Katie & James in Latin America: Xela

Another busy week in Xela.

I (Katie) was working in an orphanage in the afternoons from 2 'til 5 every day so after that and 5 hours of school and an hour of homework it's been jam-packed. The orphanage was terrible on the first day. We met a couple of children that were very sad because they had only been there a couple of weeks. It was heartbreaking watching the kids as young as seven doing their own washing and having hours in the afternoon with no toys to play with. They were unnaturally affectionate but I got used to it and it was great to teach them English, play games and get to know them.

I (James) played football again for the school on thursday. After getting thrashed 18-6 by 14 year old boys the week before it was good to win this week 8-7. See dream team below!!

Julio, Milton, Hugo, James, Jorge and Toby

We left school on Friday, much to our relief!! We really enjoyed it but were very ready to start our holidays properly without homework!! It was quite sad to leave, though. The setting was perfect and all the teachers and other students were lovely (see below).

(Round the circle, left to right) Katie, Matilda, Sandra, Katie, Johanna, Rebecca & Carolina

On Saturday we went to a village called Viejo Palmar which was completed devastated by a volcanic eruption in 1998. There was a massive volcanic mudslide due to the combination of the eruption and the torrential rain. The photo below shows the old church that was split in two by the volcanic mud flow!

James scared on the rickety suspension bridge at Viejo Palmar!

Sunday was a big match for Xelaju against their closest rivals fighting for the top spot in the league. We had to get there at 8.30 in the morning to get tickets and the match started at 12! The stadium was packed and there were people watching from high up in trees around the staduim!