On the walk down to Paulina’s house from the clinic where we park the van, I caught a few photos of these siblings (presumably), moving their goats.  As soon as the young girl realized I was preparing to take her picture, she started laughing and smiling.  I took several photos, including this one after they had walked past.  As you can see she continued to look back at me all smiles.  It wasn’t until later, when I was editing and loading my photos for this post, that I realized the stark contrast between her and her brother.  I could give you my own interpretation of difference, but what fun is that?  You can see and caption for yourself.

Paulina is now two and half months into the schooling for her chosen field, which is Bilingual Administrative Assistant.  When I visited Paulina last November she was near the end of her time at the school here in San Rafael.  Now her two schools, one being the Admin and the other English, are both in Chimaltenango, which is about an hour and fifteen minutes away on two different buses.  She studies English three mornings a week, and the office skills are everyday in the afternoon.  She very matter of factly told us that “her time is in conflict now”, because it’s easier if she does her outside studies in Chimaltenango, where she has access to tools, computer, internet, books, etc., but then she doesn’t have enough time to help her mother.  Her older sister, Viviana, recently got married and now lives in the neighboring village of Santa Marta with her husband’s family.  So Paulina is feeling some extra responsibility where her mother is concerned.  This may be the dearest young soul walking the earth.

I was thrilled when she told me last visit that she had chosen the bilingual program.  At this point she really doesn’t have any idea what sort of opportunity knowing English will open up for her.  For better or worse, English has become a survival skill in developing countries, particularly in Latin American countries.   I was afraid that she would not want to take on the extra challenge of bilingual training, and she told us that she is finding English to be very hard.  But the shy, quiet ones can fool ya. When I first met Paulina she was just this little slip of a thing.  I don’t think she spoke without being spoken to for several visits back then. Now, each time I see her, she is becoming more confident and outgoing.  She is definitely finding her wings.  When we were taking pictures she started laughing and asked Brenda, the social worker, if she could get a Padrino that wasn’t so tall.  I just love this girl.

I know it’s been awhile in between posts.  More on that later.  But I am well and hope you all are too. 🙂