Its the Little Things

                Yesterday, I started off in the school and it is so much more amazing than you could ever imagine. Each group is a little different and has their own ways of surprising me; taking their English to a whole new level. Our first class had eight sentences that they would repeat after us continuously. Each time they said the same sentence, their pronunciation got better and better. At the end of that class, the teacher concluded with erasing a sentence each time they went through and the kids remembered every one. It wasn’t a lot, but it was one of those things that just put me in awe. The second group had another set of sentences but they were a little more challenging. Sentences like “I go to my friend’s house. I go on a skateboard” and the topic of going places and how to get there. Out of all the nine sentences, the kids in that class remembered everyone to the point of them reciting it when nothing was left on the board. After seeing that, I was completely shocked. It was something I probably couldn’t do and it really set the bar high. The last group had a story and weren’t as advanced with their English, but would persevere until they got the pronunciation correct. The way they just stuck with it had me thinking about digging a little deeper each time and continuing to the end.

                Every time we are at the orphanage, there is one or two little occurrences that just make my day. For example, yesterday, Niron and Lavine both had cuts that looked infected, so we took them over to aid them. As I was putting the peroxide on, both boys would fake scream and pretend like it hurt just to get a laugh. Even then, they would physically search for another cut or injury to clean and take care of. They showed how even though they were hurt and maybe in pain, they still made jokes about it and had a good time.

                Lavine and I are really connecting and having a great time together. It seems that every time I see him we laugh or joke around and it’s really entertaining. There is a small guava tree nearby, the kids will throw things up in it so little guavas will all and they can fight with them. Yesterday, Lavine kept hitting me and sneaking behind the corner, come back again and hitting me again. No matter what I’m doing, BAM, guava to the face. Srey Neat can do the same thing but with kisses. We’ll be just sitting there and she’ll turn my head and kiss me on the cheek. Now, she will kiss me and then raspberry my face , and I will do it in return. Just her laugh is the most precious thing and it tells me in my head that I’m going to be balling when I leave, but that laugh, it pushes that thought away and keeps me in the moment.

                As the girls’ house continues to grow and develop, I get more and more excited every time I see it. Today we added a door, and hopefully no one saw me, but I think I jumped a little and cheered to myself. It’s just so awesome to see this structure going up and knowing that we are building it, we are actually doing this. It’s a really amazing feeling and I hope it stays with me even as the house is complete.