Back by Popular Demand

So, it's been a few days since I've posted anything and I figured that everyone is waiting with baited breath to hear about my latest adventures. Well, I went into Santiago this past weekend to pick up a flashy going-out shirt (green, of course) and ended up getting some snazzy pants as well. Together, those two things cost under $30. Score.

I finally made it to my service site this past Wednesday. I'm going to the Cien Fuegos School, where I am helping out in one of the classrooms. The principle showed us around and told us to go into one of two classrooms. However, as I was walking out to recess, I was grabbed and forcibly pulled inside another classroom. Since I was already there and being mobbed by small children, I decided to help out there that day. When I finally did make it out to recess, I made the mistake of giving one kid a piggy-back ride. Instantly, there were 4 more kids crawling over me and fighting to use me as a human jungle-gym. I made it back to the classroom after struggling to get away. I stumbled my way through telling the teacher I was there to help. It was frustrating. The kids in the class didn't stop talking the whole time, even when the teacher would yell at them. Not only were pens and pencils flying across the room, several fights broke out during the two hours I was there. By the way the teacher acted, this was just business as usual. All I could say were the few stock phrases I knew, "sientate," "paga atencion," "silencio," and "pare."

Probably the hardest thing to see was that the few kids who were paying attention could hardly hear above the din of the classroom. By the way a few of them were taking notes (the rest weren't even trying), they didn't understand what the words on the board meant: they were copying the symbols without knowing what they represented. Near the end of the class, I tried to work with a few of the kids on their multiplication. Let's just say, it's incredibly hard to explain in Spanish. By the end though, I think I taught one of them how to multiply by 10's. I just hope it sticks with him and I don't have to reteach it next week.

Things around ILAC have been pretty slow the last few days because people are getting sick. I felt like a nurse, running around and checking up on those people who weren't feeling well. I spent a lot of time with one of the people who was sick, but I'll leave that there. I love helping people, so it was nice to lend a hand when it was needed. Hopefully, no more of us catch what seems to be going around. I'm not feeling too hot today, but I think I'm just tired from the weekend and running around the whole time.

Hasta luego,

Gris