Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I woke up this morning a little before my alarm went off at 6:45. I got ready quickly and had some extra time to read and pray before breakfast at 7:30. Today we had strawberry yogurt with banana, papaya, and pineapple, and of course coffee. I ate quickly and left around 7:45 to search for the daycare.

I found it easily. Elisa greeted me when I arrived. There were already about eight children there. I talked to them and tried to ask them their names, but they were really difficult to understand. The youngest child there is a 9 month old named Rosy. The oldest child is six or seven. A five or six year old girl named Estefani quickly became my friend. We spent the half hour before breakfast dancing, galloping, and skipping across the room. Then I helped the children eat breakfast which consisted of a bowl of cooked plantains and a cup of “mush” (pronounced moosh). All the children except Rosy sat at the table and ate. I helped feed Fridel, a boy who looked like he was about 14 months old, if I had to guess. After breakfast, we went back in the big room and played for about twenty minutes. The boys played really roughly, and I was worried that someone was going to hit his head on the cement floor. There are many beds in the big room. I thought it was interesting that the cribs only have three sides and the open side is pushed up against the wall. One of the cribs is next to an electrical outlet within reach of the child in the crib. Yikes!

Next, all but the very youngest children went into a different room for class. Audi (sp?) is the teacher. The children painted pictures of jello that Audi had traced from a book. The children dipped their fingers in water and then in little watercolor paints in order to paint. Estefani and William had not done their homework, so they had to work on it while the others painted. Next, Audi gave each child an assignment in personal notebooks. Most of the children were supposed to trace lines or shapes in their books, but the older ones had to copy letters or words. When they finished this, they got to draw in another notebook. When they had finished this, we went outside for playtime. The children got to use some toys. Most of them were old and dirty. I danced with Estefani and then she found some binoculars made out of two empty bottles hooked together and we played pretend with them. It was a great way for me to learn names because she would look through the binoculars and say the name of the child that she saw. Then we would switch roles. If I didn’t know a child’s name, I would describe the child by what he or she was doing or wearing and Estefani would help me with the name. Some of the other children are Katy, Katy, Jimmy, Jonathan, David, Camilo, Victor, William, Fridel, Carlitos, and Rosy. The teachers sat on a step and supervised the children. I held Rosy for a while and played with her. I don’t think she likes me very much. If I held her so she could see my face, she would start to cry, so I had to hold her where she couldn’t look at me, and it helped if I didn’t talk! The other children carry Rosy all around. I was afraid someone would drop her on the cement. Finally, I helped clean up and wash the hands of all the children. I accompanied them to the table, and then I left.

I walked straight to the internet café and checked email, posted my latest blog, and got to talk to Natalie on Skype. I was glad I got to talk to her because yesterday when I was online, no one else was. I only stayed a half hour because I had to go home for lunch. I stopped by my room to wash my hands, and then I went in the house. I set the table with the help of Bolut (sp?). We had hot vegetable soup that was more of a crema, tortillas made with black corn, and beets mixed with a few pieces of pineapple. Oh, we also had pureed lentils with carrots and rice. I think the lentils were the other left over from last night. It was all very good. I stopped by my room to grab my stuff for class and to brush my teeth. Sandy came to tell me that Bolut was waiting for me.

Bolut and I walked to class together. We speak almost completely in Spanish, although is Spanish consists of few words. When we got to the school, we talked for a while longer, and then our teachers arrived. Today was better with Leonel. We conversed for a while, and then I read my composition to him. He said that he was impressed with my Spanish because I know all the rules of the grammar. I think that is not exactly true, but it was a nice compliment. He said that he had to talk with the director of the school because I already know everything he was trying to teach me yesterday. He said I already finished all the worksheets that he had on the difference between the preterite and imperfect. Instead, today we worked with three verbs that have many uses: tratar, echar, and quedar. Leonel would introduce each different meaning and then write an example sentence. I then had to write another example. Instead of trying to write the sentences perfectly by limiting my vocabulary and grammar, I tried to use phrases or vocabulary that I wasn’t sure if it would work in that specific circumstance. After we finished all the uses of one verb, I would do 4-5 worksheets practicing the different uses. Then we would move on to the next verb. During the break, I wrote my composition for tomorrow. The theme is education, but I had to use all the different uses of the verb tratar in the composition. I finished it before the break was over. We continued with the verbs until it was time to go.

I waited for Bolut who was still working, and then we walked home together. He is super considerate. I was trying to make conversation in simple words, and so I said that it was cold. He immediately started taking off his coat to give it to me! I explained that I was fine, but the air was cold. (It was really cold today. In class, I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, a zip-up sweatshirt, and a fleece jacket, and I was shivering most of the afternoon, especially when it rained. Most of the students went on a field trip to the museum near Central Park, but I didn’t want to give up class time to go. On Thursday, I think they are going to a chocolate shop, so I am not sure if I will go. I want to, but I really don’t want to miss out on class time. The students who went to the museum were gone for more than three hours!

When we got back, I quickly went to my room and washed my hands. It was about ten minutes after 7, which is what time dinner starts. However, I was not late. We had eggs with rice, black beans, salsa, and bread. After dinner, Bolut loaned books that he had bought to me and Gaby. He is very generous. I washed my dishes and then went into the living room to work on my homework. I talked with Sandy and she showed me the leg warmer that she had finished last night. She put it on her leg to show me. Gaby and Sandy were waiting for Roberto to come home so they could use the car. When he finally arrived later than expected, they got up to leave. Sandy asked me if I wanted to go. I had no idea where they were going! I asked and she said that it was a meeting of women from the church. I asked what time they would be back and she said 9:30. I said I would like to go, so I left my stuff on the couch and walked out the door with them. We dropped Gaby off at Sandy’s cousin’s house and continued on to the meeting. It was at someone’s house, and we were late. While we were driving, Sandy told me that her grandparents raised her because her parents and 8 year old sister were killed in an accident when Sandy was 12. How sad!

We entered the house and were greeted by the four other women. The woman leading the Bible study talked very quickly, without hardly ever taking a breath. I had difficulty in understanding her. They were learning how to be better wives, which probably was not the most applicable lesson for me, but since I only understood about half of what was said, it probably didn’t matter much. About halfway through the Bible study, Sandy turned to me with a funny expression on her face, and she told me that she forgot to take off the single leg warmer that she had tried on earlier. She discretely tried to remove it, though we were both giggling silently.

When they finished the lesson, another woman prayed and I could understand pretty much everything that she said because she spoke slower and more clearly. Then we had pound cake and hot chocolate with rice in it. The chocolate part was fine, but I really did not care for half a cup of soggy rice floating in it! We left soon after we ate. I think Sandy felt bad because it was 10:30 by the time we got home instead of 9:30 like she said. We stopped by to pick up Gaby and I met Sandy’s cousin and her dog. When we got home, I went in the house and grabbed my backpack and went to my room. I got ready for bed, wrote this blog, and now I need to finish my homework, although it is late. I hope to be asleep by midnight since it is now 11:30.