Dear Jessica and All the Other Children I Had the Joy of Meeting and Playing with,

Although you can’t even read this yet, as you are still learning your abc’s and 123’s in Spanish, I just thought you should know how much you made me smile. The very first time I met you, you gave me the biggest hug your little arms could manage and then you took my hand in yours and led me to your classroom as if I was supposed to be with you all along.

Every single day we came into the school, you or one of your many friends would welcome both Kailynn and I with open arms and the biggest smiles. During recess, you guys would show us all your cool tricks on the monkey bars, and then just come and sit by us, or more so, on us for that matter. There was never a dull moment with you, as you were either holding my hand or climbing all over me as if I was the actual playground. You never had a care in the world that we couldn’t speak your language fluently, and it was because of you, that it made it so easy to come to a new and foreign place feeling completely at ease and wanted.

I and so many other adults need to learn a few things from you and your other friends about how to be as wholehearted as you are. Besides your eagerness to just play, create, and learn; you also carry with you a complete and utter delightfulness- and it is not just that smile of yours (although that does wonders too). You were never there to judge us, and in actuality, you just accepted us, as we were. I hope you continue to grow, learn, hold on to your wonderment and stay golden.

Inspired por You,

Kristen

Dear Sara My New Sister,

I never thought in a million years that I would be a part of your crazy adventure of finding your birth mother, but like you said yourself, “you never know what is next with me,” and I am learning that is not far from the truth! I am still in awe of what happened with your journey, and because of that, it has taken me a couple of days to even process everything and come up with the right words to write you.

First of all, thank you for opening up to Kailynn and myself and allowing us to take a part in this huge life endeavor of yours. I know that must have taken a lot of courage to share your experience with two other crazy girls (as I am sure you now realize Kailynn and I both are). Also, the tenacity you have to actually take the necessary steps to do what you set out to do in the first place and really accomplish it is astounding to me. I know not everyone would have had the bravery to do what you did, especially with the constant setbacks that you had to overcome- such as the language barrier, the questions from various people, and your own fear of the “what will happen when I actually meet them?”

I can only imagine what you are feeling as of now, since you not only met your birth mother, but you also met many of your other family members. I am sure you are feeling quite a lot, whether that is tired, confused, happy, or a sense of accomplishment at this moment in time.

I wish I could just go to the store and pick you up a big pint of Cherry Garcia Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to help ease the feeling of being overwhelmed, but since that won’t really work here, I just want you to know that besides finding your birth mother, you have found yourself another sister from the United States J I am so happy to have met you, and I will always look up to you for your bravery, determination, and positivity throughout this entire experience of yours.

Inspired por You,

Kristen

Dear Lezette Mi Madre from Guatemala,

It has only been 2 weeks since you "adopted" Kailynn and me. I was going to wait until we left town to write you a letter, but I just couldn't wait any longer, because you have already made such an impact on the both of us.

Besides having the two of us and one other host student, you have your hands full with your own 3 rambunctious, but quite adorable children who are aged 6, 10, and 11. Every single day, you make a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the 8 of us. From the typical beans and rice to some very creative and unique dishes, the meals have all been so great to try. Not to mention when you are feeding Kailynn and I, you are more so feeding two grown men with huge appetites. We even tried our hands in the kitchen one night to help you out and let's just say, it was not as easy as you make it look- day in and day out.

After every dinner we go over the homework you assigned us the night before and then you are back at it helping your other children with their homework. Your life is non-stop, all the time. Although I haven't experienced the life of motherhood yet, I know it is not easy, but Lezette you do such an amazing job at it.  I am so happy to have you as a mother figure in my life right now. It is so nice to know I am coming home every day to a warm meal and a home full of laughter, love, and generosity. Thanks for welcoming us into your home and letting us become apart of your crazy and wonderful family.

Inspired por you,
Kristen

Dear Teachers and Maestr@s Everywhere,

As I sit here and write this, all I can say is that I am in total awe of what you do day in and day out. What is your secret?  I will pay you money for this. Seriously. I have learned that bribing the kids with candy will not be enough.

Kailynn and I just finished our first day volunteering at the orphanage, and I think the best way to describe how I feel right now is to say that I was hit by a train- a very big freight train. Let me just describe our first day so you can understand what I am saying.

With no idea of what we had signed up for, the very first day we arrived, Kailynn and I were both given our very own classroom of about 20 little rugrats around the ages of 6 and 7. As quickly as the teacher had come in to give the kids directions and introduce me, she just as quickly left the classroom, leaving me on my own to make sure the kids followed suit. It was at this point that all hell broke loose in the classroom and it became quite clear that the consensus of the class was that they ran the class, not me.

Taking matters into their own hands, kids began climbing on top of desks, hiding under tables, and running out of the classroom. I should also point out at this time, that the very little Spanish I thought I had learned in the past weeks seemed to just disappear from my brain, right then and there. The only words I managed to remember were “No Mas,” which I think meant “do whatever you want” to the kids.  I will have to look that word up in the dictionary again...

