Stairmaster 3000, Guatemalan Style

Today is the end of the 12th Mayan baktun, aka the end of the world! Tonight, there will be a lot of celebrations in Antigua, as this country is full of Mayan descendants. If we're all still here, I'll tell you how that goes! (And we should be, seeing as it was just a misinterpretation).

Yesterday was another great day with los ninos. We spent most of the day outside playing tag and then played soccer until someone kicked a goal and the ball got lost. Two of the kids had such a look of defeat on their face when they couldn't find it, but we're going to try to get them another one. Instead of playing any organized games, the kids started doing relay races up and down the stadium stairs and got us volunteers to join in. We'd run down the stairs from the top, tag up with someone waiting at the bottom, and then they'd run up the stairs.

The cycle kept repeating. I loved when it was my turn because as I ran, they would chant "Kayla, Kayla, Kayla" while I flew down the stairs hoping not to fall flat on my face. There's just something about 14 Guatemalan kids screaming your name in a Spanish accent. We all probably got a few hours worth of exercise with the ultimate stair master workout.

Back at la casa, we also did alphabets, name tags, and ended up folding paper things like hearts, little snakes, airplanes, and boats. One kid, Alejandro, is great at making the boats... He'd go set them in the sink full of water, and we'd laugh when they sank to the bottom.

The kids taught me how to say a ton of things in Spanish today like snake, boat, play, etc etc. But thanks to these Spanish classes I'm doing, I can pick it up even better. I'm doing them for two hours a day, and I actually am kind of proud of myself for retaining so much. Knowing French is a huge help a lot of the time. All the grammar rules are very similar, and when in doubt, if I throw an o on the end of the word, it is actually a word in Spanish, but there are a few differences here and there.  My French accent hasn't come out too much either, but it still happens. The biggest problem I have is not speaking French but Spanish like I did in class the other day (whoops). So for those of you worried about my "skills," no need to fear anymore! I must say, between running around like a ten year old and functioning in three different languages in one day is rather exhausting.

A nice way to top of the night was with a parade we accidentally found on the street to celebrate the days leading up until Christmas. I hope they don't run out of things here for me to buy because this is where I plan on doing all my shopping!