14 November 2011

To many things to post about.

Me and Keili playing dress up with the things her Aunt Adrienne sent with Grandma and Grandpa.


School

         We did some fun stuff in school last week in our centers. I have some pictures for you. Recently most of our craft projects have been music makers, because our classroom collection is lacking and it is no fun if only the teacher gets to make one!
Playing the Apple Game. Role the dice and read then number and then put that many apples (beads)  on the tree. Get rid of yours first and you win!

Writing their names with stencils.

Kazoos!!! Kevin told me he would hunt down the person who sent one of these home with his kids,  cause yea they are kind of annoying but way fun. Toilet paper roll, wax paper, and a rubber band.

Some early arrivals helping me prep our tin cans for projects. My part of the prep way worse, old evaporated milk at the bottom of a can after opening to wash it- disgusting. 

Painting with Monster Cars!

Paper- Macheing balloons to make maracas to make music of course!

Some of the chalk art during free play outside.



         During my afternoons I make a lot of messes in my house creating things for school, of getting stuff together and coming up with ideas to take home to do with the kids at the orphanage. Last week I collected some rocks from Auden's worksite and I painted them to look like dominoes. Kevin told me they were flawed because they don't sit on the table on their sides like real dominoes. But kids like hoarding things in their laps anyways, so I didn't see it to be that big of a problem. And it cost nothing. 
Homemade dominoes.

       Speaking of things costing nothing, I have recently been telling people to save all sorts of things from milk cartons, to eggs shells, and they all look at me like I am crazy but it is fun for the children! Last week I asked the moms if they could bring to school their used milk cans. They all looked at me like I was crazy and asked why I just told them it was for a project. We are going to make little drums (more music) and we are going to make the tin can luminaries- pictures to come when the projects are complete of course.
This is the Wall Auden Built

       I may have mentioned previously that Auden and Wendy had purchased a small piece of land about 3 blocks down from where we are currently renting. Recently they have begun to build. Auden did all the digging to prep the land to pour the concrete by himself with the help of one worker. Then he was able to hire Maura's son Henry to pour the columns and the floor thanks to a donation. After that he was able to purchase the materials to begin building the walls, but doesn't have extra money to hire help yet- it is a future plan for sure when the rest of the money comes in. However, for now he is stacking his bricks by himself. 
The bulding. It will have two classrooms. Auden working on the left one in the middle a hall, the right another class. Behind that a bathroom, girls and boys. Then in the back an apartment for a teacher and one for Auden and his family. They will also be able to build a second floor, and to the left they will build a sanctuary. 

     Last Monday I had some time in the afternoon and didn't have anything pressing to do for school, so I walked down to help if I could if not just to take a picture proving that he is actually building his wall and not anyone else. 
I have to be honest, this is posed. I had already finished my work, when Auden said he would take a picture to prove I helped.

    At first he had me filling in the gaps between the blocks with cement but it was getting in the way of his level string, so then I filled the holes in the cinder blocks on the bottom of a wall so he could begin building up.
    I didn't do much work, but I tried. Then I wheelbarrowed some cinder blocks from the pile to his wall, with the help of 2 of our moms. They had seen us on the way to the school because it was their week to clean, so we moved a good load of blocks to him then I had to go and unlock the school for them, etc. 
Carmen's mom helping out.

    He is actually out working today again, but I am sitting here while a mom cleans the school, and trying to rest I am super pooped from the weekend, and kind of have a little head cold I want to annihilate. 
Starting the second wall.

Chicken!

       Kevin created a behavior chart for the boys house at the orphanage a while back, you do not want points. At the end of the week the chart decides who gets to watch TV and play video games, and who gets the reward of chips and a soda. At the end of 5 weeks if they have less than 9 points, I believe, for the whole time period then Kevin treats them to chicken at the polleria. I always get to go, and he lets me bring baby too. Baby love chicken and fries.
     Recently we went just us to get chicken cause dinner was kind of skimpy, and baby got to tag along, and we took him to the 3rd floor for the first time. the 3rd floor has a playscape ball pit included. So I went in with baby and he warmed up to it but wasn't good on his own yet. Then I took all the kids who did excellent on their report cards and baby came again to get chicken and play. And he loved playing with the girls in the pit but again had to be with someone. This past weekend it was time to take the boys again and baby was in there throwing balls at them, and laying on his back wildly kicking his feet and swinging his arms giggling. 

