Eight days a week

This week the time to renew our visas snuck up on us, reminding us of the constant theme of how time flies.  The trip to the immigration office in the capital went smoothly and I enjoyed seeing some of the city as the only other time I've been there was at the airport.  Knowing that we've got it all done is a nice feeling :)
Other than that, we had a normal week of school and the workshop in the afternoons.  I think  lot of the kids (and maybe teachers...) were getting a bit antsy as all the excitement of Holy Week is coming up, and for many vacation.  I'm also pretty excited to see what spending Easter will be like here and it was fun incorporating Easter with the workshop.  One day we made crosses out of popsicle sticks, yarn, and paint.  My kiddos were pretty exciting about wearing them and we got to talk about Jesus for bit too. 

And this weekend, me and Charlotte ventured to the volcano Pacaya.  It was really great to go for a hike, be in nature, and learn a bit about volcanoes.  It was a pretty cloudy afternoon, so we actually weren't really able to see anything.  However, this didn't really ruin our time and the fog actually looked really mysterious and peaceful.  I liked it.

and, we got to roast marshmellows from the natural saunas, that is, originating from lava!

Yum!



sooo semana santa... big week,  also known as holy week, starts our adventures as tios and tias with our sections and all the festivities that go with Easter.  I think a lot of volunteers are excited and nervous and happy for a change of pace.
There's no debate that the absolute hardest job is being a caregiver or a tio/tia for a section.  You are always with the kids - to make sure they do their chores, to talk, to make sure there not getting into too much trouble, and to build relationships with them.  This last part is the greatest fruit that comes from this exhausting position, having the closest and most meaningful relationships.

Although my section is Santiago, a group of 12-14 year old boys, I will be spending semana santa with the section of kids with special needs.  I'm really happy with this because I love these kids and it'll be really interesting to take part in all the Easter activities with them.  We're going to have services for the last supper and Good Friday and Sunday Easter morning and also a huge Easter egg hunt.   It'll definitely be an interesting and out of the ordinary week. 

I will probably be too busy and too exhausted to blog next week, so I hope everyone has a great Easter!