This September is a big month in Guatemala. September 11 is the presidential election (every four years), September 15 is Independence Day, and September 30th is "Dia de los Ninos."
Even though it's just three days on the calendar, Guatemalans will celebrate all...month...long.
The month-long celebrations spill over into the schools and Samuel's school is no exception.
Already this first week of September, we've had a special event every day. Take a walk with me through this week at Angel Gabriel, Sam's school.
Monday, September 5 - Art Day - Each student was told to bring an original work of art to school to participate in an art show. Sam submitted two original works of art. Can you tell which ones are his? Sometimes I think Stephen and I don't fully understand the private-school-Guatemalan culture and miss a beat or two. :)
Tuesday, September 6 - El Desfile (Parade) - I'm still not sure exactly what we were parading on Tuesday, but most all of the preschools in the city lined up to march the streets.
Unfortunately, Sam only made it through a few pictures and the line-up. We found out later that day that he had tonsilitis! He's a tough guy! Pregnant mommy wasn't too sad about missing the mile long walk with the preschoolers and her two-year old, who most surely would have insisted on being carried.Wednesday, September 7 - Cake Decorating Contest - We missed this at school due to Sam's illness, but decided to carry on the fun at home...especially since we had already bought all the materials. Sam is quite the cake decorator, don't you think?
Thursday, September 8 - The Talent Show - By today (Thursday) Sam had almost three days of antibiotics, no fever, and was doing so much better that he decided to participate in the school wide Talent Show.
We had drummers....
We had clowns....and yes, those are fake boobs on a four-year old. :)
We had magicians....
And we had jumpers! Sam came up with the idea all by himself. He decided that he wanted to show everyone how well he can jump. Mom assisted by gradually adding blocks to impress the audience with how high he can jump.
Can he do it? Three block? YES!
And four blocks?!?! Oh, yes!! Congrats, Sam on a fantastic job in your first talent show.
Although Sam's act was my personal favorite, I don't think it was Sam's favorite. :) I'll close by telling you about Aranza.
Aranza is four years old. She's cute. She's smart. She's half-Guatemalan-half-Australian. I mean, how cool is that, right?
A few weeks ago, Sam comes home and tells me he really wants to buy Aranza a present.
"Why, Sam? Is it her birthday?"
"No, Mom. I just want to get her something. Like a Barbie or something."
"But why?"
"Mom, just because."
Today, Aranza was the opening act of the show. I recorded her act on video and Sam has watched it now approximately 15 times. And now, I share it with you. ;)
