I've been here for two weeks and am finally beginning to feel improvement with my Spanish! I've been studying it in school for years but never fully realized how difficult it would be to learn a new language. There are times when it is extremely difficult, like when the kids fight. Other than that everyone is so patient with me!
I have a calendar with each day of the week planned out. Mondays and Wednesdays I'm teaching English to a group of people my age and it is so much fun! The school where I teach is called Cemain and the class is for people who want experience working in a restaurant. I asked the teacher, "So do all of these people want to be servers?" and she replied, "They just want jobs". And with more experience in different trades, the easier it is (though it is "impossible" to get a job here, say many of the locals).
Monday and Wednesday afternoons, I help kids learn English. They struggle so much, just like me learning Spanish! We can relate to one another very well! The Sisters told me the students are "problem kids", so they definitely have a ton of energy and don't like to do their work. Either way, I love these kids. They try so hard to speak to me but they don't exactly know how to! Hand signals and acting things out are working just fine, though!
Thursdays I teach English at a Peluqueria (hair salon). It's just me, a bunch of girls my age, and their teacher, and it is so much fun!! Today they gave me a manicure, pedicure, and styled my hair!! I had four girls working on me at once! Hahaha I felt like a princess but they need all the practice they can get. We're thinking about some hair color next time. ;)
The lives of the people here, at least the ones that I interact with, are so polar opposite from back home. The other day we had pasta with ketchup for lunch. I have taken so much for granted. Many of the girls at the Peluqueria don't have parents. The other day, Sister Rosillo showed them a short video with a beautiful song about mothers and pictures of children with their mothers because a special feast day of Mary our Mother is coming. They were chuckling a little when it began, so I assumed the rest of the song would be laughed at, when all of a sudden almost every single girl began crying. Literally about ten of the fifteen girls present were weeping. It was astounding. After the song, when it was just Sister Rosillo and myself, she told me that one day a priest came in and they watched a video about St. John Bosco. The girls were fascinated because they never learn of this kind of thing. Afterwards, the priest asked if any of the girls would like to go to confession for their first time. Every hand shot up with girls screaming, "Yo! Yo! Por favor!" ("Me! Me! Please!") They are aching to learn more about God! How beautiful is that?
Until next time,
Christy
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
This is Unreal.
May 10, 2013
It's been two days since I arrived in Las Palmas and I still can't believe it! I walk around the city with a smile plastered on my face. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be!! I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building in "la casa del ninos". Six kids live here with four women who rotate staying here each day. Jaime is 5 years old (SO CUTE!!!), Alvaro is 10, Alfonso is 14, Masu is 15, Brian is 16, and Bea is 17. The kids are only allowed to live here until they're 18 but there are three other houses in Las Palmas that house those who are 18 and older. Sister Mercedes, the sister who set this all up for me, began a college for these adults where they can learn all tons of different trades. She is inspiring.
No one here speaks English. That part has been very interesting! It's very difficult but I'm sure my Spanish will improve with time (mucha, mucha tiempo...)! The people here have blown me away. They are so welcoming and light up when they learn I can't speak Spanish! Hahaha luckily, they're just as easily excited as I am.
Today there was a big fiesta at MAJO, the Salesian school for kids up to 18 years of age. Each class put on a dance and it was SO CUTE!!! I made many friends. Everyone here is so beautiful. I'm already thinking about how I never want to leave.
These two days alone have been a humbling experience. There is more poverty here than I imagined and I'm reminded of it everywhere I turn...mostly here in the orphanage. There is no toilet seat, we must take short showers because of the water shortage, clothes have holes, shoes don't match, you eat everything on your plate, but everyone is as happy as can be. There is so much I have to learn!
Until next time,
Christy
It's been two days since I arrived in Las Palmas and I still can't believe it! I walk around the city with a smile plastered on my face. This is exactly where I'm supposed to be!! I live on the 5th floor of an apartment building in "la casa del ninos". Six kids live here with four women who rotate staying here each day. Jaime is 5 years old (SO CUTE!!!), Alvaro is 10, Alfonso is 14, Masu is 15, Brian is 16, and Bea is 17. The kids are only allowed to live here until they're 18 but there are three other houses in Las Palmas that house those who are 18 and older. Sister Mercedes, the sister who set this all up for me, began a college for these adults where they can learn all tons of different trades. She is inspiring.
No one here speaks English. That part has been very interesting! It's very difficult but I'm sure my Spanish will improve with time (mucha, mucha tiempo...)! The people here have blown me away. They are so welcoming and light up when they learn I can't speak Spanish! Hahaha luckily, they're just as easily excited as I am.
Today there was a big fiesta at MAJO, the Salesian school for kids up to 18 years of age. Each class put on a dance and it was SO CUTE!!! I made many friends. Everyone here is so beautiful. I'm already thinking about how I never want to leave.
These two days alone have been a humbling experience. There is more poverty here than I imagined and I'm reminded of it everywhere I turn...mostly here in the orphanage. There is no toilet seat, we must take short showers because of the water shortage, clothes have holes, shoes don't match, you eat everything on your plate, but everyone is as happy as can be. There is so much I have to learn!
Until next time,
Christy
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