driving my car, eating American food, and shopping in US stores besides Wal Mart.

Some things that had changed in my absence were: the trees were the beautiful reds and oranges of fall, a Bojangles popped up down the street from my house, my mom got some pretty new flowers for our front porch, and now there's a Krispy Kreme on Franklin St., not to mention my brother currently has a low-functioning leg :( (is that nicer than calling you a gimp, Matt?).

Some of the things that haven't changed really caught my attention including my dog Grace, flipping out upon seeing me again and the fact that walking into my bedroom at home was like time-travelling. There was all my stuff just sitting there, lots of which I had forgotten about and realize I don't really need (but I like, but I forgot about, but I still like...it made me feel a little guilty, if you catch my drift).

My weekend was jam-packed and lots of fun!! Here's what I did:

I got in at 5 pm on Thursday night. My mom and Matt picked me up from the airport and we went directly to my favorite restaurant, La Shish, for delicious Greek food. After that, we went and did a little shopping for things to bring back to Mexico. We went home and I got to see my Dad and the dog. We talked for a while, I showed them some pictures, and we watched a goofey show before heading to bed. I was exhausted because I had woken up at 3:45 that morning (4:45 EST, but still) to take a taxi to take a bus to get to the airport.

Friday was my crazy day. I was slightly concerned when planning Friday because of how many different people I wanted to see, but it went really smoothly! I got to go see my grandma that morning, which was great. I grabbed lunch with Matt and my dad then went over to Brier Creek for some quick shopping for the kids. I got coffee with Jennifer and then booked it over to Chapel Hill to see Katie and grab dinner with Allison. Later, we met up with several friends at Yo-Po and ended up heading over to Allison, Priya, and Sue's apartment to talk and play a game. It was awesome to get to see everyone!!

Saturday I accidentally slept in and we just got ready for the wedding and headed to Greensboro. Laura and Stephen's wedding was beautiful and it was so great to see all the Winslows!! I'm excited for the next family wedding at New Years (Jenny & Dee's).

I will post pictures from my trip later on when I'm writing from my laptop (I'm on my work computer right now).

The best thing about going home was getting to spend time with my family.

I was so excited about coming home but was a bit worried that it would make me sad about leaving again and going back to Mexico after three days. It was sad and not fun to have to say goodbye to my family again. But coming back to Mexico was nothing like leaving the first time, and as soon as I got back, I got to hug the people I missed and jump right back into all the crazy activities that make up my life down here.

It was good to realize that when I got back to my apartment here in Mexico and saw my roommates and the kids, I felt the "home, sweet, home" feeling again...yep, I have a good life, regardless of what country I'm in.

a lesson in humility and love

Well, I have definitely failboated on the whole 'let's keep my blog updated' plan the past two months or so. I'm working on a update post but currently I'm at work and actually have some rare free moments, so I figured I should relieve some of my guilt and post a little update!

Things are going great. Sure I have days when I am exhausted or down, but don't we all? I am 100% thankful to be here and share the experiences I am having with the kids here. I have all but thrown homesickness out the window, not because I don't love and miss you all back home, but I think God's been teaching me a new level of humility. Every time I'm tempted to complain or to sigh about missing someone, I'm reminded about the lives of the people I interact with all day. There is no way whatsoever I can complain about missing someone to children who may not have seen their family in over ten years...and they are fifteen, or to someone who may not even have family.

That said, it is sometimes sad and always very humbling to be here. I feel so thankful for my loved ones but so thankful I can be here and love and be loved by these kids. They are incredible. Whenever I start to feel sad about the rotten things in this world that lead to the need for places like NPH, I am reminded of how much more beautiful it is to see these kids succeeding and turning into more hilarious, more talented, more intelligent, and more beautiful people every day. I wouldn't change this opportunity to be here and share their daily lives with them and maybe not be someone important for them, but be someone here for them, someone present with them for the highs and lows that come with being a teenager. 

Some days, when I'm sitting watching the kids play pool or dancing like a maniac with them during Zumba, or greeting them as they come through the food line at meals, and I'm particularly tickled by something they say....sometimes at those moments I'm tempted to think about all the awesome moments their parents are missing from their lives. But it's at those times I'm reminded and so humbled and thankful that I could have this almost sacred opportunity to be a witness to their lives and to be able to know without a doubt that they are caring, funny, quirky, amazing people. 

One phrase came to my mind the other week when I was in the shower (the place where all of the best ideas surface, no?) and was reflecting on my life here at NPH. Despite frustrations or tiredness some days may bring for me here, I can't say I'm not loving it because let's be honest, I'm living my dream. The simple thought that came to me is "living a life of love is loving the life you're living" and I think it's absolutely true. No one has to move to Mexico to see the truth in this, but I think being here has given me a new clarity on what's really important. If it's loving, check, do that thing. If it's not, ehh, maybe don't do it! 

