First Impressions

First of all, I would like to say I am extremely happy I don´t have the internet at the orphange. I would have updated my blog the first day saying I was in hell... After a full week there now I have adjusted and adapted a bit. My move in was a bit rough. I was locked outside for about 3 hours because everyone had left for a day trip. Then I was let in to the actual orphanage but didn´t have keys to the room my luggage was stored and didn´t have keys to the room where I would be sleeping. Long story short, I was able to sleep on a spare couch after being woken up about 3 times by kids with bloody knees, lips, etc. Although I do still think the conditions should be much better for the kids considering it is a US funded project, I also know that these conditions are better than what they had before. I would like to visit some other projects just for comparison purproses. But I think the main thing that should be improved at this point in time is the medical conditions for the kids. They haven´t been seen by a Doctor in over a year and many of them have lice, ringworms and many other various infections.

My first impression of the orphanage was that it is a terribly ran project... But I am calming down a bit. The kids are filthy, they don´t really bathe, they rarely have soap, they rinse off with a faucet that sits in the dirt in a courtyard. There are 3 dogs at the orphanage allowed indoors that poop and pee everywhere which the kids then sit and walk in... There are insects everywhere. There is no sense of sanitization... I wouldn´t complain about these things if they weren´t possible to improve but the building is a modern building and has the definite potential to be clean as well as the kids...

On a positive note, I am teaching first grade. I have 4 students, Angelo, Ruth, Desmand and Sara. I want to kidnap Angelo. He is this little short, pudgy, roundfaced boy who can walk on his hands for about 5 minutes. He has these huge brown eyes and he loves to learn. He is too sweet for words. The other´s are definitely cute as well but can be very challenging. The other day I had them all coloring together and Angelo was sitting next to Sarah. He would bump into her, intentionally, and then proceed to say, que paso mi amor, in this little innocent voice. It was adorable.

Classes are from 7:30-12 then the kids eat and clean from about 12-2. After that is free time or time for English lessons. I have been playing soccer with the kids which is a blast. The only downside is you are totally drenched with sweat before you even begin to run around. And they don´t fully, actually don`t at all, understand out of bounds, offsides, or any rules of the sport really. Actaully the only thing I think they know is the color of the cards, red and yellow. But it is still a blast.

I hope everyone is well back home. Thanks for the update about the weather, Chris. I had been wondering how you guys were doing, sun, rain, etc.
Take care.