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Classroom
Our little run-down classroom (broken windows and leaky roofs). Ahh my. Today was a tough day.
BUT, to begin with...thanks to all the family who have been sending messages. It really helps. (Especially you Dwight...a.k.a. Brooke).
Anyways. My afternoon was absolutely chaotic.
Since two of the Brits have left, I´ve been the only one going to the brick-making community in the afternoons. Me with 30 or more Peruvian kids in a little run-down classroom does not make for a good time. Most of the kids, as I´ve mentioned, are absolute dolls...but (as you know mom), it only takes a few bad ones to ruin the whole day. And today there were more than a few bad ones.
The thing is, they´re not ¨American bad¨; they´re ¨Peruvian bad¨ which means they are absolutey out of control and terrible. Example: today they kicked open the door, threw paint all over some of the little girls, stole markers, toys and other of our precious few items, threw a bag of flour all over the floor, threw chairs at the window, ripped down the pictures hanging on the wall and, guess what?....much more. I mean, it was chaos. Really chaos.
I had to shut down shop 30 minutes early. The sweet kids who
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Fellow volunteers...two Brits and a German. come and draw and do puzzles and learn and make bracelets etc. etc. were really disappointed. That´s their only outlet, and thus I was just furious at these nasty little kids who were completely going nuts. The sad thing is there was nothing I could do. I ended up having to grab a couple by their ears and throw them out so I could lock the door shut and leave. They will not listen and do not understand respect whatsoever. Some of them have never been in school...they just run around the streets all day. I´m sure they´ve had horrific childhoods...I´m sure they´ve been abused. I raised my hand to call for silence today and a couple of the little boys next to me shuddered and covered their heads, thinking that I was going to hit them.
SO. Today was hard. But you know who I thought of all day? My lovely cousin Kate. I kept thinking in my head ¨what would Kate do?¨She´s never given up, and neither will I.
With this mindset, I´m putting on my dusty shoes and walking back to that classroom tomorrow afternoon. If anything, I´m even more determined to make this work. These kids
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Typical day on the roof... have never had the slightest bit of structure so that´s going to change and I´m absolutey set on making it happen. And maybe I´ll even do it with a bit of a sense of humor (derived again from Kate).
I´ll admit I was a bit defeated though as I dragged myself home. I decided to take the long way home, and thus cut through a sheep pasture and headed up steep hills that provide great views of the Andes. Instead of passing by street vendors and noisy cars, I only trotted by the occasional Incan-looking woman; large hat and skirt, baby tied to their backs, herding a few skinny oxen. I stopped at a mountain stream to listen and breath...felt absolutely refreshed.
I don´t feel the same. I´m so grateful for everything that I have at home. I make lists in my head as a I walk along: showers, comfy beds, a stove, a microwave, my roomate, running....oh running. It´s impossible to run here. I´ve faced that fact, but it´s a harsh one. The paved streets are filled with crazy drivers, and the dusty ones go too far out of town to be safe. I´ve resigned myself to taking long
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View of a nearby town. walks and doing pilates...but it´s just SO not the same. I´ll never again complain about running again. Ever.
Yesterday, Lindsey and I went to Francisco Meyer; a girls orphange; and had a splendid time. We let the little girls strip off their clothes and play in a huge puddle that had formed in the grass overnight. They were absolutely blissful. It reminded us both so much of what it was like to be kids...how simple and innocent. Two hours filled with dumping buckets of water over their heads and running around the garden naked (view of the Andes in the background)...times like these make me really love it here.
Lindsey and I were also talking about our futures. Being here really puts life in a weird perspective. I mean, I started off giving the usual line about working for the UN or another international organization and blah blah blah and then all the sudden I just started gushing about being an author and moving up to a little cabin in Minnesota and marrying some J.D. Salinger type...and it was strange. Where did that come from? But to just write down all those random pieces of nonsense and truths that run through your head all day instead of trying to live some conventional life that you´ve planned on for so long...? Sounds alright with me. Then again, I realize that I´m getting mixed up here and things will probably fall back in their little line once I get back to Iowa.
Not sure what I wrote about today...but love to you all. Very much love. (!)
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Sammy Sosa
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A Celeb baseball player in luv with a Paige?
Paige... I miss you so much! Reading this entry for some reason brought a wave of emotion. It's amazing how much you grow when you are out of your comfort zone. It shows you who you really are and you my Paige are wonderful and beautiful. ah yes I know I will stop this sentimental crap. Will you post some pictures of your orphans? I'm to put some faces with these stories. Thank ya. Me encanta tu! Is that right? Brookie Rooster