On Thursday, I really had time to reflect on what had happened and WANTED to (finally!). Four pages of my journal later - here I am! I'm going to share a portion of this with you, since it is a little more personal.
"This week is quickly coming to an end but I think today was my favorite day so far. This morning we went to a couple neighbor's houses in AJS - Wellington and Gabrielle. Wellington* is one of the guards at the other house. They are just so genuinely kind, which is something I have almost been brought to tears by all week. Their willingness to say their door is always open when they are just meeting us is something so uncommon to me...Him and his wife asked a lot of good questions and hard ones too, including how he was interested in the prevalence of suicide in the US. It sparked a lot of tension in the group and debate during discussion tonight...
Next we went to Gabrielle and Theresa's home - an 80 and 68 year old couple simply doign what they do to stay afloat. Gabrielle went around and wanted to know our names and then told most of us we have strong (or sort of strong, in my case) characters. They gave us coke and cookies, and Gabrielle showed us his leather collection, and let us stamp letters and symbols onto some. The spirit that he had was amazing and so inspiring. And even though we did not get much time with them, I was so impressed by their welcoming attitude, kind spirit, and overall generousity... After that we hopped in the van and went to our mystery location...Nuevo Mundo! It was the most gorgeous school ever! We got ot talk to Pat, one of the people who started the school... the school has around 1200 student in the morning and 400 in the afternoon, who are mostly kids from Duran that get bussed in and go for free... It was one of the most amazing schools I have ever seen with one of the most enlightening woman I have ever had the privelege to speak with.
In the afternoon we got to go back to Semillas, do a scavenger hunt, and then played soccer on some teams with kids, and then again after the program with the older helpers - ayudantes. It was so fun and sweaty, and just a good ol' time! Going back to Semillas was the best since it was the group of kids that we felt we got closest with. We really got to work closesly with kids of all ages in the hunt groups and had some authority, which was different. It was also the day that they chose which kids got to go on the field trip (to see Alice in Wonderland at the Cinemaplex), and could only bring 12. It was so sad to see some kids heart broken, as they had behaved all week. The field trips they do are things that these kids could never afford to do, so it is a real treat for them!"
* Wellington had Hansen's disease and spent a little time at Damien House. The house him and his family currently live in was provided to him by Sister Annie (owner of Damien house) and he very humble to have that provided to him.
I really enjoyed Semillas, since I loveeee working with children. To have all these little kids hanging all over me was such a joy, minus the obnoxious ones! But it was so fun and enjoyable, and a great way to wrap up the week.
Showing posts with label semillas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label semillas. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The travels of Monday, day #3!
I figure now, that I journaled during the entire week, so why not use some of that to recap! Duh!
"Today we visited Damien house in the morning, a house for patients living with Hansen's disease (also known as Leprosy)I was slightly petrified that it would be scary or that I would be disgusted by the people due to deformities and also didn't know a lot about the disease but that was not at all the case. It was amazing and one of the most gratifying experiences. All the men and women were so humble and happy, and grateful for our presense in their community. They shared so many stories and experiences, and just very much enjoyed that time. Tomorrow we get to return and hopefully spend more time with them. In the afternoon we went to an after school program called Semillas de Mostaza, nearby and I got to work with the younger kids. The girl I worked with was named Belem, and she was not having it, but it was good to feel like I had some authority, even with the language barrier!"
A little more information about Semillas and my time there... even though the kids aren't currently in school, they come to the after school programs in the neighborhood. Not all of the kids even do go to school. Semillas was in the neighborhood of Arbolito (where we stayed), and was a quick walk from the house. We were bombarded with children as we walked there and soon our group got bigger and bigger, and by the time we got to the park and cancha (the soccer field). It was our first interaction with the kids of the neighborhood, what I have been waiting and excited to do, and where I first got to really use my spanish (and got laughed at!). Nicki and I found a couple of kids who wanted to play futbol on the smaller cancha. It was so fun to just run around with these kids and not understand half of what they said!
Kids in Ecuador are not different than kids in the US when it comes down to it. They want to play and have fun and just be kids, and they love it. And though half of them go to school and the other half don't, there is no stereotyping or differing in the relationship between those kids, and they don't judge. That was just amazing to me!
"Today we visited Damien house in the morning, a house for patients living with Hansen's disease (also known as Leprosy)I was slightly petrified that it would be scary or that I would be disgusted by the people due to deformities and also didn't know a lot about the disease but that was not at all the case. It was amazing and one of the most gratifying experiences. All the men and women were so humble and happy, and grateful for our presense in their community. They shared so many stories and experiences, and just very much enjoyed that time. Tomorrow we get to return and hopefully spend more time with them. In the afternoon we went to an after school program called Semillas de Mostaza, nearby and I got to work with the younger kids. The girl I worked with was named Belem, and she was not having it, but it was good to feel like I had some authority, even with the language barrier!"
A little more information about Semillas and my time there... even though the kids aren't currently in school, they come to the after school programs in the neighborhood. Not all of the kids even do go to school. Semillas was in the neighborhood of Arbolito (where we stayed), and was a quick walk from the house. We were bombarded with children as we walked there and soon our group got bigger and bigger, and by the time we got to the park and cancha (the soccer field). It was our first interaction with the kids of the neighborhood, what I have been waiting and excited to do, and where I first got to really use my spanish (and got laughed at!). Nicki and I found a couple of kids who wanted to play futbol on the smaller cancha. It was so fun to just run around with these kids and not understand half of what they said!
Kids in Ecuador are not different than kids in the US when it comes down to it. They want to play and have fun and just be kids, and they love it. And though half of them go to school and the other half don't, there is no stereotyping or differing in the relationship between those kids, and they don't judge. That was just amazing to me!
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