Kayalá Looks

Here she is looking up from her changing pad to the weaving and mobile above.

Visit to the park

We are lucky to have a lovely tree-filled, swing-filled park in our neighborhood, just 4 blocks away. The other day Chely, Kayalá, and I visited the park with our downstairs neighbor Maya.

The park:

The slides:

Swinging - "push me higher, Maya!"

Maya carrying Kayalá:

Climbing, reaching, stretching:

Strolling sisters

Chely rolling Kayalá around our apartment.

Doll stroller

Edwin wanted to see if Kayalá would fit in the stroller that Chely uses for her dolls.

She did...barely!

She enjoyed riding in it up and down the terrace.

Languages

What language will Chely and Kayalá use to talk to each other?
I wonder.

At our house it's easy to tell who is talking to whom just by noticing what language is being used. If it's English, it means it's me talking to the children, or Chely talking to me. If it's K'iche', it's Edwin and the children. If it's Spanish, it's Edwin and me talking to each other. Chely and her imaginary friend Pimbili speak their own language together; we call it "Pimbilese."

When Chely was first learning to speak, she would mix up the languages. She does so rarely now -- at least not with vocabularly -- though her grammar in any given language is a hodgepodge of the three forms. And sometimes she translates things directly from one language to another, and the result doesn't completely make sense. In Spanish you can say "está rico el sol" which basically means "the sunshine feels good" but she translated it literally one time as "it's yummy the sun"!

A particularly funny moment happened in Santa María Tzejá on New Year's one year when she mixed English and Spanish. The word "water" sounds a lot like "guaro" in Spanish, which means licor. In asking for water, she kept saying "quiero [I want] water" which to folks there made it sound like she was asking for alcohol! At the time members of Edwin's family were drinking a pineapple homebrew so it was particularly apt -- and particularly funny to them.

It is an incredible blessing to be able to teach our daughter three languages. Three populations to relate to, three ways to communicate, three ways to see the world...

I'll write more on this topic another day, but for now I'll just encourage you to participate in the languages poll located on the upper right-hand side of this blog (update 09/03: poll now over).

Fun on the slide

Dancing Queen

Love and Sadness, by Chely

The other night as we were going to sleep, Chely said that she wanted to tell me "four things that I love and four things that I am sad of." I'd like to share them with you. I have tried to use her original wording to the extent that I can remember.

Four Things that I Love:

One is my mommy that I love,
Two is my tatki [dad] that I love,
Three is Kayalá that I love,
Four is Cresh [cat] that I love.

Four Things that I am Sad of:

One is 'cause some kids don't have a house or food.

Two is when we went to the book fair with Gus and I saw a book about the dog that didn't have food or house and went and looked in the trash to eat.

Three is 'cause Shannon and her family are leaving of their house.

Four is 'cause I miss my uncles and my Bamba and my Gus and my Abuelito and my Xaan.

Story time with Chely

Chely, in her pyjamas, "reads" I Can Go Potty.

Visit from the Abuelitos (Grandparents)

This past weekend Edwin's father (a.k.a. Abuelito, "grandfather") and stepmother (Xaan, pronounced "Shah-ahn", meaning "grandmother") came to visit. We were worried that they might be bored in the city, but far from it! Everyone had a wonderful and rich time.

Abuelito and Xaan got to meet their new granddaughter, and they held her lots.





Chely repeatedly launched herself into Xaan's arms or Abuelito's lap. In the evenings she would seek out Xaan and relax in her arms, falling asleep there.




Xaan embroidered a beautiful blouse in the traditional Q'eqchi'* style for Kayalá. She'd made one already for Chely with her Mayan name embroidered into it. Here Chely is wearing her Q'eqchi' outfit while Xaan works on Kayalá's shirt.
[*Q'eqchi' is one of Guatemala's 22 Maya groups, each with its own language and cultural particularites. Edwin is of the K'iche' group, and Xaan is Q'eqchi'.]


Xaan brought a live rooster that she had raised on their land, so on Saturday we enjoyed a delicious meal of organic, free-range, incomparably fresh chicken. Several visitors came to the house over the course of the weekend, and on Sunday we strolled around the local annual "feria" (fair) where we rode on a huge slide and a ferris wheel, played marbles, ran into some friends, and ate fried dough with chocolate syrup (churros con chocolate). Mostly we hung out talking, story-telling, catching up on news from Santa María (their home community), and laughing.



Thank you for blessing us with your presence, Xaan and Abuelito. We love you!

Chely and Kayalá

More smiles

Chely Script

This says "Edwin":

"Ali":

"1 2 3 4 5":

A Tribute to Friends

This past Sunday we had to say good-bye to good friends. Shannon and Luis and their children Liam and Diego moved from Guatemala City to Kentucky.

Shannon and I have been friends since I first came to Guatemala, and we have had parallel lives in a number of ways. She has been a constant presence in my life, a supportive, perceptive, and cherished friend. We both came to Guatemala as human rights accompaniers and have held jobs in similar fields since then. We've shared the joys and the challenges of being North Americans living in Guatemala. We were single together and lived together in an apartment in zone 2 of the city.

Shannon and Luis met and fell in love right when Edwin and I were deepening our relationship. I'd known Luis already through the Witness for Peace house and was so pleased that these two wonderful people had found each other. We got married at around the same time. Our older children are 7 months apart and the little ones just 7 weeks apart.

When Shannon gave birth to her second child Diego, her older son Liam spent the night at our house. He and Chely woke up in the morning laughing! And when my water broke and I went into labor with Kayalá, Shannon, Luis, and the kids were visiting, and they brought us to the hospital.

Shannon and Chely:

Luis and Diego:

Our families have shared many good times and commiserated during the bad. When my aunt Janet died, Shannon was the one to break the news to me and comfort me. She and I were together during the shock of 9/11. Over the years we have supported each other through personal tragedies and political crises alike.

Together we've celebrated births and birthdays, human rights victories and Gerardi anniversaries, holidays and arts festivals. Shannon and Luis have traditionally hosted Thanksgiving in their home, delighting us with their warm company, exquisite fare, and lively conversation.

Liam visiting us in the hospital after Kayalá's birth:

Chely holding Diego:

Diego has passed down clothing, a comfy bouncy chair, a dinosaur boppy, and a splendid bathtub to Kayalá. Chely gave Liam, an avid airplane lover, two toy planes when they left, and Shannon reports that Liam carries them everywhere he goes.

Edwin and I are honored to be godparents to Liam and Diego.

Edwin, Liam, and Chely:

Helping Liam take a swing at Chely's birthday piñata:

The de León Lockhart family has been at the center of our lives for so long that their absence leaves a big hole. I miss them terribly...

Shannon with Kayalá and me with Diego:

My mourning at their leaving makes me reflect anew on the pain and sadness of living far from my family. Just as Shannon and Luis have their reasons for moving to the States, we have our reasons for living in Guatemala. Nevertheless, I feel horrible to cause grief in others by living far away. I am sorry. I miss you all.

* * * * *

We wish you the best in your new life, Shannon, Luis, Liam, and Diego. Thank you for the love, the friendship, and all the precious memories... We will hold you in our hearts always.

Diego and Kayalá:

Liam and Chely: