Writing again to say hello and update you. Dave is coming tomorrow and I am soooooooo happy! Things here are going well, but so slow paced, which I should have expected here in Latin America.... I came down one week before Dave so I could prepare my classroom but still have not been able to get in.... and youd never guess why.... one of the Detroit Pistons players is coming down to pass out shoes to all the kids... 1500 crocs... and every last one of them in is MY classroom of all places. What can you do... the funny thing is the kids have never heard of the Pistons or the NBA so they really couldnt care less, other than that they are getting a new pair of shoes...
So in the meantime I have just been getting to know my kids by going around to all the different houses and talking to the kids and their tias... tias are like housemoms... it looks like I will have a group of 10 self contained in the morning, and do resource and pull out in small groups and one on one in the afternoon. They all have very different reactions when I meet with them to tell them they are going to be working with me this year. I have a few who run to me whenever they see me, jump into my arms, and tell me how many more days are left in the countdown until school starts because they are so excited. And then there are a few who run the other direction. One was in a full out fist fight when I came into his house and his poor tias were trying to hold him back, but finally gave up as he stormed out of the house with a crowd behind him to run across the field and find his victim. He is 13 and Im a little apprehensive about how I will help him. My students will range from ages 4 to 16, everywhere from blind to unable to walk to nonverbal to severely emotionally impaired to profound mental retardation to dyslexic. And their Spanish is difficult to understand, if they speak at all, so it will definitely be a challenge. But with a little love and creativity, hopefully I will at least reach some of them.
Other than that, I have just been hanging around the orphanage, playing with the girls and helping out where I can... and studying and practicing my Spanish. Tonight we had a dance party in my house with all the girls, and then sat under the stars with 200 kids on the basketball court, and watched a movie projected onto a big white sheet. I am hoping and praying tomorrow, if I am allowed to move the 1500 croc shoes myself, I can hopefully get into my dirty, empty classroom to start on trying to make it look like a classroom. Right now other than the 1500 shoes, there are only a few desks. If I cant, at least I will be able to go to the airport and see Dave. Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary and it was so hard not to be with him.
Please keep in touch, and keep me posted on how things are going back there. I will try to send pictures soon. Please pray for the kids, and especially for their health as they have many diseases and some are HIV positive. One of the kids with AIDS died this summer, and it was really hard on a lot of the other kids and the staff here. Pray that I will be able to reach them, and that I will have patience with the ones that are not so easy to reach. And also, if anyone can get in touch with Sui and Lili to check in, I would be so appreciative. I miss them terribly. Again, please forward on this message for me as I dont have everyone in my address book.
Love and prayers to all,
Kristin
PS The punctuation marks on this computer dont work, in case you are wondering about the lack of question marks and such...
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| This is what my classroom looked like after they "cleaned it out" for me :( |
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