Developing a love of our children's birth culture

Thru the years I have heard this come up again and again...... how do we as adoptive parents help our children develop a love and appreciation for Guatemala and it's culture?

Can I share a few things we have done with our family?

First of all we sure do TALK a lot about Guatemala in our home! All of our 5 children from Guatemala know they were born in guatemala. They are proud of this knowledge and often times when we meet new people I will hear my twins state : "Hi, I am from Guatemala!". They say that with a big smile on their face! :) Their obvious love and appreciation for their birth country just shines!
Not a day goes by that we don't talk about Guatemala! From our memories about living there in 2005 to the frijoles and tortillas we learned to make , the friends we made in Guatemala, and colorful lanscape....... Guatemala is truly a big part of our lives and our hearts!

I really think that talking a lot about Guatemala helps develop a sense of confidence in their culture and in their ethnicity. They hear us as their parents talk a lot about Guatemala and they are free to ask us any questions they may have from where they were born to the kinds of things we did while we lived there! Just being able to have that open "talk about Guatemala anytime and anywhere" has really I believe, developed a love and appreciation for their culture and country!

READ about Guatemala! We have a "Guatemala bookshelf"........... one of our shelves in our bookshelf is dedicated to books about Guatemala. From simple children's stories, to colorful pictorial books such as "Guatemalan Rainbow". The children are free to pull these books down and look at them when they wish. I also try read to them often from this shelf! We love " Sawdust Carpets " a book about Semana Santa in Antigua and we also enjoy " Abuela's Weave" by Omar Castaneda. We are always on the lookout for books about Guatemala to add to our collection.

Expierencing life in Guatemala last year was a huge blessing to our family! All of our children really developed a love and appreciation and knowledge for Guatemala while we lived there for 8 months! I realize that this is certainly not a possibility for most families to live in Guatemala! But, can I encourage you to at least plan for a visit trip sometime? Even if it's just a short trip -- I do believe it helps our children develop a love and knowledge about where they came from. Perhaps it may take some planning, saving and scrimping - but oh please do consider a visit trip in your child's future! Guatemala is truly a beautiful country and there is so much to see and hear and taste! :) I especially encourage families to get out of Guatemala City and see the "real" Guatemala!
La Antigua is always a favorite with families, but we also loved our time in Panajachel/Lake Atitlan, the maya Ruins of Tikal and other ruins, the pacific black sand beaches, the western highland towns of Chichi and other Maya treasures. Safety is always something to take into consideration - but certainly can be done with careful planning.
I look forward to taking my children back again to do humanitarian work in Guatemala as they grow and mature.
"Giving back" to their birth country is something that I have always felt is important. Sponsoring some kind of project or orginization is another way to show our children that we love Guatemala and want to share in our children's rich cultural heritage!

Cooking guatemalan foods is a fun way to encourage a love and knowledge of our children's birth culture!
Why not pick up a comal and learn how to make tortillas? They are easy to make and the "masa" ( corn flour) to make them can be found at local hispanic markets and stores. Not everyone may have an interest in learning to make homemade frijoles ( black beans) but you can pick up ready to eat beans at the local supermarket.
Guatemalan's traditionallly eat their beans "volteados" ( refried) but we prefer them "parados" or "seperated". ( loose) . There are a number of brands that make black beans here in the U.S. Our personal favorite is S & W's Carribean recipe. Delicioso!!!! Yumm! For a quick meal we like to serve these in tortillas with rice. :)
"Platanos" ( sweet plantains) are also often times found at the local grocery. Platanos are eaten often in Guatemala. They are peeled sliced and fried until golden. They need to be really ripe to be "dulce". ( sweet)
Although I have to admit that the platanos here are usually not near as yummy as the ones in Guatemala -- vine ripe makes all the difference in the world!

One of our children's favorite Guatemalan traditions is that of Pinatas! They love to have one for their Birthdays! This is very traditional with Ladinos in Guatemala and no doubt kids love the fun and suspense of breaking open a pinata at a party or birthday! We also love to the religious focus on the holidays. We have tried to incoporate the tradition of the traditional nativity during the Christmas season and we have incoporated a sort of "semana santa" for our Easter Celebrations!

In our travels to Guatemala we have purchased lovely maya weavings and art work. They have graced our walls and furniture. We love the colorful weavings and basketry. They are a colorful reminder of " Guatemala". Our girls love the huipiles and "cortes". ( skirts and blouses of the indegenous maya) They wear them for dress ups and love to "play" life in Guatemala. They love to dress up our Naomi ( our 2 yr old blessing from Guatemala) in huipil and head dress! All of this I feel, develops a love and appreciation for our children's heritage.

There are lots of ways of fostering a love and appreciation of our children's beautiful birth culture! I encourage you to think about ways you can do so in your family that will help your child develop that love and respect for the country they came from! I also would love to hear what your family is doing to foster an appreciation for Guatemala in your home! Please feel free to drop a line and share any ideas or things you have done.

Guatemala is a beautiful country ~ I strongly believe that as adoptive parents we need to take time to talk, teach , read to our children and share in their culture. In so doing we hopefully create a sense of love, and appreciation for who they are and where they came from.

Blessings,
Gloria
mom to 5 Guatemalan blessings