(Side bar, an awesome 2 verses to check out---> Ephesians 5:1-2. We don't have to make up how we should love from scratch, God and Jesus paved the way for us and showed us how by loving us first...it's so much easier to know how to love someone else when you know that you yourself are loved!)

Well, that's my update for now, but I'm working on my "real update post" where I'll have some more details of what I've actually been up to all this time. LOVE YOU!!!

trips and fireworks and nail polish

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while! Tonight I decided to record a little video update because that's easier than writing things out, but the file is too large and it won't let me upload it! Ah! 

I have had a great week and a half but am currently very worn out...hence the lack of updating. 

Last weekend we took a whirlwind trip to Puebla and Oaxaca. It was really fun to get out of Cuernavaca! Edith and I had dinner in Puebla at a lovely Italian restaurant and enjoyed the Zocalo (center) until Erika arrived later that night. We had to leave Puebla really early in the morning for our bus ride to Oaxaca, so I want to go back to explore! Puebla was so lovely- it had gorgeous architecture. Oaxaca was exciting as well! Highlights were meeting ex-NPH volunteer Tamara who was there as well has her friend and an Austrian guy and two girls from Denmark in our hostel, who we spent some time with. We went to Tule and saw the Tule tree, a 2,000 year old tree. There I got rose-petal nieve (ice cream, minus the cream, I guess like shaved ice) at the mercado...it was soo yum! On Sunday we went to the ruins at Monte Atlan and I was impressed! It was a beautiful day and the ruins were humongous...how had I never heard of this place? I'm low on my Mexico knowledge! We also went to visit a small town where, according to them, is the only place in the world where black pottery is made. We went to the store where the family who invented the shiny black pottery still works and I bought a couple of beautiful, cheap pieces! I got a medium-sized piece of pottery for 40 pesos! That's $3.15!! Such an insane steal. We also got to watch them demonstrate how they make the pottery, which was very neat. We tried the famous Oaxacan chocolates and Mexcal (creamy liquor) before leaving on the bus at 11 pm that night. That's right- we travelled through the night and got in around 6:30 Monday morning! We took a cab and got back around 7 am, just in time to hop in the shower and out the door to get to work at 8:30 am! I was pretty worn out this week, but I'm still glad we went on our trip!

This week has been super fun! I'm getting to know the kids even more and enjoy spending time and joking around with them. They like to ask me for favors, and I like to comply, when I can. I know some of them are pushing to see what my boundaries are, so I'm trying to bend over backwards for them (because that's part of why I'm here, right? ...to show them I care about them) without reallly bending over backwards too much, because boundaries are our friend. :) For instance, a couple of times I put on movies to watch with some of the kids but they started to ask me to watch movies every day. I explained to them that it's not as special if we watch movies every day..and we should do other activities! 

Speaking of making things not special anymore...Mexico really likes celebrating with fireworks and parades. Every freaking day. What began as an observance has become a pest, because there are loud booms and wayyy too perky parades at 7 in the morning and 12 at night (and at any random time in between) pretty much every day here! I have been told they are celebrating different saints' days, so I feel intolerant to complain, but that doesn't really stop me. It's not a party if it happens every day. Nor is it a party if it just sounds like gunshots suddenly and happens several times a day. I'm starting to tune it out.

Another random story from my week---I have made friends with the deaf/mute kid here at the house. He is not completely deaf because he always has his headphones blasting his rap in his ears, but he can't hear you if you talk to him. No, Mom, he's not deaf because of his rap. He is obsessed with Lil Wayne though, it's pretty funny. I shared some of my music with him so I had a good time trying to communicate through slow and repetitive Spanish (he can read lips) and lots of hand gestures...such a challenge, but definitely worth it! Also, he is not completely mute, he can say "Gracias", but that is pretty much the extent of his speaking ability. Can you imagine how hard that would be? Juan Manuel is a really funny and easy-going guy. He even let me be on his team for pool tonight....I tried to explain to him that probably wouldn't be good for him because I'm bad, but he was quite the caballero, haha. I love watching the kids play pool and waiting for my time to play...which is always short because I lose so fast! 

As for painting nails, I bought some new colors this week...emo colors because the kids requested them. The girls love painting their nails and hilariously enough, several of the boys ask us to paint their nails, too...black or blue, though, because they're manly like that. I get a kick out of it. 

Tomorrow we are planning to do karaoke and I can't wait! Some of the kids said they are too embarrassed to sing but I told them I'd sing a reggaeton song and will make a fool out of myself, hopefully they enjoy that. 

That's about all for now, I gotta get to bed! I really do feel like I'm living the dream, the more time I spend with the kids, the better things have gotten. Of course, it's not all rose nieve, but the good stuff is definitely out-weighing the bad and I'm enjoying my life here. I think having a schedule helps, although today I was thinking about how strange it is that our life (more like their life, but I'm going with the flow) is determined by the ringing of a bell...for meals, bedtime, events, etc. 

K, as always, I send my love! And come visit!!! I probably think about my brother's upcoming visit 100 times a day because I'm so excited! We are going to have so much fun! 

Love,

whit