The prompt for today asks me to reflect on both frustrating and rewarding moments from today--our first day working in the community of Huantugloma. This is a perfect prompt; Jori (our staff advisor) clearly anticipated the type of day we would likely have.
The people of Huantugloma are kind, warm, and affectionate. Even after just one day of working with the children, I feel their positive energy. Today, I worked mostly with the classroom of youngest children (3-5 years old). Some of them are very eager to learn English and were excited to practice speaking and singing in English! One little boy was able to pick up the English we were teaching so quickly, and that was very exciting to see. On the other hand, quite a few of them are very hesitant to try to say the new words they're learning out loud. For some of them, music helped ease their anxieties. That was awesome! We started teaching them the head, shoulders, knees, and toes song, and they seemed to really enjoy it. We also referred back to the song to help them remember the word for each body part out of sequence, and quite a few of them were able to remember the words--very encouraging!!
Something that was frustrating for me was feeling torn between translating for other participants who speak much less Spanish and having my own conversations with the children and people of the community. I try to also involve myself in the conversation by asking questions and making my own comments as a way to feel involved as more than just a translator. I definitely want everyone in our group to be able to have conversations with the people in the community, even if they don't speak Spanish, so I have no problem functioning as a translator much of the time. Speaking Spanish constantly and having to translate so much is an awesome opportunity for me to practice, but it is also mentally exhausting.
I am very much looking forward to seeing what is in store for us for the rest of the week. I am sure that it will be full of many more jokes, laughs, and precious moments. There are so many happy moments from today, and I wish I could share more of them. However, I am sure that the other members of my team will be sharing countless stories throughout the week!
¡Hasta luego! (Until later!)
-Jessi Dickens
Showing off the fresh, delicious frutillas our sweet driver, Segundo, bought for us during our drive to the community
Older students learned the parts of the body during an English workshop
Enjoying the sunny blue sky during recess
Haley and Sophia lead the 2nd-4th graders in an art activity
Lauren receives a sweet hug from one of the kindergarten students. The people in the community are very warm and affectionate!
We cannot get over how insanely beautiful this place is!!
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