Child-magnet

As many of you know, I have a healthy obsession with children. From their quirky little habits to their hilariously innocent inquiries, I just love everything about them. No matter what the culture, the first people I am drawn to are the children. They are such bundles of energy, creativity and joy. Before coming to Guatemala, I had high hopes that I would build friendships with children and this is what I have done. Let me tell you about a few of them.

Hide and Deek Boy
I must reiterate the power of silence. There is such depth in being able to enjoy the company of another human without any words spoken at all. I must also introduce to one of my most favored form of human interaction-the wonder of games! (Allison, how I hope you learn to like them!) Let me introduce you to a game called street hide and deek. My Wiscy housemate, Shannon (she’s from Wisconsin therefore I gave her the most endearing name I could possibly come up with) and I were walking down the street to the bank and I spotted a little fella hiding in the inlet of a doorway. I of course jumped on the opportunity to play along with the game he was playing. I crept up to the doorway and then jumped around the bend and playfully tickled his tummy. And then the games began! The game proceeded as such: I would run ahead and then when I felt I had given him enough time to catch up, I would turn around. At that moment, I would see his head duck down behind a car or deek into doorway. This game kept up for about three blocks until we reached the bank and then all the way back. It was amazing!! As I neared my final destination, I asked him his name, but he just answered me with giggles. I sadly never discovered this little wonder’s name, but do hope that Hide and Seek Boy becomes a regular playmate in my life.


Lovely Lady
Lady is a precious young indigenous girl from a village just outside of the city of Antigua. Yesterday, Leanne and I ventured into a new church where we were welcomed almost immediately with name tags and coffee. (So you can picture my existence here, my name is Root. Most people can not say the ‘th’ in my name, so I resort to telling people my name is the feeding tube of a tree) I did my usual scanning for children to hang out with and my radar sensed a precious smiling face. Before I could even initiate a ‘hola’, she was at my side, sitting in the seat next to me. I initiated a fragmented conversation and was delighted to hear her sweet voice answering my questions. The beauty of talking with her was that she allowed me to make mistakes in my Spanish and helped me when I struggled. I quickly discovered that she had a little brother and that she was ten years old. She loves mathematics and art. I am brainstorming ways in which we can bond over either one of those two things. As the singing began, she quickly grabbed my hands, making us a clapping team. (If we were graded on keeping time, we failed. But if we were graded on teamwork, we definitely won.) Then, she wrapped her little arms around my waist and clung to me the rest of the time. I just felt a beautiful love from her-essentially a stranger. Her ragged clothing, dirty hair and worn out hands saddened my heart, but what I saw beyond her appearance was a precious young girl that was filled with love, acceptance and joy. I look forward to spending time with this gem in the future Sundays.

Shoeshining Antonio and Domingo
Oh shoeshiners. They are definitely my favorite humans in Antigua. I struggle with their profession greatly because it seems entirely belittling and a form of forced humbling. I feel it creates a hierarchical scale that frustrates me. Despite their daily struggle of rejection and neglect, these little boys are the sweetest and most precious humans. Two such boys caught my eye this past Saturday. They were walking around the park looking for customers when we ran into each other. I gave them a big smile and both of them blushed and ran away. However, they kept coming back and smiling at me. I waved at them and they both giggled right out loud. I sadly had to leave and was unable to talk to them. The next day, however, our paths crossed again. They were working though so they did not come and hang out with me. However, that night, as I was walking home, I saw them eating with their mother. From the setting, I realized that they are indigenous children of a woman who is a vendor by the cathedral close to my house. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they are a very poor family from what I could see, but that did not seem to stop them from finding joy in life. When I said ‘hola’, they both squealed with delight and were saying a lot of things I could not understand. We had passed them, but I looked back and waved at them. Before I knew it, they had run up to me with food-filled smiles spread across their face. It was hilarious because the look on their faces quickly changed from delight to “what do we do now”, as if they had not thought through their purpose of running up to me. Their expressions brought me such happiness. I got down to their level and asked them their names. The older of the two was called Domingo and the younger was Antonio. They were ten and six, but due to stunting (which is a severe problem in Guatemala among indigenous children specifically due to malnourishment), they looked more like six and four years of age. We had to leave, however, not before getting a hug from both of them. Their precious blackened hands touched mine and I immediately became so overwhelmed with a love for those two boys that it brought tears to my eyes. Again, they are strangers, yet I experienced love from them with very few words exchanged. We will be friends again. I will be sure of that.