La Escuela en El Gorrion

Ok, so I feel like I just updated this, but there’s so much stuff I can tell you about.  (I know this got sort of long, so if you don’t feel like reading all of it, just read the last paragraph- it’s a super cute story!)

I now understand what my grandparents meant when they say they had to “walk uphill both ways to school.”  We live sort of in the mountains, and there are hills everywhere!  I also haven’t completely adjusted to the altitude yet which makes it harder.   The hike on Sunday we great; it was probably one of the hardest walks I’ve ever been on, but it was fun.   At the top was an ecological park that the Peace Corps built a few years ago.  At the top of the mountain was a park built out of tree trunks and wood.  It was pretty cool.

We started our ministry sites this week.  I’m going to a school in El Gorrión, a town that is about a twenty minute walk from Magdalena.  The school is a lot different than schools in the US.  There are four different classrooms there; one for kindergarten, and then the rest is like a multi-age classroom in the US.  School here starts at 7:30 and is done at 12:30.  They have recess at 10:30 and there is a concession stand out front where the kids can buy snacks during recess for super cheap.  One little bag of chips costs about 6 cents compared to the 75 cents you would pay in the US.

The kids there are SO great!  I love them SO much!  They are constantly climbing on me.  When I put one down, there is at least one more right there ready to jump on me!  The kids are constantly saying “Vuelta! Vuelta!” (Spin me! Spin me!)!   Yesterday we played “Pato, Pato, Ganso” (duck, duck, goose)

                The site leader at la escuela is Marcos, and he teaches art, music, English, and phy ed.  Today Tara and I taught the kids parts of the body and we played Simon Says and sang “Head and Shoulders.” We also do other random things at the school and in El Gorrión after school.  So far, I have helped clean out a cistern by carrying five gallon pails of water, moved cement bricks into classrooms, went to houses within the community to talk with them and pray, and currently we are working on painting a woman’s house in the community. 

I know this is getting long, but I have the cutest host brother ever.  On Tuesday night he wanted to go to bed because he was tired, but Leah and I weren’t home yet (our curfew is 8:30).  Because he is our big brother, he wouldn’t go to bed until he knew we were safe and at home.  Then on Wednesday night Leah and I were at home, but we weren’t in bed yet, so Wilmar wouldn’t go to bed yet because he wanted to make sure that we were safe and in bed.  By the way, Wilmer is probably about 13!  SO CUTE!!

PS.  I'll try to put pictures up soon, but I haven't taken a ton yet.