Floating (Carrie)

February 14 update from Carrie:

The Aldea has a new pool to swim in!

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to help paint a pool belonging to a resturant down the street from the Aldea. They said that if the Aldea painted the pool they could use it to swim with the kids. So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we get to go swimming with the kids that are 9 and older. Last Wednesday when we went swimming, Jose Antonio was able to start learning how to swim. When we first got in the pool, Jose wasn't afraid to jump right in but he was wary of the deeper end. He spent the first few attempts going in the deep end clinging to my shoulders or to the side of the pool. After a while though he began to get a little braver and we tried teaching him the basics of swimming. Starting with floating and then working up towards being able to keep his head above the water while treading water. Jose eventually got to the point where he would swim short distances from the wall to one of the volunteers or to this giant log the Tios put in the pool. We plan on helping Jose more in swimming along with the other kids who also don't know how to swim.

Check out more posts about water fun at the Aldea!

Some are tall, some are small (Cynthia)

February 12 update from Cynthia:

We have all had the wonderful opportunity to get to know the kids here at El Bichito. Some are tall, some are small, some love to read and others love to play with puzzles. And one of them wants to be a Policeman when he grows up. Rodrigo OcasCueva is an eight year old with a lot of energy and plenty of spunk. Rodrigo lives here in Pulyucana with his new baby sister and his tiny dog Chita. Jake likes to tease Rodrigo by calling his dog a “cuy” or a guinea pig because it is so little. Rodrigo likes to draw pictures and is our math flashcard champion. He also enjoys playing soccer, volleyball and has discovered how cool the game “Guess Who” is. We have loved talking to Rodrigo because he makes us laugh all the time. He is not afraid to talk to us “gringos” and is quite the leader among other 8 year olds here at El Bichito. Like most of the kids here, he loves having his picture taken and likes to make funny faces. He can be pretty mischievous and we have to keep an eye on him or he will bend the rules a little at whatever game he is playing. Rodrigo is always down for a new game and we are all happy that he is one of our frequent friends here at El Bichito.

Water Galore (Natalie)

February 14 update from Natalie:

We started swimming this week in a pool a little down the road from the Aldea. The kids LOVED it! Not that many of them know how to swim though so it’s a good thing the pool only gets about 4 feet deep. I taught a few of them how to swim, and they were actually doing pretty good for a first lesson. Victor liked to show off his new skills but Ruben was embarrassed and didn’t want people to watch him practice at the beginning but by the end was doing great and was showing off too. It was really cute. We put a huge log in the pool and all the kids tried to stand up on it but because there were about 10 kids on it at a time it was really wobbly which made it way funny. At first they could hardly get on the log but by the end most of them could stand up and even stay up for a few seconds. The kids have decided that every day we don't go to the pool we're going to have a water fight. Victor and Jose taunt me all day saying their going to soak me, it's a nice little rivalry.

To sum it up we better not plan on ever being dry during February.

A New Friend (Julia)

February 7, Julia

This week was surprisingly full of new faces even though I had already been at the Aldea for a week. I ate my meals with a different house and it helped me get to know another house full of girls. One of those girls was Anniellie. Anniellie invited me to sit by her the first day for lunch and after that she always made sure to save a spot for me. She would even give up her stump for me to sit on if there were no other seats. I loved getting to know Anniellie better this week and I can't wait to grow stronger relationships with more kids.

Renzo's Improvment (Kathryn)

Kathryn: February 7

Renzo is an Aldea baby a little over a year old. He lives in a house with 7 other boys and has a great tolerance for their rough play. Though he is at the age for beginning to walk and talk, because of earlier difficulties he is behind. This last week I spent a few hours with him everyday just as the other interns have, and he is improving at an amazing rate. He is now walking with only the assistance of one adult hand. Laughter, I think, is his biggest improvement yet; and when he does smile it makes my day. He really is a very smart and happy baby and has all the potential in the world. I enjoy every minute I spend with him whether it is going for a walk or just passing a soccer ball back and forth. I am excited to see is continued improvement over the next few months.

A previous post about Renzo.

You Go Girl (Carrie)

Maria Luisa holding two of our calendar squares

February 7, from Carrie:

Independent and curious Maria Luisa provides us with a good laugh

Maria Luisa is a name well known by the volunteers and children at the Aldea not only because she is adorable but because she provides everyone with a good laugh and occasionally some attitude. Wednesday of last week we were painting some of the girls nails in front of house 3 when I noticed Maria Luisa outside one of the houses across the grass. I couldn’t seem to find anyone with her but Edita one of the girls in her house ran over to get her and return her to her house. While Edita was on her way over there one of the other kids began to yell “corre Maria Luisa” and that she did. She is very independent and seems to like her freedom. On another occasion this last week we had the opportunity to watch Maria Luisa in our house while her Tia was in a meeting. She spent the whole time investigating our house looking for fun toys, tearing off all the squares on our calendar( which we had previously attached to the backing with Velcro, so she didn’t break them just mixed them up), and occasionally dancing for us.

Child Highlights:

This week I had the opportunity to spend some time with Fabritzio one of the babies at the Aldea. He's 8 or 9 months old and he can't yet hold up his head by himself but the Aldea is working to change that and help him. I think I might try spending more time with him, mostly stimulating his hearing with music and walking around with him and just being with him. We gave him a haircut last week, with the Tia after dinner, and I got to feed him while listening to music which occasionally made him laugh.

I also had the opporunity to spend a lot of time with Jhonathan this week in house 5. He questioned me about where the different countries where, which we found on the map in his house. We also talked about what he likes to do and sang a little bit. It was fun!

The kids are hilarious! (Natalie)

Natalie and Jhonathan

February 6 update from Natalie:

The kids are hilarious! It amazes me how happy the kids are all the time. They are always smiling and laughing!! Jhonathan’s laugh cracks me up every time, he will be talking and then all of a sudden burst out in high pitched squeals. So funny! The older boys are starting a water balloon war between them and the interns. They don't stand a chance. A lot of the kids like playing hand games and try to see how fast they can do them, laughing the whole time. They've all learned different combinations though so its hard to do them right, basically hand are just flying everywhere. The kids are so fun!