A ver...

A ver…

6-29-11

Tuesday was a particularly clear day—in the morning there were absolutely no clouds in the sky and you could see the snow-covered Cotopaxi volcano very well.  It was amazing! The kids in the morning were especially clingy and lovable.  It is getting easier understanding the kids speaking Spanish now that I know them a little better.  There have been a few other volunteers working with me at the daycare, so the kid-teacher ratio is easier to handle all the running, screaming children.  After working with the kids, we go to the comedor to serve the elderly their daily lunch.  They are so grateful that it is easy to serve them their soup, rice, potatoes, meat, salad, and juice.  Something interesting happened yesterday, though.  Since us servers were running a little behind at the end, the elderly were getting out of their chairs before I could even get out the door ahead of them.  Because of this, some of them felt obligated to give me hugs and say their thanks to me.  It was so sweet! :-)  After lunch, I walked down to the river by myself because I was in need of some adventure and to be surrounded by nature.  It was a great hike (and I wore Keens instead of flip-flops) and it’s a beautiful place.

A HUGE plant/tree that looks similar to Aloe Vera.

My hike down to the river.

The view from where I was sitting down by the river.

I only had about an hour to hike down to the river, so I had to run back up to get to the English classes on time.  Three girls came (ages 16, 12, 8) and they read a story aloud, taking turns reading.  This was very successful and I’m so proud of them!  We worked on pronunciation and a little bit of comprehension, since they are more worried about actually saying the words correctly (past tense in English is difficult for first-time learners).

Today was the opposite of yesterday—total cloud cover instead of clear skies in the morning.  However, the sun truly burned through those clouds and it was really hot during the day!  There were a few more volunteers helping out at Muñequitos, so it a little more fun playing with the kids. 

It’s really interesting to me how well our bodies adjust to new environments.  Just a few months ago I graduated from college and was speaking English to everyone, being completely comfortable living in a nice house.  Now, I’m speaking Spanish to anyone I come into contact with, eating a totally different diet, but I am still myself, just living in a different country…