The 5:30 a.m. wake-up call this morning was painful. I rolled out of bed and wandered to the bathroom to check on the socks I washed and hung in the shower to dry last night, hopeful they were ready.
Not even close. They were nearly as wet as when I hung them.
I went to plan b – the hair dryer. I thought maybe ten or fifteen minutes of hot air would do it. I detached the hair dryer handle from the wall, turned it on, and nice hot heat started to blow – for five seconds. Then, the hair dryer quit. I pushed the switch on the wall-mounted part of it to re-start it, only to have that part fall off the wall. Sockless it is!
I throw on the clothes that I bought yesterday, and I’m in the lobby by 6:05 a.m. Mike and David, who I’m traveling with to the radio station, are already there. They tell me the DecembeRadio guys were there at 6:00 a.m. sharp and have already left in the first vehicle. I’m proud of those guys! It’s a hard thing for bands to do anything early in the morning.
While we’re waiting for our vehicle to arrive, I can’t help but look at Mike’s and David’s feet. Yes! David’s shoe size has to be close to mine. I have to ask, being sockless and desperate, if he has a pair he can spare. He kindly agrees and runs back up to his room to retrieve me socks. I get them on in the lobby, and we’re ready to go when the second vehicle arrives.
Shock Radio, the station doing the interview, is in the church where the concert will be. The church is impressive – large, round, high, with a large balcony. We make our way back to the station where the interview is going to take place.
This interview is a first for all of us, in the fact that the morning hosts, JoJo and Totine, are wearing clown make-up, clown noses, sunglasses, and matching cowboy hats. I t definitely gets your attention if you’re a little groggy. They tell us they do it every time they have an interview.
They are great hosts. JoJo is a fast talker. Totine’s crazy high-pitched clown laugh punctuates JoJo's punch lines. JoJo and Totine speak in Spanish while an interpreter translates for the band. They make it fun with two competitions: The first is that to get another DecembeRadio song played on the air, DecembeRadio must come up with a rap to a music track that the hosts provide. Eric steps up and nails it, even working in mention of their concert into his rap.
The next competition is for DecembeRadio to correctly repeat a phrase in Spanish that JoJo and Totine provide. JoJo and Totine will then have to repeat a phrase in English that DecembeRadio provides. Again, Eric comes through, repeating word for word the Spanish phrase. JoJo and Totine don’t have as much success repeating in English the phrase DecembeRadio provides: rubber baby buggy bumpers.
We wrap the interview and are back at the hotel at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., we’re out in front of the hotel, loading in a van for the first project visit. We’re joining a group of ten pastors, most from California, and ten members of one of the pastor’s church that have come to Guatemala with Compassion to visit these work projects. We meet a few as we’re loading for the trip.
The first project visit is about twenty kilometers away in a town called Villa Neuva. It is the Ebenezer Panoramica school for orphans, children who have difficult family situations, and other kids from the area. They are mostly dressed in matching sky blue warm-up suits or blue and white striped shirts. The children seem to range in age from six to twelve. It’s difficult to tell since most people here are so much smaller and shorter than we normally see. I meet teenagers who are under five feet tall.
The kids sing for us and play some games. It’s not long before the DecembeRadio guys are down on the floor with them, interacting, playing.
There are much more interesting, much more life impacting events that happened this day, but it’s now 12:30 a.m. I’ve only had a total of eight hours sleep over the last three days, and I just can't write anymore. Part two will follow soon.
By the way, I’ve just returned from another trip to the airport, and this time – success! I have my luggage. It’s a very nice feeling.
Not even close. They were nearly as wet as when I hung them.
I went to plan b – the hair dryer. I thought maybe ten or fifteen minutes of hot air would do it. I detached the hair dryer handle from the wall, turned it on, and nice hot heat started to blow – for five seconds. Then, the hair dryer quit. I pushed the switch on the wall-mounted part of it to re-start it, only to have that part fall off the wall. Sockless it is!
I throw on the clothes that I bought yesterday, and I’m in the lobby by 6:05 a.m. Mike and David, who I’m traveling with to the radio station, are already there. They tell me the DecembeRadio guys were there at 6:00 a.m. sharp and have already left in the first vehicle. I’m proud of those guys! It’s a hard thing for bands to do anything early in the morning.
While we’re waiting for our vehicle to arrive, I can’t help but look at Mike’s and David’s feet. Yes! David’s shoe size has to be close to mine. I have to ask, being sockless and desperate, if he has a pair he can spare. He kindly agrees and runs back up to his room to retrieve me socks. I get them on in the lobby, and we’re ready to go when the second vehicle arrives.
Shock Radio, the station doing the interview, is in the church where the concert will be. The church is impressive – large, round, high, with a large balcony. We make our way back to the station where the interview is going to take place.
This interview is a first for all of us, in the fact that the morning hosts, JoJo and Totine, are wearing clown make-up, clown noses, sunglasses, and matching cowboy hats. I t definitely gets your attention if you’re a little groggy. They tell us they do it every time they have an interview.
They are great hosts. JoJo is a fast talker. Totine’s crazy high-pitched clown laugh punctuates JoJo's punch lines. JoJo and Totine speak in Spanish while an interpreter translates for the band. They make it fun with two competitions: The first is that to get another DecembeRadio song played on the air, DecembeRadio must come up with a rap to a music track that the hosts provide. Eric steps up and nails it, even working in mention of their concert into his rap.
The next competition is for DecembeRadio to correctly repeat a phrase in Spanish that JoJo and Totine provide. JoJo and Totine will then have to repeat a phrase in English that DecembeRadio provides. Again, Eric comes through, repeating word for word the Spanish phrase. JoJo and Totine don’t have as much success repeating in English the phrase DecembeRadio provides: rubber baby buggy bumpers.
We wrap the interview and are back at the hotel at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., we’re out in front of the hotel, loading in a van for the first project visit. We’re joining a group of ten pastors, most from California, and ten members of one of the pastor’s church that have come to Guatemala with Compassion to visit these work projects. We meet a few as we’re loading for the trip.
The first project visit is about twenty kilometers away in a town called Villa Neuva. It is the Ebenezer Panoramica school for orphans, children who have difficult family situations, and other kids from the area. They are mostly dressed in matching sky blue warm-up suits or blue and white striped shirts. The children seem to range in age from six to twelve. It’s difficult to tell since most people here are so much smaller and shorter than we normally see. I meet teenagers who are under five feet tall.
The kids sing for us and play some games. It’s not long before the DecembeRadio guys are down on the floor with them, interacting, playing.
There are much more interesting, much more life impacting events that happened this day, but it’s now 12:30 a.m. I’ve only had a total of eight hours sleep over the last three days, and I just can't write anymore. Part two will follow soon.
By the way, I’ve just returned from another trip to the airport, and this time – success! I have my luggage. It’s a very nice feeling.
No comments:
Post a Comment