Today we ventured up into the local village surrounding Lake
Atitlan. Like most villages it was filled with countless tin houses, a few
stray dogs, and a handful of locals looking at us like we were lost. Near the
center of the village we stumbled upon a church and a basketball court. The
court was mostly empty except for a few kids playing in scattered rain puddles.
We sat and watched as the kids pulled their make shift boats
through puddles of rain. One boat was made out of a flattened 2 liter 7up
bottle, while the other looked like a Styrofoam “to go” plate. It was the kind
of scene that makes your heart smile. No Xbox, no Ipad, just their imaginations.
It’s also the kind of thing that could inspire a holier than
thou rant about how spoiled kids in the west are, or how sad it is that kids
back home lack this type of imagination, but instead of focusing on that stuff
we just sat back and enjoyed the moment in front of us.
Afterwards we went to a local shop, and purchased all the
soccer balls the small shop had in stock. We walked back down to the court and
handed one to each kid. Thanking them all for allowing us join their imaginary
worlds for a bit.
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