May 23

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