Livin' La Vida Loca En Peru Part II

Instead of straining to remember the best highlights of my trip, I thought it would be more accurate (and easier!) to repost sections of my previous facebook notes -- oh, the days before I blogged. Today's entry is about the first orphanage. Apologies to my many many readers if you've already been subject to reading these 1.5 years ago! :)


KidsAlive La Molina
Each child is part of a family. Each family has their own house. There is a mom that sleeps in the house. Each mom has 4 to 6 kids that she’s in charge of. And the man who runs the orphanage, Ronald, is everyone’s dad. About 20 kids live here.

Most of the kids are there after school so I have been coming from 12 til 7 every day and helping out with homework. Before all of the kids get there, I hang out with three adorable 2 year olds. I find it difficult to practice my Spanish with two year olds, though. Especially with Mercedes, who is in a stage where she thinks its HILARIOUS to say, "what?" in response to every word I say. I know that she's only a 2 year old, but sometimes she makes me feel really incompetent. So I walk around and talk to the moms until we run out of things to talk about or one of us gets really confused by the language barrier and walks away. Then I try to find another mom to talk to and continue the cycle. I just never knew how truly awkward I can be until now. Or there are times like yesterday when literally everyone disappeared without a trace. So I laid on a bench for a half hour and thought about how much more challenging this is than I anticipated.

Each day gets better, though. I feel much more comfortable with the language and with the kids. And today when I went, some kids were excited to see me and even remembered my name. Sometimes I feel really accomplished because I have a good conversation and everything made sense. Other times I feel like I could live a lifetime here and still have no clue what anyone is saying. Like yesterday when I tried to ask Chile about her favorite type of soda. And accidentally asked what her favorite type of rum is. Generally speaking, though, I understand most of what people say as long as they speak slow enough.

I am so grateful for Tia Luz, a woman that speaks no English but is kind enough to sit with me and wait til I sputter out my thoughts in Spanish. She is so willing to teach me words, correct my verb tenses, and sit through my awkward pauses. We discuss politics, economics in the US and in Lima, Mormons in Utah, the food in Peru, our families, immigration policies and the ins and outs of the orphanage.

I helped Chantal, age 5, wash her clothes after school. Because every day when they come home, they all wash their clothes by hand. Initially I thought this would help reduce the number of stains. Until I found myself yelling, "CHANTAL, WHATTTTT DO YOU DO IN THIS SHIRT THAT IT IS SO DIRTY?!?" Like a real mom.

Chantal tells me about her father in Brazil. She always says that he is coming back to get her after Christmas. A mom at the orphanage told me that it's only a dream. But I think she truly believes it.