Feliz Cumpleanos! Yesterday was Daniel's 5th birthday. Our kind Guatemalan mother, Sonia, hosted a birthday party. She invited her friends and their children. She also had a dolphin pinata made especially for Daniel. Charles' and Daniel's previous teacher from Casa Xelaju also came. The kids broke the pinata, we ate cake and passed out goody bags to the children.

Our living situation is quite comfortable. Sonia has a house of approximately 1000 square feet. It has 3 bedrooms. Duane and I sleep on the main floor, in a bedroom just across the hall from Sonia. Charles and Daniel sleep upstairs in a cozy A-frame room. There is a TV in our room and high speed wireless internet. Many of the walls, floors and ceilings in the house are made of stained wood, so the house feels a bit like a cabin. The rest of the house is made of cement and the flooring in the main area of the house is all tile. All the doors are made of glass and windows are quite large. To enter the house, one must walk through a covered garage and up a set of outdoor stairs. Out the back door and down the stairs is a 100 square foot patio, which is enclosed by a complex of houses all owned by Sonia or a member of her family. Andres her 4-year-old grandson lives just below us. Sonia has a housekeeper named Viviana, a Mayan woman, who comes daily. Viviana cooks most of our meals and she serves lunch, which is the main meal of the day. Sonia has a cockatoo and two dogs, both of whom have befriended Daniel. Lalita, is a miniature French poodle who lives primarily inside the house. The other dog is a German shephard who lives on the outdoor patio.

The bathroom looks similar to ones we're used to, but it functions differently. The pipes in Guatemala can not handle toilet paper, so one throws used toilet paper into a trash can rather than the toilet. No one here drinks tap water. Rather, there is a water purifier in the kitchen where we get all water needed for drinking and brushing teeth. Water for the shower, in this house, is heated by the sun. While it has more potential than many Guatemalan showers to be hot, it hasn't been, as it is winter here (i.e.the rainy season).

Many Guatemalan showers make hot (i.e. lukewarm) water on demand. The electric water heater is actually part of the shower head. Since there are live wires in the shower, one must be careful not to get zapped by touching them. I made this mistake at the hotel at Lake Atitlan. Oops!