This past Thursday, October 1st, was el Día de Niño. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought a tiny gift couldn’t hurt. So the eve el Día de Niño I found myself in the Bodegona (Antigua’s grocery store) looking for a gift for my host sister, and also for thicker toilette paper (I’ll save that explanation for another post).
The day felt a little like Christmas. I wrote a note to go along with Gaby’s new purple pony, and put it next to her cereal bowl. When I got back after my Spanish classes, she thanked me and tugged me to her room to show me her, now bigger, pony collection.
That night, my host mom’s family came over for pizza and cake to celebrate Gaby. And Gaby wasn’t the only ecstatic niña, as I have been craving pizza for the last two weeks.
Gustavo, my host dad, made a toast to Gaby and mentioned something quickly (si, en español) about celebrating a new niño, while gesturing at his wife’s belly. That’s right Flor is pregnant! And guess who gets see the whole process? Me. Guatemalan style!
After dinner someone suggested breaking out the photo albums. Let me take this chance to describe my host family a little bit more. My host dad, Gustavo, is a doctor, working in a forensics lab and also as a surgeon. We’ve had a lot of good conversations about people with disabilities, economics, and Obama. Gustavo, and my host mom, Flor de Maria, are both from Antigua, and were friends from high school. Flor has a part time job at an office in the center of town and also manages a house she rents to volunteers. I can tell, from their pictures as sweethearts and by their actions now, they thoroughly enjoy each other and their family.
Gaby is a 5-year-old, who loves two things (1) animals and (2) pink. And she doesn’t like her homework. And who does? Especially before 1st grade! I guess being a kid in Guatemala isn’t just ponies and pizza.
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