For about two hours straight, I stood there trying to “manage” the children as they did anything and everything. This included drinking some of the cleaning products, blasting the cd player as loud as it could go, working on choreographed dance moves, rummaging and taking whatever they wanted out of the teacher’s desk, and playing their version of ding dong ditch, which meant running out of the classroom, coming back 5 minutes later to knock on the door, and disappearing as soon as I opened it, and then repeating this over and over again.. it was a scene right out of a horror movie.

My only goal became to make sure the kids didn’t die while they were in my presence, because God knows, they were not in my care. (I’m not going to lie, I was a bit worried about the one girl who drank quite a lot of cleaning solution). I think one of the only reasons I kept some of my sanity was the fact that Kailynn and I began to pass notes back and forth with each other via one of Kailynn’s students. We sent secret messages back about how much longer we should stay around, since neither of us had a clue when class ended. When the bell finally rang for lunch, I was left speechless and in a trance. All I could think was Day 1 down and mission accomplished- no one died.

Teachers, you have my utmost respect. Being able to not only gain the respect of the students, but also making sure not to kill any of your students (either by mistake, or consciously) is beyond me right now. I know I have a lot to learn and I am excited to do so, but all I can say at this point, is kudos to all of you who have accomplished this feat and continue to do so on a daily basis. Through all the sweat, tears, and broken backs that you may have encountered, I am pretty sure you have the most difficult job known to man. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your hard work.

Inspired por you,

Kristen

P.S.- For any teacher, I ever did not listen to or pay attention to, I am truly sorry. Karma in the classroom has returned to me now J

Dear Fabiola Mi Maestra,

Gracias por enseñarme español por tres semanas. Eres una muy buena maestra! Mi español es mejor porque estabas muy paciente conmigo. Cuando yo fui mala estudiante y estaba cansada, hiciste el español divertido. Tu y yo reimos sobre mi mal espanol y pronunciación. Me diste muy deliciosas galletas de chocolate y de frutas. La primera semana, fuimos al mercado y me ayudaste comprar frutas y verduras.  Me mostraste tu casa y yo conocí a tu madre. Fuimos a la escuala y vemos el gimnasio de los ninos. Es muy divertido. Muchas gracias por compartir tu vida conmigo y mi hermana. Yo aprendí mucho gracias a ti! Espero verte otra vez. Te deseo lo mejor!

Inspired por you,

Kristen

(P.S- I have to admit that this letter was greatly edited by an amazing friend, because my Spanish ability is still in the works:))

Dear Roxana the Best Student,

Sadly the time has come for me to leave San Pedro, but I am so glad I had the chance to meet you and get to know you. Unlike my Spanish, your English is incredible. You definitely win the award for being the best student!

Whether you wanted to have me as an English teacher or not, you got stuck with me and I am happy you did. You challenged me and taught me more than I think you will ever know. Half the time, you were actually my teacher. Thank you for always being very understanding and patient with me when I did not always have the answers. 

I had so much fun talking with you every day. Through our conversations, I learned so much about your culture. Whether we were talking about what a typical wedding is like or how the school system works in San Pedro, we always had something interesting to talk about. Thank you for also sharing with me the news of various situations occurring throughout Guatemala and San Pedro, such as Monsanto. It was very informative and something I want to continue to understand. I will always remember and cherish our conversations.  Best of luck in your future endeavors! Maybe the next time we talk, you will be in school becoming a lawyer, as you definitely are smart enough to be.

Inspired por you,
Kristen

Dear Natalie the Nurse,

I don’t think you will ever know the impact you made on Kailynn and I, as we only talked with you for about an hour one afternoon while eating lunch; however, because of you, we now know what our next adventure entails.

Kailynn and I had just arrived in San Pedro and we were happy to be there! The journey we had just taken from Belize included multiple bus rides which equated to traveling for almost two days straight. As you can imagine we were quite exhausted, but food always takes priority in our family, so there was no sleeping until that happened. Luckily our hostel had a restaurant, so we didn’t have to go far.

As we waited for our waiter, you and your friend asked if you could sit with us because all the other areas were taken. After exchanging the typical introductions, we found out that you two had been working at an orphanage for the past couple of months together. When we heard that, Kailynn and I both inundated you all with numerous questions, as we both have dreamt of volunteering at an orphanage one day. Thankfully, you didn’t seem to mind the questions, and very graciously gave us “the inside scoop.”

After hearing both the sad and uplifting stories you had about the orphanage, Kailynn and I looked at each other with the same idea in mind. It was our time to give back to the beautiful community of Guatemala that we have both fallen in love with. Although we had planned to go down to Peru to work, your honest stories of your experiences, both good and bad, encouraged us to get out of our comfort zone a little bit more.  You explained to us how volunteering is challenging, but also very rewarding and well worth it in the end.

We will be forever grateful to you for opening our eyes to another opportunity in Guatemala.  Thank you for also taking the time to give back to this wonderful community. Best of luck in your future endeavors, as I am sure you will be touching others like you did us and the children at the orphanage.

Inspired Por You,

Kristen