One of the little boys took this photo of Marian, Noah, and me...he likes to play with my hair.Despite showering from a trashcan full of water, or squashing creepy crawlers around my room most evenings...I think I have adjusted. And my attitude towards it all has definitely improved.
Yesterday I was finally feeling strong enough to check out the project. The other volunteers and I hopped on the chicken bus at around 7:45AM for a quick (but could have been quicker) ride up to the village of La Thompson. The bus dropped us off on the highway and we started on foot the rest of the way to the village. When we were about halfway, the welcoming committee came running up. Little hands clasped mine on each side and we continued to walk the rest of the way like this. Marian (18, Seattle) said that they greet them every morning like this. I was amazed at how friendly they were to me RIGHT away. They had never seen me before, yet they fought with each other to hold my hands.... I wished I had 10 hands!
The GVI school is still under construction. Right now it is beams, a roof and the beginnings of walls. We host a preschool, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. School was a bit hard to conduct with the dust the wind was blowing in, so we took the kids for a walk. We walked through the village to a farm close by. I saw the biggest chanco (pig) I have EVER seen in my entire life. All I could think about was bacon???? Not sure I can eat it anymore.....well...who am I kidding? Anyway, the farm seemed to be mostly pigs, tomatoes, and coffee. The kids loved it.
It has been so interesting to me to see how different the children are in each location/country. The nicaraguan children are so sweet and clingy. They are very physical with each other. Lovingly and rough. There are two mentally challenged kids in the school. When asking around the community what was wrong with Carlo, the answers were all different. "Oh, he just has a headache." "His stomach hurts." "His legs are bothering him." They do not understand his condition...and how could they?? Has he ever even seen a dr.??
If I were to guess....I would say Autistic. He is amazing.
After class, we hopped in the back of a pick up heading back to Esteli and then had frozen mochas at a local coffee shop and discussed the day.
I´m not here to be comfortable. I am here to be with them :)
The GVI school is still under construction. Right now it is beams, a roof and the beginnings of walls. We host a preschool, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. School was a bit hard to conduct with the dust the wind was blowing in, so we took the kids for a walk. We walked through the village to a farm close by. I saw the biggest chanco (pig) I have EVER seen in my entire life. All I could think about was bacon???? Not sure I can eat it anymore.....well...who am I kidding? Anyway, the farm seemed to be mostly pigs, tomatoes, and coffee. The kids loved it.
It has been so interesting to me to see how different the children are in each location/country. The nicaraguan children are so sweet and clingy. They are very physical with each other. Lovingly and rough. There are two mentally challenged kids in the school. When asking around the community what was wrong with Carlo, the answers were all different. "Oh, he just has a headache." "His stomach hurts." "His legs are bothering him." They do not understand his condition...and how could they?? Has he ever even seen a dr.??
If I were to guess....I would say Autistic. He is amazing.
After class, we hopped in the back of a pick up heading back to Esteli and then had frozen mochas at a local coffee shop and discussed the day.
I´m not here to be comfortable. I am here to be with them :)
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