Alfredo: A Little Ball of Fun (Julia)

February 20 post from Julia:

Alfredo, a 5 year-old little boy, always has everyone wrapped around his finger. This boy loves to show us all his love for us through hugs and kisses even when he gets embarrassed from us. Alfredo is very small and so easy to pick up and hug, which I love because every time i do, he laughs really hard but also lets me kiss him all I want. I don't know what life would be like without Alfredo always playing outside our house and constantly asking us to push him on the swing. He makes life so happy.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child like Alfredo, please click here.

Oh Happy Day! (Carrie)

February 20 post from Carrie:

Our little Flor was adopted

Last week Flor, the baby from House 10, was adopted by a really nice couple from Southern Peru. This sweet little girl was so excited to be starting a new life. Even at 3 years old she knew something big was happening and that she was going to her own new house. As we were waiting to say goodbye to her at the office, she literally ran circles around us and showered us with goodbye hugs. Flor will be missed by the volunteers for her warm smile and way of brightening your day by running to you with open arms. One thing that I was greatly impressed with was how smart she is and how talkative she can be. One time when we were watching her last week she told us lots of different stories in her half real words half mumbling stage she’s in so we couldn’t really understand her but that didn’t faze her! She kept right on going blabbing about this or that. This girl will be missed but we’re all so happy for the opportunities she will now have away from the Aldea. She can grow and become her own person. I know we’re all grateful for the interactions we got to have with her and the interactions we still get to have with the other children at the Aldea. It is through them that we are learning how to become better people and how to truly be happy with the way life is.

Kristelle is an English-learning Machine! (Kathryn)

Kristelle is on the right, her friend Alondra on the left

February 20 post from Kathryn:

Kristelle, 10 years old, is a beautiful, bright young girl with a strong desire to learn. She is constantly practicing her English and asking me how to say certain words. Her improvement is surpassing the other children, obviously due to her determination to studying the language. She is always quick to help the younger kids in their learning. During this past week, after dinner, Kristelle and I would round up some other kids and play a few games of Uno before bedtime. While playing, she not only helped me work on my pronunciations, but continued to keep a conversation going with me even though I am not the best at Spanish. She is patient and kind and loves a good joke. I have no doubt that she will be one of the better speaking students by the time I leave.

Healthy Teeth at El Bichito (Cynthia)

Cynthia: February 19

The interns at El Bichito (Cynthia, Erin and Jake) are doing some awesome things!

Check out the dental lesson they gave this past week!

We had an awesome time today learning about teeth and cavities and brushing and having beautiful smiles. We asked the kids why it was important to have clean teeth and got some great responses including “So you have clean teeth!”

We cut up some egg cartons and covered them in a flour paste so that the kids could practice brushing off the “plaque”, we made it a competition of who could get their “teeth” the cleanest.

We then had a little science experiment to demonstrate what happens to your enamel when it is exposed to acids. We painted a little egg and dropped it in a cup of vinegar. We are excited to show the kids that all the egg shell will have worn off by Monday! We passed out toothbrushes to all the kids who promised to brush their teeth every day. They were pretty happy.

Erin and Cynthia also blog about their service at El Bichito here.

Man of the Aldea (Natalie)

February 20 post from Natalie:

Ruben is great. That sums him up pretty well. I got to spend some time with him this week and the more time I spent with him the more I was impressed. He is such a good kid. He listens to us and is so nice and respectful. He is so cute in the pool when he shyly comes up to me and asks me to teach him how to swim and to help him. He is learning fast and likes to swim to me then gives a huge grin when he makes it all the way to me. He loves playing football americano and taking pictures on my camera. He doesn't like getting his picture taken, but he sure loves being the one taking them. He ignores it, but he is a lady’s man. All the girls his age have a huge crush on him but he pretends not to notice. He hangs out with the older boys and acts reserved, but he likes to play and have fun just like the younger kids. Ruben is an amazing young man who is going to have a bright future ahead of him!

Jonathan's Laugh (Kathryn)

February 20 post from Kathryn:

Jonathan is a smart, comical boy about 11 years old. He loves to be the center of attention and sure is good at keeping us all entertained. His laugh is probably my favorite thing about him. He is excited about every activity we do and fills the room with laughter and energy. This week I taught him some hand clapping games and he became determined to get them down as fast as he could. We were constantly playing, getting faster and faster as we did so; Jonathan laughing the whole time. Now the other kids have joined in, following Jonathan's example and playing together. It's great to have someone who is quick to laugh with me and encourage the other kids to try new games.

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!