I spent the morning at Hermano Pedro and was able to work some more with Ervin. All the kids were inside today because it was too cold and rainy to go out in the courtyard. (It was about 65 degrees and only cloudy, but here in Guatemala, that's "nasty" weather to be outside.) Ervin was one of a few kids left in bed today, and that proved a perfect place to work. Today we began sorting silverware (plasticware, really) and he seems to be catching on. I'm still amazed at how excited he is to do these simple tasks over and over again.
While I was working with him, a young Guatemalan woman named Flori came looking for me. Flori is a volunteer with Faith in Practice, and had brought seven people from Oratorio (where we did a wheelchair distribution last week) in to see the doctors and Hermano Pedro. She came to say hello, and find out if I knew when I would be returning to help with the deaf children I met last week. She said that their families are so excited that someone is willing to come and help them. Oh, how I wish I knew more about teaching the deaf. Really, the teachers in the regular school seem to be doing an excellent job. It's more difficult for the parents at home, though, to communicate with their children. These kids can read and write, but unfortuantely, the parents do not. I'm trying to figure out some way to bridge this gap using line drawings. I think, though, it will take spending some time in Oratorio to be able to work this out.
While we were visiting, Flori showed me an article about her in the Faith in Practice newsletter. She was so proud of this. After I read it, it occurred to me to ask her if she knew what it said, since it was written in English. She said no one had ever translated it for her, so I got to share with her what the article said about how important she is to the work of Faith in Practice in Santa Rosa.
After feeding a couple of kids lunch, I went home to mine. This afternoon was spent on business. First, Mari took me to a computer outlet where I bought a printer/scanner/copier. I think I got a pretty good deal because, for the printer, paper and extra ink, I paid about $20 less than what the same printer lists for in the States! I can never figure out why some things like this are so much less expensive here, and others, like Ziplock baggies are three times as much as in Omaha. I am particularly pleased to announce that I managed to set up the printer and get it working all on my own. Jeremy (my oldest son) is usually my computer go-to-guy, and I hope he's proud of me! It is so much easier, though, when he's around.
We also went to a bank near Hermano Pedro where I openned an account. It was really a very interesting process, and it only took about an hour and a half to accomplish. First, Mari had to write a letter vouching for the fact that I was living with her, and explaining why I needed to have a bank account in Guatemala. I kind of felt like a little kid who needed a note from "mommy" giving me permission to open an account. Next, there were multiple decisions about what kind of account to open, and again, I deferred to Mari's experience here. She really is quite the business woman, and I was rather surprised to find that this account pays 4% interest.
Next there were multiple papers to sign, and I had to have my index finger and thumb prints scanned into the bank's computer system. Then, I had to go back and actually put my left and right thumb print next to each signature. Finally we were ready to actually make a deposit. Unfortunately, one of the three $100 bills I'd planned on using was "rejected" for deposit because it had a small tear in one corner! I'll have to trade out this bill when I visit in September, because if a bank won't accept a bill because of its condition, I'm sure no one else will!
Depositing money here is a two step process. First you take your bank book and money to a bank officer, who writes down you account number and the amount of your deposit on a scrap of paper. Next, you take your deposit to a teller, who once again asks you for your account number (even though it's on the paper) and once again inspects the bills that the officer has just approved. The teller then enters your informaiton into the computer, and prints out two separate receipts for the same transaction. Finally, he had writes the information in a ledger book, and your deposit is complete. What the purpose of all these steps are, I don't know. What I do know is that when I need to make a deposit, I need to allow half an hour for the process. I can't wait to find out how long it takes to make a withdrawal!
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