Last Wednesday, I had some cards with numbers and animals on them to help the first graders learn English. There were 16 kids in class that day and I only had numbers 1-10 so they had to get partners. David, the maestro, suggested one boy and one girl. Since they wouldn’t choose their own partners, I had everyone come to the front of the class and I asked for volunteers. I happened to get a boy and a girl first. So I gently pushed them together and told them they were partners. The girl screams at the top of her lungs and runs to the other side of the classroom. From then on, we decided it was best if they simply picked their own partners. I have to say though, it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen.

I started running with Katy last week. We go at about 5:45 am and sometimes meet some of the other Gringas in town. I usually cut out early so I can come back, eat, shower and meet Armando at 7 to catch a pickup. It’s dark when we leave but fairly light by the time I get back. It just means I get up even earlier, around 4:30 some days when I decide sleeping is better than preparing the night before. I’m really glad Katy likes to run because I would never go running here by myself simply because I would get a lot of funny looks. When there’s someone else that gets funny looks too, it’s not so bad.

Sunday I went swimming again at the same beach we went to the first Sunday I was here. Angelica and I went with the church again. This time, there was a group of American students from Anderson University helping the church build two houses here. At the beach, the students gave away a ton of soccer equipment to the kids and also adults. They had uniforms, soccer balls, and cleats; the whole works. Then of course, there were some games. There was one game where the natives played the Gringos. Needless to say we lost. Most Americans ended up with some sort of scrape on their knees; everyone still had a great time though. The women had bought a bunch of meat and cooked it on a grill and also brought a ton of rice, cucumber and tortillas. I guess it’s their version of a BBQ.

One of the women grilling beef at the beach

That night, I went with Mercedes and Chonita to church. The Americans sang a couple songs and gave a couple of speeches. Of course, the whole congregation was grateful to them and so kind. The Evangelical service was basically a series of prayers and speeches about praising God and finding Him everywhere. Of course, there were wonderful songs as well. It was almost more of an assembly than a prayer service, but it was still interesting.

Not that I want to make anyone jealous, but this is what I wake up to nearly every day

Take care everyone,
Theresa

go to June 23