Jan 6 2010

It is getting harder and harder to wake up each morning. As we become more active during the day, we sleep much more. This morning we had to wake up at 8:40 to get to reflection. After our shopping spree yesterday we had plenty to eat for breakfast. We are keeping our cold items in San Miguel’s fridge so we went down there to grab some yogurt. The yogurt here is SO GOOD! It’s funny because Mary and I put cereal in our yogurt bowls and I felt like a 4 year old because while Mary’s bowl had some kinda nasty healthy granola something or another, my bowl was filled with colorful, sugar-filled, Trix. After our delicious breakfast we headed to the chapel for reflections, which is a time for singing and a few gospel verses and parables. It was nice because Mary and I got to sit outside in the hot sun. I heard it is suppose to snow big time tomorrow in Nashville. Have fun with that! Were just chillin down here in 90 degree weather… no big deal! After reflections we met with Chris to get a bunch of questions answered and the last details or our agenda ironed out. We were given the schedule of our meals for the rest of our stay and a list of birthdays in January so that Mary and I can make cards for the children. Judo started around 11 so I joined in that for a while. I’m getting pretty good but I still get laughed at quite a bit for my lack of flexibility during stretches. After a while in Judo class I went to Casa San Martin, the boys house, and played cards for an hour or so. I really enjoy hanging out with the guys for many reasons but the first being that I can connect with boys much easier than I can with girls. I have the same laid back attitude and energetic nature and the 11-16 year old boys… go figure. Lunch was in Casa San Francisco with some interesting characters. There were a lot of children from the same family. The only boy, a four year old named Eduardo, is the happiest child in the villa. His three sisters, Marianna, Rosalie, and Isabelle, look so much alike but are all so different. There were 3 other girls in the house but they were very shy and preferred to watch TV than talk to us. As much as we tried, we could not get them to hold a conversation. I have added “Get to know the girls from San Francisco” to my to-do list. Lunch was actually delicious and very filling today. We had rice (again), a slice of meet, 2 boiled potatoes, and a SALTED fried egg. The word salted is in all caps for a reason- it’s a BIG DEAL! After lunch I returned to San Martin to finish up a nail-biting game of spit with a boy named Marco. I would rather not talk about the outcome seeing as I was the one who taught him the game! All that aside, we had a great time. We had the whole house screaming and shouting. By 2:30 it was time to start our activities. For the older kids, who meet between 2:30-4:00, we played… take a wild guess… MORE DODGEBALL! You can’t imagine how in love with this game these kids are. That is all they want to do. So, as a result of their adoration for chucking soccer balls at each other, I will suffer from multiple minor injuries including a bruise on the side of my face, burns from sliding on many different surfaces, and a small cut on my leg from landing on a stick as I dodged a flying ball. If you haven’t already figured it out… this game is life or death. Finally, the exhausted leaders called a time-out and took a ten minute break before ushering in the smaller children. With the little ones, we played old favorites like Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says, and Octopus. All were a big hit. These children seem to have no end to the energy. As much as we try to wear them out, we always receive the response, “MAS MAS!” It’s extremely frustrating. After we finished, we went back to the room to wash up for dinner. The TV was on throughout the meal which made conversation near impossible. The food wasn’t as satisfying as it was for lunch but it was still decent. After dinner we had promised the boys and their Tio (the male version of a mama) that we would spend the majority of our after-dinner time in their house. These couple of hours were so much fun. We played an intense game of spoons and then ended up attempting to break dance, but unlike at San Miguel, the guys did not sit and laugh at us, they joined in and we all enjoyed ourselves. After a quick visit with the girls, Mary and I proceeded to our casa where I now sit. I have gotten myself addicted to Flavor blasted goldfish and spoonfuls and Nutella. Don’t you dare judge me. So that is what I am doing now while Mary sits across from me in the adjacent bed eating out of our 1.6 kg container of sour gummy worms and bragging about her “level 13 Charmander” in her Pokemon game for Gameboy Color. This is what I have to live with. I’m just kidding. We actually get along surprisingly well despite the fact that she is a dork. I gotta go so I can make fun of her some more. Chao amigos y familia.