My first day (Kelsey)

Well today is my first full day of the orphanage. Yesterday when i arrived the kids were so sweet. Las Tejedas drove us out here from their home, where we stayed for most of the day. Their family is one of the kindest i have ever met. The girls were so outgoing and loved to laugh, we ended up dancing and chatting and helping each other with our spanish/english skills. When we pulled up in the car, the kids started swarming. They came right over and hugged me and i fell in love guys. It was the sweetest moment. Then one boy hugged me, paused and said "Son Gringos" Ha ha as if me and Lacey didn't know that we are the whitest people here. But the kids are really friendly, they all want to talk to me and know my name and tell me about themselves. They especially love to be tickled. Once you start tickling them, they will never let you stop. They will chase you for hours wanting to be tickled. Each night we eat dinner in one of the Casas with a group of kids and their Tia, who looks after them. Last night we had some kind of meat, and lots of rice and beans.

I'm having a lot of fun so far, the kids are fun and they just want to spend time with you. I have a lot of respect for the tias and all of the work that they do for the kids. They are extremely patient. Also, luckily, my spanish is coming back much more quickly than i thought it would, just being here and being immersed in it is helping so much. Its amazing how much i remember and how well i can communicate with the kids already. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on and as they remind me of the vocabulary that i've forgotten. I still have a harder time understanding the tias, they tend to talk a lot faster, probably because they are so busy, but they are the hardest. The kids are patient when i don't understand and they answer my questions when i don't know how to say something. I'm going to make a list of all the words that i have a hard time remembering so that i can study them at night. Also, me and the other interns have spanish study time, so that will be super helpful, especially since Preston is fluent in spanish. They all seem great and i can't wait to get to know them better.