    And now if you take baby to get chicken and stop at the second floor, he walks over to the stairs going up, looks for approval, and says yeah?

Grounded

      I mentioned that I took the kids who did excellent to the polleria for dinner, but didn't mention that most didn't do so excellent, resulting in a ban of the television for the entire month of November- for all of them even if they did well. So, I have been trying to think of more things we can do at the house on the weekends that doesn't involve the tv.
      The girls like making Friday a dance night, so they taught the the hora loca dance that is played at any party you go to in Peru. In turn I taught them the Cupid Shuffle, they liked it. They also ask me to do exercises with them, so I just throw some yoga, lunges, arm circles, and calf rises together and they are whining at me in pain.
They have also been painting their nails, but they don't stay painted that long.  They scratch them right off then do something else the next day.

     Saturday, however, is more difficult to entertain them. It is so long, especially when the Pastors are at a conference and there is no bible school for the children in the afternoons. So this week the plan was to use the rest of my soil and seeds from school and we could color eggshells to be faces and plant the seed in them, because they had had scrambled eggs one morning and Kevin had them save the eggshells. (However, he then left and forgot to tell Juana and she compulsively cleans so the boys house shells were gone, and the girls didn't tell Arlita who also compulsively cleans so she threw their out too- they had even rinsed them and everything!) So, only a few girls got to plant some seeds when like 6 eggs were used in the kitchen (and I forgot to take a picture- their faces were cute).
     Since I had been using a lot of recycled things in school for our projects, I remembered back to my childhood and the days of Skip-it's. So I brought the necessary supplies to make one like my mom me when I was 11. The girls thought I was crazy the whole time I was putting them together, when I took them outside to show them what to do with it they asked if I was ok. After I showed them how awesome I still am at Skip-it they were pretty impressed and wanted to try it.  Some of them were naturals, others smack their feet a few times with the can.
Betsi mastering the Skip-it. A taped lid, some rope, and a tuna can.

Even Ricardo was a pro, the girls were impressed.

     I also took my curling iron because girls love to do each other's hair, and they all requested that I bring it again next weekend so I will. 
Mary after I curled her hair. She laughed the whole time  cause she has never had curls, but she loves it and wants curls everyday.

     I thought it would be a fun idea to make cookies with cookie cutter I had bought for school since that is a processed task and could take up a Saturday making gingerbread cookies for 30 kids. However the oven was in use all morning for Maribel's baby shower as were the pans I needed, and I had to make my ginger and cloves into powder myself, so we did it Sunday instead. Which meant it was more rushed, but it was still fun!
Merly, Greisi and Sibila helping me cut out cookies.

Jacky showing the little boys how to cut out cookies.

Baby wanted to help too. 

He loved the flour.

More boys helping us out!

How does the chicken cross the road?

     In America, the first thing that gets put into a plot of land being readied for development it the water lines, and anything else they want to put under the ground. Then they build houses and such after. In Peru it seems to have been quite the opposite. Since most areas come to be because people just squat on the land first and then it slowly develops, the part of Pacasmayo the orphanage is in is just now getting sewage and water. Which is really good for them, it will better the standard of living for sure. 
    It would have been nice, however to have a little warning of what was happening. 2 weeks ago the started digging wells at the intersecting street corners, a little inconvenient for traveling in a vehicle. Last Tuesday Kevin comes to visit me in Trujillo and when he goes back Wednesday there are fifteen foot ditches on 3 of the 4 sides of the open space in front of the orphanage. One of which being 10 in front of the door and main gate to the orphanage. Directly blocking any vehicle from going in or out. 
This is what the front of the house looks like now.
    
     Unfortunately no one at Casa de Paz was forewarned of this event, and so the Combi (the van) is stuck inside until said ditches are filled. It could have been moved into the church if they had been told ahead of time, and would still have use of the van for emergencies or to take the kids to the beach like they asked this weekend, but it is Peru. So it is also grounded?
the giant ditch

The planks the kids get to walk over to get anywhere outside or the orphanage.

    One of the ditches was filled on Saturday so here is hoping the rest are filled quickly too!

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