The prom I never had

Recently I listened to an episode of This American Life with many different stories and each of them about prom. The first was a story of a group of kids who had a tornado hit their town while they were in prom. The others were stories reminding us of how important the prom may or may not have been to us at the time. Looking back on my prom I can't help but think of how much money I must have spent on that evening. And not only that but how much money our student body must have spent on it. And in all honesty, I'm not sure that I had that great of a time. This past weekend I was able to attend a prom like after graduation party here at NPH.

Everything about it was lovely. The thing that struck me the most was that as far our standards go in the U.S. for a prom, the decorations were fairly simple. Here at NPH it's not like there is a huge amount of money flying around so spending money on extravagant things like prom decorations is not the biggest concern. But I can say without hesitation that the kids seemed to have more fun than I did at my own prom. Every single person spent the evening dancing for hours in the hot heat.

I was also so thankful that we as the volunteers were included in their celebration. The kids never failed to make us feel welcome in their circles of movement. This year prom was filled with dancing, laughter and sincere excitement that you cannot buy. 

Here are the volunteers and I taking modeling tips from Natascha for our prom photos.

Graduation weekend

Our first weekend here in at NPH is a big one. The graduation weekend. Friday we went to Miacatlan for the graduation for the kids leaving kindergarden, elementary school and middle school. The majority of the ceremony is the same as it would be in the states but the unique part is that all of the graduating classes perform a dance for the audience before they get their diplomas. Yes, even the kinders. Cute. Very cute.

What struck me most about these graduations was actually that many of the kid's god parents, or sponsors, flew in for the graduation. I found it quite touching that so many people have such personal relationships with the kids that they sponsor.

Saturday was the high school graduation followed by a dance where the other volunteers and I danced the night away with the kids. They were filled with such joy that it would have been difficult not to have a good time at this function.

Here are a few pictures of Miacatlan and the graduations.

!Felicidades! 

Some faces to the names.

As I stated in my last entry. There are two locations that are relatively close to one another here in Mexico. One in Cuernavaca and the other in Miacatlan. Bailey and I will be staying here in Cuernavaca where our language school is and the rest of the new volunteers will be working in Miacatlan. Although we will not all be working together on a daily basis we are getting quite close. I feel that we have created a small family and I want you all to know a bit about them.

Oh and perhaps you might like a back story regarding these photos. Natascha who I will talk about later, bought us all these little chocolate eggs. They look like a cadbury egg. But inside is a toy. Her generosity mixed with our childlike curiosity created an immense amount of entertainment. But hey, I guess since we will be making about 2 US dollars a day we will need to find new ways to entertain ourselves.

First. Bailey. I have mentioned her before. Fellow Seattlite but went to school in Portland. Studied Biology and minored in Spanish. A vegetarian and perhaps the most interesting sense of humor I have ever witnessed. She can make me laugh almost hourly.

Second is Natascha. Natascha is from Switzerland and is going to be the physical therapist at the orphanage. As far as I know, Natascha knows German, Spanish, English and perhaps some French. There could be more but either way I am impressed as I am struggling to learn only my second language. Today we learned that Natascha was once a runway model and even trained by J.Alexander of America's next top model (also pictured below)

Next is Becca. Becca was a Spanish major and is from Boston. Boston, I would like to add is one of the cities in the world to where I am most called to be one day. Becca is so excited to see the children at Miacatlan and her enthusiasm is intoxicating. A fun fact about Becca is that she loves to read Broadway world, which I can only assume is like a news website about what is happening in the world of theater.

Alli. What is there to say? I already adore this girl. She is cute and spunky and was a kindergarden teacher. Just like Becca she is full of enthusiasm and excitement to play games and sing songs with the kids. Perhaps they will do some real work as well. She hates vegetables but she loves to dance so I think I'll let the vegetable thing slide.

