Un Dia in la Vida- Cynthia

Erin reading with Alesandro

For most of us the day starts around 5am, at least that is when the rooster who lives next door starts crowing. The dogs and buses join in about 30 minutes later and if we do manage to get back to sleep, I am awoken by tapping on our window which means it is 6am and that it is time to go running. Jake and I take the bus down the mountain to Banosdel Inca and we run on a trail from Banos to Cajamarca and back. The best part of the trip is that we end our run at a small Panederia or bakery in Banos and buy Pan de Agua. It is pretty much the most delicious crusty roll in the world and we have all been living off of it for the past 2 weeks. We get home and usually make enough noise that Erin and Liz wake up. We get ready for the day; eat breakfast, and such things. Oh and sometimes we do laundry. We hand wash and hang dry everything which is quite the adventure, and if we want warm water to wash in, we heat it on the stove. Yup, we are just that awesome.

Sorting Rice and Lentils

 

 Jake quizing Rodrigo and Fernando with flashcards

Around 10am Feliciana or Merchuda will arrive and we meet in the kitchen and sort rice. The rice here comes with little piedras or rocks still in it and so we sit at the table and sift through it. It is the perfect opportunity for Jake to attempt to teach us Spanish. After the rice is done and any other odd jobs from the kitchen are completed we plan out activities for the kids for that day. We pick books to read, and decide if we will have some sort of organized game. Last week we tried to play freeze tag outside, it was going pretty well until the interns got winded and we had to let the kids win. The kids here LOVE puzzles, they will do the same puzzle every day if we brought them out. And Memory, any cards that have some sort of double they will turn into a game of memory. But they play an interesting version where after every turn you mix up the cards again. So it’s more of a luck game than anything, but they like it. Connect 4 is also a favorite and we were surprised and how much they like to read. In addition to just games we slip in a few math flashcards and have days where we focus on a hygiene goal- like washing clothes regularly. It is fun planning out activities, but as any teacher will tell you, it’s hard to know how they will be received.

 Erin being tickled

The kids come and eat the food that Feliciana and Merchuda prepared and most of them stay for several hours afterwards and we get to spend time with them. They are an adorable and a hilarious bunch. We are still learning their names and they are learning ours. When they don’t remember our names they just call us “gringa”. Also, no one here seems to be able to pronounce “Erin”, though it’s funny to watch them try. So we have renamed her Melissa, which they can mostly say. Hector (age 6) has particularly taken a liking to “Melissa” and follows her around tugging at her shirt every 5 minutes.

As for me, I have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with two sisters named Diana (age 11) and Milagros (age 4). Diana is very intelligent and is very interested in learning. She is patient when I speak to her in Spanish and we both can have a good laugh when I mess it up. Milagros might be the cutest thing I have ever seen and she enjoys chatting with me and giving me kisses on the cheek. I don’t think she realizes that I only catch about half of what she says, but I smile a lot and I guess that makes up for it. 

Me and Milagros

These kids also make me laugh all the time. Example:

I discovered that Milagros has one dreadlock in the back of her hair; this was the following conversation with her older sister-

Cynthia: Diana, what is this in Milagros’s hair?

Diana: A dreadlock

Jake: Why does Milagros have one dreadlock in her hair?

Diana: So she will be lucky when she grows up

Cynthia and Jake stare.

Jake: Seriously?

Diana: Yes…

That’s right, a lucky dreadlock. I decided I need one, so if anyone knows anything about making just one awesome dreadlock in my hair, please let me know. (I’m serious)

After the kids all leave we clean up and have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. We ride the micro down to Banos or Cajamarca and buy food, we read books, we watch movies on laptops, and I like to sit on the roof. So far we have also been to the hot springs, explored the city, hiked to the top of the mountain behind our house, and sat around and talked a lot.

Life is good, and hopefully in the next post Erin can tell you more about the fun activities we have done with the kids.

 Hike day, yes this is where we live- isn´t it beautiful?