Warmer weather......

This week we decided to improve the ward by putting up some more posters on the walls to try to stimulate the children a little more as they spend quite a bit of time inside. So armed with some quetzals(local currency!!) we went off to the market in search of the usual Disney characters, as well as Kung Fu Panda and Spiderman…… very popular with the older boys. There was quite some excitement as the more able children returned to find new stickers on their cots and the walls. Sadly most of the younger ones are unaware, but we know and we hope that it will help. Strangely enough, after my comments last week about the one and only CD, the hospital received a donation of CD’s and DVD’s from the USA. The CD’s are being used in the wards, but the DVD’s will be used in other wards with much older and more able children, as well as in the school within the hospital.
This week I had quite a strange experience with a couple of the children. Usually the children are fed in their chairs but if they are unsettled or unhappy we take them in our laps and feed them. So one morning I picked up a little boy and as I settled him in my lap his mouth started searching for a breast, I was surprised as it had never happened before. I later found out the reason why. Many of these children, when they go home during the vacation, go to very poor families. Often the families have at least two or three much younger children. Consequently the mother breast feeds them all, because its much cheaper to feed the mother than all the children as well.

The children have been much more settled this week. The onset of warmer weather has meant that we have been spending quite a bit of time out in the garden playing with them and getting the older ones to try and walk a bit in their walkers, or try to crawl across the floor. Though most just want to cling onto my legs and get a free ride!! The physiotherapy pool is being prepared, it is being cleaned and the heaters checked as the temperature has to be just right to ensure the children don’t seize up while in it. Hopefully we will be able to use it next week. … and yes I have been asked if I can help with that as well which of course I will!!
This week, we have also been cleaning and sorting the store cupboards, where one of the nurses discovered new bowls, curtains and blankets, so I have once again spent quite some time labelling everything in black nail varnish. The older, more able children have sat and watched, so I have now started to call out the letters and encourage them to try to repeat and recognise them. The aim of every day here is to try and stimulate the children as much as possible and enable them to make connections at all levels.



I have also been going into work at the weekends and assisting with the usual daily routine jobs and have some time to chat with the nurses. Which we all enjoy, as I get some help with my Spanish and they laugh and giggle and have fun as I struggle...

I mean its easy to mistake bibs(baberos) with drinks(bebidas) !!

Lesley leaves on Sunday to spend a week in the villages translating for a team of doctors from the USA. She is leaving me in charge!!!




Ermita De La Santa Cruz
Antigua



This week Antigua has been hosting The Piaz International Festival of Culture, held every two years since 1991. It is now one of the most important cultural festival in Central America. The programme includes, dance, music, opera, theatre and more. It is held to promote and contribute to the cultural development of Guatemala and the performances are held in some old ruins just outside Antigua. Having read about it, I bought a ticket to go and see a dance performance. I took a tuk tuk to the ruins and was not disappointed by the setting…the old crumbling church ruin surrounded by trees set against the blue skies was perfect, just as the sun was going down and the evening light was changing, a slight chill in the air. It reminded me of my desire to go to the open air Opera performance in Verona.. Within minutes the place was full as many people from all over Guatemala and surrounding countries took their seats to see the dance performances by a group of international stars. The performance was ‘Forever Tango’. It was enjoyable though a little too long for me……..as I left and searched for a tuk tuk to take me safely home, the sky was darker and the stars twinkled as the dancers prepared for their final late night show, which would undoubtedly be much more dramatic!
There have been many groups playing marimba music in the streets watched and applauded by passers by on their way from one place to another. The warm evenings has meant that more people have been out and about in the park to enjoy the dusk drawing in and the tress fill with the constant chatter of birds. It has also provided an opportunity for various brass bands to serenade the families and couples enjoying the evening air and the constantly changing landscape of the volcano .
As we move into March, the city prepares for its most famous event; Santa Semana week, and I prepare to visit Guatemala city to see SANTANA in concert at the stadium… who would have
thought!!
Enjoy
Adios amigos
Goodnight

Xxx