And last, but certainly not least. The only male in our group right now. Sean DeWolf. Sean is PreMed and from The SanFran Bay Area and is going to work in the health clinic in Miacatlan. Sean has a sarcastic sense of humor that always keeps us on our toes. He is also helping me a lot with my Spanish which is very kind of him.

And that is our little group of new volunteers here at Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos!

24 hours down and 8,736 to go.

I am happy to report that I turned 24 on the 1st of July. Yay for finally being in my mid-twenties. Then on the 2nd I went to the wedding of my dear friends Carrie Pope and Dave Smith. The wedding was lovely but sadly I had to leave sooner than I wanted due to the fact that I needed to finish my packing. Later that night I was exchanging tearful goodbyes with my friends and flying to my new home.

I met Bailey, a fellow volunteer on the plane from Seattle and we are getting along very well so far. We have a lot in common and she is very sweet.

Once we arrive in Mexico City we still have to travel to Cuernavaca. Thankfully we were picked up by the volunteer coordinator. I am not totally sure how long the car ride was because I slept the whole way to the orphanage. After a small amount of settling in we went out for tacos which were AMAZING. Bailey is a vegetarian so it is nice for us to have each other. I am gathering that she is thankful that I understand her way of thinking. But as some of you may know, I have been practicing being carnivorous for the last few months, and let me tell you, slow cooked pork tacos are fantastic. Holy Hannah. I am in heaven with this food.

For the next two weeks I will be in language school in the morning and then orientations in the afternoon. I am feeling optimistic and excited about improving my Spanish but at the same time I am a bit embarrassed because my classmate is a 15 year old boy who is kicking my butt. His name is Ben and we have a strange relationship. At first I felt that he was very proud to be better (only slightly) at Spanish and that he was talking down to me a bit. But then once he found out that we had similar taste in music I think he fell in love with me. He says he will play me some music on his guitar sometime. I'm just hoping he shares his Spanish work book with me so that I do not have to buy one.

The NPH orphanages in this area are separated by age. I will be in Cuernavaca but the other location is Miacatlan. Miacatlan has the younger kids and where I am is the older kids, the high school age. At first I was disappointed not to be around the young kids at least a little bit, but now I am getting used to it and I think I will enjoy this location. It is a much bigger city so more to do and see. Also. I hear the cook at my location is a bit better than the other so that is music to my ears. Today my lunch was scrambled eggs with some veggies in them along with beans and toast and then TONS of fruit and then you can put salsa on the eggs and beans. And to drink is a like a fruit water. I think they pureed some cantaloupe and then mixed it with water. Muy interestante!

Thus far I have enjoyed every second of this experience. Of course I get nervous and fear that I will not be qualified enough or that my Spanish will never improve to where it needs to be. But the other volunteers are so supportive and encouraging. I have faith that this will be a good move for me and that it will be a transforming experience.

Pictures to come!

Mid twenties. Here I come.

A lovely Seattle day for a Birthday adventure.

Farmers market on a boat.

It was a surprise to me as well.

Salad buffet.

Girls in the kitchen.

Glorious food.

Blood orange infused olive oil mixed with Cucumber melon balsamic vinegar.

Check.

Fancy cocktails made by Molly Anne.

Check.

Chocolate Stout cake.

Trust me. It's amazing.

Girlfriends.

Volunteer Park Cafe.

Only good things happen here.

Our Chicken friends.

My little fairy named July. A gift made by baby Sam at fairy art day camp.

Snack time.

Lime and cilantro cookie, I believe.

Adding changes to our Birthday fun list.

Post cards are for lovers.

My Birthday gift of sound.

Monica's mind is blown.

Sunbathing.

Writing postcards to our loves and to strangers.

Hand pies for Lunch.

A dramatic afternoon nap.

Three reasons to end the day with Molly Moons ice cream.

1. It was my Birthday.

2. Becca got a shot. (see snoop dog bandage below)

And

3. Becca would argue that EVERYDAY is a Molly Moons day.