Day 5: Land of a Thousand Hugs

If I had known when I woke up, that my day would include dozens of hugs I would have jumped out of bed a lot faster. Still I woke up, to the roosters and the car horns, excited for a day of teaching a small group of children. We piled into our guagua and set off for a short drive to a local public school. There is so much to say about my day. I will attempt to keep my recollection as coherent as possible, pero algunos días son como sueño. 

I was with one of the first pairs to walk around the community with two hermanas de Project Las Americas and speak with parents (primarily mothers) about the importance of helping their children read at home. "Un libro cerrado es un amigo que espera". At the houses I visited, the mothers welcomed us; they opened their gates, pulled out chairs, and shared a part of their lives with us. Las hermanas encouraged them to spend twenty minutes a day with their children befriending a book. What an important message to disseminate in a community where education is not everyone's biggest priority. With this experience I know I was a part of empowering people to educated themselves and their families using the skills they already have and the skills their children will bring home from school. What an inspirational start to my day! 

We returned to the school and sat in on lessons, recess, and lunch. The sun shine so brightly into the classrooms that the teachers didn't even bother with the lights. Even in classrooms of 30+ kids, with noise from every direction and the beautiful day beckoning from the windows, the teachers carry on with their lessons and the students were eager to participate. I have to admit I am jealous of how well they are able to focus when they are competing with the roar of mortocycles, the joyful yells of children playing, and the the sheer newness of us being in their classroom. Still they learn, and they read, and their hands fly up eagerly to show off what they know. 

There was an atmosphere of love at the schools we visited today that I have never experienced anywhere else. The teachers are patient. There is no shortage of curiousity and excitement from the children. After lunch, we moved to a different school less than two minutes away. Just in time for a few lessons and then...recess! I am not exaggerating when I say recess was for these kids was absolute chaos (in a good way!). Swarms flocked to us ready to dance, laugh, run, play, or just stand their looking at each other. No matter when we did, it was fun for everyone. We played games they  would teach us, we played games we would teach them, and we played games we would make up as we went along. Who cared as long as we all were having fun, and when it was time to go we all parted ways as new friends. Recess was the land of a thousand hugs and endless possibility. Isn't that a place you would like to go?