Water Fight of the Century

The group from Pennsylvania was here all week, and they closed out their time with the kids with a massive water balloon war yesterday after school. It was a bit like horses chomping at the bit--all of the kids knew there was to be a water fight. They asked in every class if I knew there was going to be one. All week I have been taking ballons away from them or asking them to put them away; some found them quite tasty to chew on, and even Samy snapped his tongue pretty well by having it in his mouth.

As the buses for the other students drove off, the kids started to amass themselves. Doug and Kevin guarded the adults' (or gringos') stash of water balloons. The kids hurried to do their chores--there were to be no water games until everyone was finished. Unfortunately, that message failed to be relayed to all parties, so several premature water balloons made their way to the feet of unexpectant guerrillas.

Soon, only two were left to fininsh the chores. Rachel did her best to hold the other kids (and the adults) back; I urged Carlos to finish sweeping outside the school classrooms only to discover that Ludwin not only needed to finish sweeping outside the big kitchen, but he also had to mop the tiled floor downstairs. Oh, to be stuck with a chore when everyone else is running free!

Finally, finally, the water broke loose. Water balloons splatted on the patios as several of the gringos took the tower position on the third floor; the kids stood below launching, sometimes with excellent aim, their balloons. It wasn't long before the water hoses and buckets came out. I finally joined the shindig armed with a cup and had to fight Dorcas pretty hard to get at the water spigot. While the rest of us were quite drenched, Rosita somehow had maintained her dry clothing, so Laura and I teamed up to make sure she got soaked by hiding out at both stairwells and waiting for her to descend from the upper level of classrooms.

The only one left to drench, then, was Ludwin. I tried my best, but since he is more familiar with and more nimble on the grassy hillside, he ended up staying relatively dry in spite of my attempts to soak him.

So who won? It depends whom you ask--the gringos and the Guatemalans tell quite a different story.