El Bichito: Alejandro

Written by Kelsey, an intern at El Bichito:

This is Alejandro, or Jandro as he goes by, and if you can't tell, he has the most heart warming smile. Jandro is such a fun young boy and so lively. He's always the first to come say hello or play, and is so nice to all of the kids at El Bichito. On top of his loving personality, he is also very energetic! One of his favorite things to do is sing and dance. If you put on some music you can guarantee that Jandro will be dancing within seconds. He can also sing every word to just about every song, including all of the Justin Bieber songs. He makes up most of his own English lyrics, but he's got the "baby baby baby oh!!!" down to a T. Jandro has been so much fun to work with and such a blessing to all of our lives.

Dancing at the El Bichito (from Kelsey)

This week we had the opportunity to perform a few traditions Peruvian dances with the children at the school. Eliana taught several dances to different classes and in celebration of Father's Day here in Peru, the children were able to present them to their parents and the rest of the school. We had so much fun dancing and spending that time with the children. They all did so great!

Wilson (from Kelsey)

Kelsey, an intern at El Bichito, introduces us to Wilson:

This is Wilson, who is a regular visitor of El Bichito and a lively four year-old. When I first met Wilson, he was very shy and would just stay with his siblings. Since then I have gotten to know him a little better. Wilson absolutely loves coloring and creating his own artwork. He opens up and becomes a while new child with a crayon in his hand. He would color all day if he could. He loves playing jokes on me as well. One day he followed me around hiding and whenever I would ask, "where is Wilson?" he would burst into laughter. Wilson has a smile that will melt your heart. He loves coming to El Bichito and really relies on the time he is able to spend her everyday.

Ruben (Kelsey)

So this week i want to tell you about my favorite so far. Yes i can have a favorite. His name is Ruben and he is in Casa 2 where i have been eating my dinners. Ruben is such a tough guy, he likes wearing like cut off tank tops and he always has his hair in a cute little faux-hawk. He always makes faces in pictures like he's Slim Shady or something. Yesterday we had this party and the kids were making each other into mummies with toilet paper and he totally smiled and was having a blast. Last night after dinner we were taking a ton of pictures and he loved to dance for the camera or throw up gang signs or something like that. He just makes me laugh, because he is trying to be stone cold, but his heart is too big. I am kind of sad that i don't get to eat in their Casa this week. I'm moving on to a different Casa. Oh! And we brought out a couple of the coloring books this week and the kids were going nuts, they get saying "Regalome!" And we would have to tell them that the coloring books were for everyone to share and they couldn't just take as many as they could hold and stash them in their rooms. But they colored for hours until their Tia's started yelling and telling them it was time for them to shower before dinner. Oh and yesterday we were playing soccer with one of the soccer balls that Lacey brought and Hector, one of the like 15 year old boys kicked it up and it smacked me right in the side of the face! He felt so bad. After that i kept telling him i was going to have a black eye and he broke my face and stuff like that to make him feel bad. He's a funny kid too.

I am seriously loving it here. I can't wait to get out of bed and go play. The food is pretty good, lots of beans and rice, and i could eat their little breads all day! Plus we get some fruit. I could eat fruit and bread for every meal for the rest of my life. This fruit and bread at least. I love going to town and seeing the people and the Peruvian culture. I love spending time with the kids, who love you so much, even if they don't know who you are. They just want to know that you'll still be here tomorrow.

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.

The Older Boys (Kelsey)

I am still enjoying my time here very much. Yesterday i got frustrated for the first time. We got out the baseball equipment for everyone to play with and the went nuts, they wouldn't listen, they would give me the bats, and they were like swinging them at people. One older boy purposefully threw it as far as he could over my head so I or one of the kids would have to run after it, all because i made him let me hold the bat while he wasn't hitting. But if i can find a way to have more control, it could be alot of fun. Also, last night was so funny. I was sitting in our casa with Tanner, one of the other interns, and there was a knock on the door. Kenny, one of the boys is casa 5 (the teenage boys) came in and he started talking to Tanner. He then proceeded to tell Tanner that i was cute or something along those line and Tanner laughed and said, "Dude she understands spanish." And Kenny turned all red and turned to me and was like Do You? And i told him of course i understood him! Then he tried to play it off like he knew that, so when he left he was like Goodbye, my love. Tanner was laughing so hard. That boy is really kind hearted. Most of the boys in that casa are, despite their tough guy exterior. I like playing soccer with them.

So i just finished a game of soccer with the older boys. It was the funnest thing ever. We were playing and its so intense. I kicked my shin into a boy's shin 3 times in the same place, i have a HUGE bump there. It was so funny though, soccer is definitely not my sport. My first reflex is to knock the ball down with my hands,which is obviously illegal. But after doing it twice Hector grabbed a flower that was on the ground from this huge tree and he handed it to me and was like "Tarjeta Roja" and pretended to blow a whistle haha this huge red flower. It was so funny! He is absolutely my favorite. They kept calling stuff on me, but they were just making fun and joking around. I think they enjoyed the game alot too. They like messing with me. Its good because that means they like me enough to even talk to me, which is more than some of the other people here can say. Also, i tried to buy a slingshot today at the Bodega, but they didn't have any! Some of the older boys carry them around their torsos or they wrap it up around their wrist. I think its sweet and i want them to teach me how to use it. Anyways, today was fun.