Santa Claus and Heartbreak!!

So...it has been way too long since I posted a substantial blog update! Things in Guatemala have been very busy and everything taking place has been amazing! I want to focus this blog around the kids at Santa Maria de Jesus and give everyone an update! Over the past few weeks I have been teaching two separate classes; a morning class filled with around fifteen 7-8 year olds and an afternoon class comprised of fifteen 10-11 year olds. Each morning as we pull into our stopping point in Santa Maria we are greeted by five or six kids who want to carry our backpacks and give us hugs. The amount of love and energy these kids possess is extraordinary! We have been working on multiplication, addition/subtraction, reading a clock, vowels/consonant sounds, writing, geography, etc. We have seen a lot of progress within the two classes and kids who seemed to be withdrawn and behind have made some good gains. I think this can be attributed to giving the kids some positive feedback and spending extra time with individual kiddos who are struggling. My fellow teacher, Aviv, has done a great job with this and together I think we did make a difference during our time in Santa Maria. Kids like Edwin, Maynor, Marta Julia, Adda, Mayra, and Wendy who were not understanding material began to realize that they could do the math problem or they could create something without having to copy, etc. The kids have been a blessing to me and have helped me to put many things in perspective. Many of the children live in multi-family settings with multiple siblings. Further, many of them work with their families in the fields and must work around their work schedule to attend school. Also, many of them have lost family members to death including a parent(s). Yet, not one child goes without brandishing a smile each day and school seems to be the place they can be a child and reach into their creative and fun sensibilities and mentalities. For me, I have realized that kids have the same traits and characteristics wherever one goes. You see the bullies, the shy kids, the daredevils, those boys with their shiteating grins, girls and boys who have crushes on one another, girls and boys intentionally segregating themselves from one another, the whiz kids, the kids that struggle, on and on. The big difference here though is that these children were born in Guatemala and have less opportunities than kids in the UK, or Canada, or the United States. Some of these kids are overwhelmingly intelligent or instinctual yet I wonder how far they can really go in a country where upward mobility is a painfully slow realization. Yet, these kids come from families where education is a privilege, not a right. In Santa Maria, more and more girls are receiving an education and GVI and the community are making this a priority. I hope the minds and hearts of all these children can one day be honored the way the should be and deserve to be. Today, we celebrated December birthdays and Christmas with all of the kids from the morning and afternoon classes. This included some of the older children who are taking English classes and doing remarkably well! Well, I was asked to be Santa Claus and I happily obliged. I left the fiesta a bit early and Santiago helped me dress up as Santa Claus. When I entered the party as Santa, the kids all shouted and looked at me in astonishment as I carried bags of gifts purchased by GVI. I hugged every child today and gave them their gift and the kids were so happy. The gifts were simple, a spiderman figurine or a notebook with a pen, or a small plastic play set for the girls, but the kids loved each of them and coveted them. It was a wonderful day rounded out by the traditional Christmas food of tamales, ponche (fruit punch), bread, and a dessert (doughnuts today). But...today was the last day of classes in Santa Maria before the break and our group heads to Honduras on December 27th! I said some goodbyes to many of the kids but it has been a bittersweet day as we were hit in the face with the fact that our time at Santa Maria has come to a close. I feel so blessed to have been a part of this community and this school and the memory and legacy of these kids will forever be engrained in my memory. The last child I said goodbye to was Hennri. He is about 10 years old and is hands down the smartest kids in the afternoon class. Hennri has big dimples and makes me laugh with his slyness and dancing. For these reasons and others he is one of my favorites. Anyway, I told Hennri that I think he is very intelligent and that I think he will be president of Guatemala one day and that the future is his. He did not thank me but simply smiled and said yes as if he was agreeing with me and had already planned this. Then, he gave me a hug and told me he did not want me to go! Just one example of how neat this place is. Driving away from Santa Maria de Jesus I could not help but put my sunglasses over my eyes and try to hide the tears that were falling from my face. I guess that just makes me human and I hope to return here someday.