The Magic Wand

They say time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana. Time certainly goes by quickly, but I think fruit flies are faster. We’ve been eating beaucoup banana for the past several months. We cut the bunches off our organic trees and string them up in the kitchen at the school. Everyone at the school loves to sample the selection, and kids are always coming by and asking for bananas. Our harvests have been bountiful and delicious, and though we eat them voraciously in all imaginable manners (in bread, as pudding, with yogurt or solito), the fruit flies still get their share. Five entire bananas can virtually disappear overnight, leaving nothing but a small strip of blackened peel. I find them quite the admirable adversary, really. It’s a sort of friendly sparring that reminds you just how good the bananas truly are.

The last three or four months have been full for us. After coming off a rough spell of it in October and November, we spent most of December trying to relax and vacation a bit. We went to the beach here in Guatemala for the first time and had a wonderful time eating fish, swimming in monster waves and releasing baby turtles (you can see pictures in our Picassa albums - "more pics" link at left). Christmas here was a welcome change from the consumer chaos in the US. Here it’s a big party, with everyone sharing tamales in the street and lighting off fireworks. At midnight on Christmas Eve, each town around the lake lights off the biggest fireworks display they can muster, and from our house we had a spectacular view of three different towns’ shows. Right after Christmas an Italian friend of ours celebrated a surprise birthday party on a chartered boat. We spent the day cruising around the lake, eating on a beach, swimming out in the middle of the bay of Santiago. It was a magical day, filled with friends and fun.

In January we went back to work and formally launched the first full academic year for our school here in San Marcos. After the back-to-school craziness settled, we set straight to working on our accreditation with the Ministry of Education, planning for the construction of our next classroom, searching for new teachers for next year, and fundraising with gusto. It’s a lot of work, but it’s exciting to see the kids everyday and feel the rhythmic heartbeat of this school in its infancy. You can read more in our updates at the web site: www.EscuelaCaracol.org

Courtney's parents came to visit for the first time in March, and we enjoyed our Semana Santa vacation with them (Easter week). I think Guatemala made quite the impression on them.

We’re currently conducting a search for our grades teacher for next year as well as a new kindergarten teacher. After this year, Courtney is going to step down as our kindergarten teacher. The reason is, well, really it started with Althea and a magic wand that she requested for Christmas. A friend of hers said that she was getting a magic wand for Christmas and Althea asked her if it would work to wish for a baby sister. Soon Althea had us writing a very important letter to Santa requesting the wand. To our chagrin, Santa delivered at the last minute. Two months later, late one night, as Courtney and I peered over the results of a cheap Guatemalan home pregnancy test, Althea listened slyly from her room where she feigned sleep. When she heard us laughing with near astonishment over the significance of two lines, she began to giggle with uncontrollable glee, chanting, “you’re pregnant, you’re pregnant!”

Althea takes full credit and responsibility for this turn of events, and she is quick to assure us that she’s on diaper duty.

So, yes, we are pregnant and expecting another child during the first week of November. Althea and I have a friendly dispute going over whether it’s a boy or a girl. I want a boy, personally. It all seems to be happening so fast. We’re just trying to keep up, roll with the punches, and enjoy the bananas as much as we can. In that way, sometimes, the keeping up can be its own reward – it keeps you in the present moment.