Early in the year Diego received his acceptance from IE University in Madrid where he is now studying business administration and is totally over the moon by the whole European experience. Yesterday he was snowboarding in Chamonix, France having traveled there by car with Antigua friends who recently relocated to Barcelona.
All of Diego's classes are in English as there are students in his university from one hundred and thirty countries speaking forty languages. His closest friends are all from different countries. In the New Year he hopes to leave student housing and find an apartment with two of those friends. He is having to work pretty hard as most of his classmates had a superior secondary education.
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| That is Diego in the yellow in front of the IE University tower in Madrid. |
Beyker, who is seven, will start first grade in January. We have decided that he is likely gifted. He knows most of his multiplication tables and loves to be challenged and is an ace chess player. Earlier this year he played in a municipal chess tournament. He was one of a hundred and twenty players, the youngest by five years, and he won a couple of games. A few months ago my next door neighbors adopted a little boy of sixteen months. Beyker wanted to know how it was possible that they were able to get a baby that could walk in just two weeks.
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| The littlest chess champion, Beyker. Cristofer is just behind Beyker. |
Liam is ten and has some learning challenges. He will enter the third grade in January with the support of a shadow teacher. He is very athletic and earned the best player award (soccer of course) in his village. In addition, he is an excellent swimmer. Liam was thrilled that Santa Claus finally brought him a bicycle.
Cristofer, almost seventeen, and Mishell, fifteen, still live with me and will be changing schools in January. That is a whole other story but gladly, both are excited about trying something different. Cris is a very talented artist and hopes to attend university in Mexico and study graphic arts, perhaps after a gap year. Mishell continues to say that biology is her favorite subject but we have not figured out where that might lead yet. Both love to play board games.
And then there is Beyker's pal, Isaac, whose mother was working in the school cafeteria. Without any notice she left for the United States in October with Isaac's older brother, Yeferson, who is almost eighteen. They left behind a $20,000 coyote debt on the grandparents' house and are currently more or less trapped in Delaware by questionable people who promised them work that has not materialized and are now holding them responsible for some $3000. Several of us from different parts of the US are putting our heads together tomorrow on how to rescue the two from their current situation. In the meantime Isaac is both sad and angry and doesn't believe that his mother will ever return. He did, however, get to share his lunch with Santa Claus who also brought him a bicycle. Notice that Santa's lunch is spiked eggnog and cookies.
Astrid, mother of Beyker, finished her second (of five) year of law school with stellar grades. She still works for a call center most nights and attends classes all day on Saturdays in addition to parenting Beyker.
Jackie, mother of Liam, keeps promising that she is about to graduate from university and get a job. Hopefully, 2024 will be the year.
Denis works long hours for an architect and we keep hoping that he will figure out that he could be an architect. Astrid is doing her best, in her spare time, to push him along.
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| Front row: Astrid, Beyker, Liam, Jackie, Back row: Mishell, Cristofer, Denis, Top left: Diego |
We wish you all a peaceful, calm and prosperous New Year! Fingers crossed. Fingers are also crossed that the first decent presidential candidate elected in years in Guatemala will be able to take office on January 14th and start to unwind the rampant corruption which causes people like Isaac's mom to leave.
