Happy Birthday David!

I'm a little late in posting, but wanted to share a little about David's birthday. First of all, the occasion brought us our first package in the mail - and it only took 8 days! I'm not going to lie, we were both really excited to unpack the goodies that David's parents had sent.

It was basically David's birthday and Christmas all at once. It was so fun getting little pieces of "home" sent to us. I was especially excited about the chocolate (M&Ms here cost $1.50 for a small bag) and David was most anxious to eat his fruit snacks (yep, he loves them). It was great to even get little things, like Jell-O and different types of tea and even Nutella (I won't even tell you how much Nutella costs here). David also got a great birthday card with pictures of autumn trees to remind us of the beauty you Indiana-folk are experiencing. Sigh, I miss fall. The birthday package was a wonderful gift for David (and me!) and we are portioning the goodies (or at least trying to, the M&Ms were gone in two days).

On a previous trip to Lake Atitlan, David and I had visited Santiago, a small Mayan village that we really enjoy. So, for David's birthday he wanted to go back for a weekend trip. We wanted to go on David's birthday weekend, but because of the flooding and being sick, we had to postpone the trip for the next weekend. I'm so glad that we did because the weather was perfect. It was so nice to walk around the market and do some touristy shopping in the sun, with no rain. We're definitely on a budget while living here in Guatemala, but we really wanted to stay in the Posada de Santiago because we had heard it's a great hotel with great food...and even a hot tub (in Guate?! Really?!). My parents put us up in the hotel for David's birthday gift and we enjoyed great food, real coffee (not instant!), the hot tub, and even canoeing. It was a wonderful get-away and we were fascinated by the beauty of the lake.

For David's gift from Santiago, he decided he wanted to get a traditional Mayan "traje" or clothing that the Mayan men wear. Each Mayan village has their own traje so that when someone is walking down the street you know where they come from by the color and/or design of their clothing. In Pana, you definitely see more women wearing traje than you see men. So when we were in Santiago it was such a treat to see so many men wearing traje. They were just so cute!

Now, just to clarify (in case there is any confusion) those are the Mayan men above. Then there is my 6'3" white, blonde husband below. Don't they look so similar?! We're still searching for the perfect hat. ( :

You may not be able to recognize David these days. Besides the Mayan traje, he's also growing out his hair and wearing it in a pony tail. It's weird for me to have David ask me for a hair tie in the mornings. I don't even know what to expect in the coming months!

Of course, we had no idea how to make the traje fit David, because the pants are actually quite huge. It's a one size fits all type of thing. Luckily there was a kind Mayan woman at the store who just wrapped her arms around David's waist and folded up the pants and tied the belt for him. We're still figuring out the belt part, but there are plenty of Mayan women around in case we need more tutoring.

We had a wonderful weekend experiencing a smaller village and the Mayan culture. The views of the lake were breath-taking, and we were reminded once again how privileged we are to be living here in Guatemala and experiencing a new way of life. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and that we can celebrate life together!