End of Circus Week

That crazy week is over! On Thursday, we made the bold decision to try and do paper mache with the first and second graders. We knew that the potential for disaster was high, so we gave the kids a lot of instructions and made it very clear that the minute they started misbehaving, they wouldn't be allowed to continue the art project. It was so cute to see them so excited they were practically bursting, and they actually did quite a good job with it. I think I might be addicted to their sense of wonder and amazement for things like dipping strips of newspaper into glue.

I had a few small triumphs this week: spending a few minutes individually with kids to help them learn how to jump rope and then seeing them successfully jump for the first time in front of the class, and watching some kids who insist that they don't know how to read slowly learn how to sound out words on their own. This teaching thing might be just the thing for me after all...

On Friday, we took about 30 of the kids to a dance competition for all of the schools in our district. The day started off with a march from the plaza to the stadium, and I had to participate in order to keep the preschoolers in line. Then it was a LONG day of waiting around in the sun until the kids finally danced, and they did an awesome job. It was fun to see them so proud of being able to represent their school and dance in front of an audience. Before GVI came into the school, they never could have afforded hiring the dance instructor or renting the costumes, and now things like this are possible for them. I couldn't help but be really frustrated with the teachers, though, who spent so much time and effort decorating the booth for our school. When it comes to everyday teaching, they're useless, but when it comes to showing off and competing with other schools, they're suddenly really enthusiastic and willing to spend the entire week preparing.

Today I went with Georgina to the Monastery of Catalina, which is an incredibly beautiful monastery from the 16th century, where cloistered nuns still live today. Last weekend, by the way, we made it to Alpaca World, and while I didn't get to ride one, I did get a kiss, which was equally enjoyable, I'm sure.

This week will be a little strange. Monday and Tuesday are national holidays, so we're going into the schools to do some cleaning and painting. The kids come back on Wednesday, and we'll run classes for them on our own, without the local teachers, for two weeks (I'll only be there for the first week). I'm really excited and up for the challenge, because my best days are certainly the ones where we aren't dealing with the teachers and have the flexibility to do what we want.