Tuesday was another haircut day which meant the porch of the main house was crowded with Pequenos and students from a local beauty school who were volunteering their time to help keep the kids' hair in line. It's always entertaining to see what this actually means. For the boys it's a rather safe venture; they usually leave the chair with their head shaved. The girls on the other hand come out with all kinds of interesting styles which make me think I will not be getting a hair cut in Mexico anytime soon. ;-)
Wednesday was difficult. For some reason it was a bad day in that I was really missing home. Those kinds of days happen every once in a while to all of us volunteers here. It's kind of like walking a thin line: on one side, especially when with the kids, we're ridiculously happy and grateful to be here as a part of these kids' lives; on the other, we're teetering on the edge of deep sadness and loneliness for home, family, and friends. Thankfully, we're kept busy enough and surrounded by our kids enough that the second part usually doesn't catch up with us too often and when it does it's only for a brief moment before a smile or hug brings us back. Wednesday was just one of those days when the sadness caught up with me and I had a lot of trouble shaking it. Eventually I did with the help of Taylor Swift. :-D For some reason, her music reminds me of home in a good way, but also helps keep me happy with my reality here. It was also my Dad's birthday (getting up there at 64!) and so I was able to chat with him on Skype that night while he opened his present.
It was a busy night. Wednesday also marked the first official convivencia between the directors of the house and the new volunteer group. It used to be a tradition to have monthly dinners between the directors and the volunteers to help improve relations and communication, but these meetings were suspended with the last group. We finally made a decision to revive the convivencias and Wednesday was our first attempt. The volunteers were solely responsible for the location and food, making us a little nervous about setting the standard, but everything turned out great. I even received a compliment for how clean the sala looked! The food was delicious and a nice departure from the norm of the house (we actually ate chicken which almost never happens here anymore) and I think everyone had a good time. It started off a little awkward at first, but Marinay was great at helping break the ice and we played a few games after we finished eating. All in all a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next one!
Thursday night was the big party for kids with February and March birthdays and the volunteers were required to help out with. A special meal was prepared with the extra treats of soda, ice cream, and cake. There was also a present for each birthday put together from donations given to the house. Music, food, and presents, what more could you ask for?
Thursday night was our weekly single ladies' night. Wesleigh, Monika and I chose Remember Me as our entertainment. We've really come to look forward to this night. It's such an easy, fun way to unwind at the end of the week and before any of us leave for descanso the next day. Especially since I don't have descanso with them and Monika has such a different schedule from us, having such a specific time together to catch up and relax is important.
Thankfully, this weekend was my descanso which I chose to spend in Miacatlan for the first time in a long time. I had a lot of things to do, none of which required Cuernavaca, and I've become very conscientious of money lately so it just seemed like the natural choice. The weekend therefore has been very simple and relaxing. I did spend Friday morning working with Grupo D which was new. I think this might become a regular thing each week during school. Grupo D consists of students who need extra attention. This might be because of attention difficulties, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, or a simple lack of education before coming to the house. Regardless, Grupo D is composed of 8 boys and 1 girl of varying ages. Monika works with them all week in addition to her section responsibilities, but Friday morning she is left alone with the kids and required to provide an activity to fill an hour and a half. Due to recent shifts in staff, she needs help and so Wesleigh and I on Friday decided to try it out. I think it's going to work. It will be challenging, but worth it.
The rest of the weekend I spent largely on the computer: watching movies, organizing photos, updating my blog (:-D). Eating, exercising, and sleeping were my other main activities. Thrilling, I know. Definitely a fun descanso for me! And I was able to hang out with the working volunteers. Sunday was a little different. First a snake tried to crawl into our sala twice freaking me out completely as I HATE snakes. Apparently this snake, Mr. Stripes as I've come to call him, lives in a hole in our patio. Hopefully he either won't try again or we'll figure out some way to kill him. Unfortunately, our sala door has enough space under it for this particular snake to crawl under. I now live in fear of discovering Mr. Stripes somewhere within our sala. Not a pleasant thought. The other big event of the day (which might possibly be the cause of the first) was a huge thunderstorm which actually included a heavy downpour. We've had our spritzing, our windstorms, and our lightening, but no actual hard rain. It had been a really hot day and the rain cooled everything down plus as an extra bonus brought a fresh scent with it. A surprising conclusion to the weekend. And it leaves us all with the question, has the rainy season come early to relieve us from such oppressive heat, or was it just a brief relief before the hot season really starts?
Wesleigh celebrating our first real rainstorm in Miacatlan. She's a little red from a day spent at the lake with the kids without sunscreen.
