Kids are the same in every language

Today you get a special treat: pictures of my kindergarteners!

We read a story about butterflies in English & in Spanish today, then we made butterflies, which is what you see there. These kids are super clingy and very affectionate, always hugging and hanging on me and jumping on me. It's really sweet, but kinda exhausting! Isaac, the boy in the bottom picture, is especially loving towards me. He is constantly tellling me, "Te amo" and "Te quiero" (which also means "I love you" when used towards a person, not "I want you"... get your mind out of the gutter!). I feel more comfortable everyday speaking Spanish with them. Some days I feel like a real Spanish speaker, and then I forget past tense in my verbs, and I remember why I'm an English teacher. Their school is pretty big, as far as land, but very primitive in resources. The teacher does a lot of things that I would never do, like leaving the kids alone or talking on her phone while the kids are in the room. I try not to judge because it's not right or wrong, it's just a different way of life.

Today was an especially lazy day because it rained, and we're all still tired from the weekend. At dinner tonight, four of us sat and talked for an hour & a half about international issues, like genocide and sex trafficking. These are things I read about a lot and am very interested in, but I don't often find many people who care about these issues enough to discuss them. Call me silly, but I would much rather discuss the oppression of women in Asian and African countries than weddings or shopping, for instance. It's nice to be around other people who are interested in those things too. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrity gossip and other trashy things, so I'm not trying to get on a soapbox here.

Tomorrow, the teachers are going on strike because they don't like the new, year-round schedule that the education department proposed. So my school will be closed tomorrow, which means I need somewhere to go. I initially thought I would just go to someone else's placement, but I was assigned to a new site altogether: a homeless shelter for girls ages 10-16 who have been sexually abused. I am so, so, so excited about this! I wish this had been my placement for this whole trip.

On another note, I'm very concerned about my right arm today. I injured it ziplining, and it hurt all weekend, but today, I'm really noticing it. I cannot straighten it or lift it above my head. I know it's not broken, and I think it's just a muscle strain or something, but it sure is uncomfortable. I decided I'm going to wait it out until Wednesday, then if it still hurts, I'll see a doctor. So here's hoping!