martes, el 28 de mayo

Today, after creating a school bus (out of cardboard) for some fourth graders, we taught them "The Wheels on the Bus" and choreographed a simple dance for them to remember the words.  They have a big talent show in a week, and all grades must sing a song in English.  It was a feat, to say the least, but they got it!  School is getting easier each day.  We do anything and everything they need us to do.  Nina peeled over 100 ripe (like black ripe) bananas.  We would usually not eat them BLACK/SQUISHY ripe.  Dad would make banana bread or we'd toss them out, but here - nothing, absolutely nothing is wasted.  After being peeled, Cesi (the cafeteria lady - who is awesome by-the-way) put them in the freezer.  The kids eat them for dessert. 

I was finding myself very happy today, due to the fact that all three of us have learned a ton of new Spanish words. (Mom made us laugh today when, in English,  she asked, "Put me some sugar in my coffee.")  She was thrilled that she was thinking in Spanish and translating to English!  No, I'm not fluent yet, but I'm tantalizingly closer to the prospect. I absolutely love learning this new language!

The hardest part for me are the conjugations. Besides that, I pretty much have comprehension,   comparison, contrast, and cooking words down.  Comprende?

After school, we headed to Antigua to see another monastery which was also destroyed by one earthquake after another.  Then, we went shopping with our remaining hour and a half. Tons of street vendors swarmed towards us.   We were among the included targets.
"Would you like us to do these in your hair?" asked a kindly woman, holding up pattered hair pieces made out of thread. "Only five Quetzales."  (One dollar is about eight quetzales)
We decided that there was nothing to lose. So, of course, our little group agreed. They braided a piece of  hair and then braided colorful thread over that.  So now, we ave these beautiful culturally patterned hair pieces. They are supposed to stay in our hair for 3 months!
Puff

We took some cool pictures which I will download tomorrow, after getting them from Jessica's camera.  Jessica, Courtney and Emily were our side-kicks today.  We really enjoy their company.  They are all 20 years old and still in college.  We do most things with them, which makes it more fun.  They volunteer at different places.