Update #2

Sergio

This past week has probably one of the most low-key ones since I’ve been here. I may have said that before, but this time it’s totally true. We came back from our trip early Monday morning to find out that both Jayde and I had to go to the hospital with some of the kids. So, we were barely home for 15 minutes before we had to leave again. The little boy that I went with, his name is Sergio and he needed to go to the eye doctor. Hospital’s here are very different from the one’s at home, because they include every single kind of doctor you could possibly imagine there so it’s always busy and crowded.  It’s very different from the hospitals back home in the states.

Fabricio

On Wednesday I also went to the hospital but with another little boy named Fabricio. Fabricio is about 2 years old and has to go to physical therapy as well as speech therapy on Monday and Wednesday. I have been told that since he has started therapy he is much more active and alert so it’s good to know that it is helping. He is a very sweet child, but the only problem is that since he is 2, he is getting bigger and we have to carry him everywhere. It starts to get tiring after a little while. On the way back home from the hospital, they ended up shoving 4 adult women in the back of the truck. I don’t think they realized how squished it would be because when I sat down, they seemed surprise there wasn’t really enough room to fit us all. Haha ya, that was a great self-esteem boost.

Stephenie and her paper mache balloon

This week, we decided to make paper mache octopuses with some of the younger kids. Since it takes time for it to dry, we just did the first part this week and plan on finishing them next week. So the kids blew up their balloons and then dove right in to putting the glued newspaper on the balloons. By the time we finished we were all covered in glue and I mean that it was everywhere. I got so much on my arms from holding the kids balloons for them that I looked like all of my skins was peeling off. In the end though, they seemed to have fun and keep asking when we are going to finish them up.

Maribel and her writing

There are two girls at the Aldea, Maribel and Guadalupe, who are kind of special and don't go to school. This week I decided to have them practice their writing. I sat down and wrote down their names, the alphabet, numbers, and some words. I wrote them in dashes then left space for them to actually copy them down to practice. It took some time to do them for each of the girls, but it was worth it. Maribel did so well; she really hates to write and can’t read so I had to tell her what she was writing. Guadalupe has had some schooling so she could already write her name and knew her alphabet and numbers, so it wasn’t quite as beneficial for her. I know that Maribel doesn’t like to write because she knows she can’t but I think that if I make her practice, she will improve over time.

Me, Blanca, Elvira, and Edwardo

Lastly, we got two new kids here at the Aldea who are brother and sister named Edwardo and Elvira. They are super sweet but kind of quiet. They were playing with a couple of the other kids when I showed them I had brought my camera with me. All four of them got really excited and one little girl named Stephenie quickly took control of my camera and then we spent the next 20 minutes taking pictures and having Stephenie tell us where to go. It was way fun, the kids I learned really like to do bunny ears. haha they are such sweethearts. I can't believe that this next week is my last one. I am going to miss them so much!!!