... skin covered with 'picaduras' :(

Thus far, this trip has been exactly what I wanted. I definitely haven´t sat on my arse on the beach with a drink in my hand... I definitely haven´t felt comfortable and at ease the majority of the time... I´ve definitely been outright scared at times... basically, I haven´t experienced anything like this before, and that is just perfect.

Yesterday I spent the day with the Kinder group - 7 kids ranging in age from 2.5 to about 6. Carlitos, Yessica, Tania, Elvira, Harrison, Diego & Mariana. We worked on pronouncing & writing vowels, did some coloring, a little arthimetic, and some play time. I worked on- on-one with some of the kids who require extra attention, and while they practiced their math or writing, I got to practice my ability to be instructive and firm. This was tough as I am not naturally authoritative in the least. It´s been a struggly to get these kids, esp the sassy ones to do things sometimes. And after a kid has sassed me, it always shocks me so much that it´s tough for me to regain my composure. There is skill involved, no doubt, and by trial and error and observing the other volunteers, I am learning...

The Kinder class was great, but difficult to get really focused because of the very young ones that are just thrown in there (for lack of a better place to put them). Carolitos isn´t even fully potty trained yet! Unfortunately this extreme differences in skill levels is holding the group back, but it´s just the reality of things here. There is only so much (little) money, and few resources.

Traditionally short-term volunteers like me are placed in one particular spot for their entire stay, but I decided to make up my own itinerary today. After all, it´s my `vacation´, and I´m going to do what I want to do! So I spent all of today in the clinic, and was kind of surprised by just how much I enjoyed it... much moreso than being in the classroom with the little ones yesterday. La clinica is made up of a large waiting/triage area, two exam rooms, a storage room for meds, and a bedroom for the two nurses. Right now there happen to be two nurses there,
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Helen from Australia & Carmita from Barcelona (pictured above), but most of the time there is only one - or sometimes even none. This morning was busy as there were about 25-30 kids & staff that needed vaccinations. I was responsible for running high and low throughout the grounds to track down these people who I would surely not recognize. I loved it though because I got to see every inch of the place, including the agricultural area, the small workers village and the local town of Brisas that lies at the edge of the Casa Guatemala ´campus.´I´m sure it was pretty strange for Israel, one of the workers on the list for vaccinations, to see the tall gringa appear out of no where in the field before him to request his precense in the clinic.

Have to write more tomorrow because the internet is about to expire! Oh, and skin covered with 'picaduras' refers to the mosquito bites I have all over my body! I´ve been using my 35% strength deet, and the even stronger stuff for my clothes, and even though it burns my skin and makes me feel feverish all day long, that´s still not enough for these little buggers!!