There is a book written on El Porvenir, titled, a Gringo in Paradise. This is exactly what we are. GRINGOS IN PARADISE! I wake up every morning and am excited to see what the day will bring. May it be a child crying because the ants were biting his feet, milk spilling all over laps, a scorpion on the ceiling wall, or trying to tame the children as they take out any toy within sight, it’s all so worth it. No matter what I’m feeling, the 3 hours with the most adorable children can make any bad day, wonderful. To see their smiles, cries, laughter, screams, whins and the oh so common “chiname (pick me up),” I cant help but pick them up. They need so much love.
Nicole’s mother used to, or still might, sell drugs. Abner has been introduced to many things that a boy his age should not know about at the age of 5. Adrian had to move houses because his old one didn’t have electricity. Ronald lives in a 2 bedroom dirt floor house with 11 siblings. Yeison and Rossel buy sugar sticks or a small bag of chips before Kinder each morning as their breakfast. Bryan has worn the same shirt for the past week. Yeison is asked why his brother didn’t come to Kinder and his response is in tears, his mom hit him. And this is just what I see on the outside, I cant even imagine what else goes on at home or the pain they feel in their hearts.
This past weekend we had a few tropical storms pass by which brought tons of rain. Kinder was cancelled a few days because of it. A bunch of our kids houses were flooded after a big downpour a few days ago. The next day we had low attendance and Rosa, the teacher, said it was because there was still flooding in their neighborhoods. She said a lot of their houses were completely flooded out, ruining the little they have, and dirt floors turning to mud.
Children Against Hunger supports our kids in the Kinder. We have boxes and boxes of prepackaged rice to hand out to the kids weekly. I was overjoyed the first time I handed them out to the kids. At home, I’ve helped package them, but never did I even think about being there when the children actually receive the rice. I was so overjoyed. It was so perfect to be able to see not only how they are made and the process of making the rice bags, but also to be able to be the person to give it to the children. We handed the rice bags out before the rain storm came, but the day after we had visitors to our house asking for some extra rice. I guess that’s the only downfall of being the gringos in town, EVERYONE knows where we live. We even get some that pass by and just shout random English phrases up to us.
Every Monday and Wednesday we have a class “the sandcastle” where a few of the older boys (about 11-13) come and we help them out since they are not in school. We have been working on math and reading lately. Some can’t read at all and others have been doing really well by sounding out words. It’s so great to see them trying and once they get a word, I feel such a sense of accomplishment for them. Teaching is actually kind of fun! It’s also good for me because I feel so successful when I can teach a child in another language! It’s an adventure, but an beautiful one.
To switch subjects, I wanted to talk about a little of what has been going on with me. As some of you might already know, about a week ago, Cristina and I were approached by a man who tried to rob us. To make a long story short, we were walking ahead of the rest of our group, towards our house. As we got close to our front door, a man ran up to us, with one hand behind his back. He started asking for our phones, we said we didn’t own one. He then asked for our things, and our money. Since Cristina and I both speak Spanish, we could understand what he wanted but we were so in shock of the whole situation that we couldn’t say much of anything or think clearly. He threatened to kill us if we didn’t give him our money. Some of the girls were walking up closer to us and all I could say was “girls”. I think then they realized something wrong was going on, through the terror in my voice. They got the neighbor, who then came out and chased the guy away. My whole body was numb. It was one of the most scariest few moments of my life. However, to calm all your nerves, he did not have any sort of weapon with him. We were all fine and got into the house safely. We told those we needed to tell, the police were called, and we are in the middle of filing a report so that this guy is on file. Now, I don’t want you all to think El Porvenir is a dangerous town. I have actually never felt more at home and safe, in all my travels, as I do here. Word travels fast in this small town, so the community knows what happened, they know the guy, and with everyone looking out for us, he will not harm us again.
Other than that one incident, its been nothing but fun. We have been going on small weekend trips and day trips to places nearby. Even the $1.50 movie on Tuesdays has been a hit. Some other activities we find ourselves doing:
-Reading at the beach while a fan club of locals forms behind us
-Walking through town and saying hi to anyone and everyone who passes by
-Meeting the children’s families.
-Doing Zumba in our downstairs as people pass by and stare through the window.
-Watching the sunset along the beach from our porch.
- Playing bananagrams.
-Preparing for the next day activities with the kids.
-Having children show up at our house wanting to play soccer. Then going to play soccer and random children join us to create the soccer teams ‘Mexico v. Barcelona.’ Not only do children join in on the fun but the town seems to gather as well and watch us.
-Coloring with the kids and seeing how happy they are once they make a masterpiece.
-Translating a book into Spanish (trying to at least)
-Learning to cook (again, trying to)
-Becoming pros at hitch-hiking because there are no more buses for the day and a dollar-per-person taxi is just too expensive.
-Picking up the kids from their houses on a random afternoon and taking them to the local soccer field to play ball for a few hours. Then walking home as Bryan falls asleep and drools on my shoulder.
“The honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a hallelujah, better than a hallelujah sometimes.”
It’s never ending fun. I’ve now been here for a month and have done so much, but also have so much more to look forward to.
I think about you all often. How thankful I am to have amazing, loving parents who never had to leave me home alone daily with a one month old because they had to work. How Riane would love to play soccer with the kids and probably beat all the boys. I watched The Last Song, I held in my tears throughout the whole movie, but when the song "When I Look at You" came on, I couldnt help but bawl and think of the Holroyds. I think of Allison and how much passion she has and how she would love every minute of being here. I pass the Pulperia Yenny and think of the unforgettable travel stories we created this summer. I think of Megan and Katie and our last two years living together and how weird it is to be graduated. I hear "Un Beso" on the bus into town and think of the forever relationships made this summer. I could go on and on about how many times I hear something or see something that reminds me of you all. I miss you a ton and would love to hear from you all!! Besos
