20 de mayo del 2010
This morning we took two long bus rides to reach a market area outside the city. There were about 15 kids who participated in the morning program. Once again, the most adorable kids I’ve ever seen in my life. Out of all the children I’ve seen this week, they had the hygiene part down pat the most. One little boy went as far as to wash his whole head, hair and all, out of the small bowl of water.
After play time and song time, Patti asked me to walk around with her to talk with the parents whose kids weren’t yet involved in the program. I think I’m officially on the “recruitment” team. I played with a little girl named Mabel first. She is 1 year and 8 months old and her parents both work in the market on Thursdays and Sundays. During the time with Mabel, I was able to witness firsthand the bargaining that goes down in the market scene. The venders often sell things to one another. A woman tried selling Mabel’s mother something for 50 cents, and she rebutted with 25 cents and so on and so on. I think they settled on 30 or 35 cents. Anyhow, the whole process was very interesting. Each woman was a little sassy, but that’s part of the bargaining strategy.
Next, I sat with Fernando who is 3 years and 8 months old. While being coached by his dad, Fernando colored pictures of a dog and a big moose head. His dad turned a bowl upside down as a table on which he could color. The thing that almost brought me to tears today was the parents. The love Mabel and Fernando’s parents had for them was so clear. Mabel’s mom and dad carefully instructed her on where to place each big puzzle piece as if her life depended on it. They laughed together. They had a family moment over this silly little toy (likely a rare sight for them) and it was beautiful. Fernando’s dad gave great attention to his son all the while continuing to sell vegetables. Little Fernando kept saying “Ya!” to indicate he thought he had finished coloring, but his dad wouldn’t let him stop until both sides of the coloring sheet were complete. He also made sure Fernando kept switching colors according to what was appropriate for each part. Basically, he was taking this opportunity to teach his son. I don’t really know how else to describe why this was such a beautiful sight, but I’m crying now as I write this, so just take my word for it.
Of course they are not the first parents to love their children and I’m sure that if I intentionally focused on observing parental care all the time, I would see the same thing the great majority of the time. But usually I just focus on playing with the kid. But the parents are part of the unit of care, in my opinion. While many of them do force their children to work in the markets, many of them (probably most) experience great guilt for giving their children the same life they probably had growing up. I could be way off, but I think this is the case. We all function under a “just blame the parents” mentality. Maybe we should be a little more understanding toward them as we serve their children.
After the always scariest part of the day- returning the children to their parents under the direction of the children themselves- Rebecca, Kat, and I headed back to the office. Kat is a new volunteer form England. As we were getting off the bus, two guys were fist-fighting, and the bus driver stopped directly in front of it. As they moved up the sidewalk punching one another, all the girls from the adjacent school ran back into the little campus screaming. Nobody wanted to get hit. We took the long way to the office. I’m glad we did. Rosa explained to me that this is a popular tactic for theft. The fight might have been real, but was more than likely a distraction for a partner in crime stealing something in the commotion.
I started Spanish lessons this afternoon. Susana is my instructor. She is super friendly! She began by interviewing me with general questions to gage my present level. Then she asked me to recite the Spanish alphabet, numbers, colors, names of common places visited, areas of the house, etc. She asked me how much I know about grammar and then had me conjugate 4 pages worth of verbs in the indicative: present, past, and future. Then she quizzed me on common phrases and gerunds, and parts of speech. Finally, she had me write complete sentences using as many parts of speech as possible. I showed off a little with the subjunctive : ) Finally, she stopped and said, “You already know everything.” I explained that I’ve had a lot of grammar training and can read and write a lot more easily than speak, because I don’t practice much back home. So we just talked the rest of the time. We talked politics, health care, education, trends in marriage and families (apparently divorce is just as bad in this country and teen pregnancy rates are worse), compared the USA and Ecuador- a little of everything. She explained the fear the people have under the present president (apparently the most attractive of all the presidents) of turning to communism. Tomorrow we are going on a little excursion to Quito Viejo, the colonial region. Immersion is the best practice. So for now, 3 hours of class down with 17 more to go.
During the afternoon, I met two other new volunteers. Guess from… Tampa! One of them goes to UF. Now that really IS a small world. I don’t think we’ll be hanging out in Gainesville though. The first thing he and his friend asked me about was the night life here. I told them he could go to any other volunteer for that information. They were nice though and I got to translate between them and the supervisor for some questions they had.
I ended the day as usual, returning home briefly and then finding an internet center for some quality Skype time. When I returned home, Rosa had prepared a feast for me. She brought out a delicious dish of rice, chicken, peas, carrots, and steamed potatoes. Then, she presented her vegetable soup. She also brought out popcorn (they like popcorn with their soup) and jello. I couldn’t finish everything, but she said she’s just give it to the dog. Keith and Michelle left for the Amazon and Rosa and I had a quality chat and then bonded over American television shows dubbed in Spanish: America’s Next Top Model and Fear Factor. Good times. Oh! I just had my first hot shower here. Not a necessity, but still a gift from God! I just pulled out the white “magic nap blanket” from home (just like Linus), so I think I’ll sleep peacefully tonight : )
