Day 7

Sunday was spent entirely with homestay families.  We did a “Walk in your shoes” activity for the students to be able to see what the life of a person in Mayan Center Village is like. We spent our day with Vicente and Juana Pau and their family. We started our morning with an amazing breakfast of johnny cakes with jam. We then headed out to the river to wash some clothes. We were taught by the daughters in our homestay the proper way to wash clothes in the river.  Typically the girls bathe in the river after finishing with the clothes, but the four of us headed home when we were finished.  Sunday was a special day for the community, it was 8^th grade graduation.  Many of the families spent most of the day cleaning and cooking in preparation for dinners and parties.  We helped Juana make tortillas (130 to be exact) with Alva and another woman from the community.  Josephina, the youngest daughter of our family, took us around the village to deliver various letters and pictures to families from past Awty students.  We got a chance to visit with Hercita and her family, Lisa’s homestay from the previous two years.  We met her new baby and got to visit with Edison, her 4 year old son. 

After running errands, we came home and had a leisurely nap in a couple of hammocks that were in our kitchen.  It was amazing, and hard to get up, but we needed to shower and change for graduation.  We then attended the primary school graduation. Due to some technical difficulties, the graduation started an hour and a half late. Everyone in the community attended the event. The graduates sang some songs, there were multiple speakers, and there was a ritual torch passing that occurred to the tune of chariots of fire.

After the graduation, we were able to go back to the homestay and have dinner with a few other families to celebrate Jessica’s (a child in our homestay) graduation.  We had Fanta, chicken stew, and delicious corn tortillas.

We really enjoyed our day with the family, and appreciated the opportunity the see a full day in the life of a community member of the village.  The other students seemed to have enjoyed their day as well.