The Past Few Months

It has been a long time since I last wrote! Here are some glimpses of my life from the past few months.

Learning Arroz Aguado.
In the beginning of April I visited Yelba´s home (the psychologist at Hogar Belen). I had once commented to her that I really enjoyed a rice dish that she had brought for lunch. This led to an invitation to her home to learn how to make it. Her and her mother decided that I would make it for them, which turned out to mean I watched them do all the work and they let me dump it into the pot. :)
Yelba and her mother "letting me cook :)"

Physical Therapy Students.
We now have 6 physical therapy students from a university in Managua completing an 8 week practicum at Hogar Belen. 3 of them come on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and the other 3 come on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. They rotate, 2 working with Grethel in the physical therapy room, and the other one with me in the sensory room. It has been nice to work with more people my age. They have new ideas and energy, and it has been great for the kids. They finish their time in just a couple of weeks and will be missed!


3 of the PT students at Hogar Belen



Transportation Strike in Nicaragua.
For around 2 weeks durning the month of May there was a nation-wide strike on the part of transportation complanies in Nicaragua. The transportation companies here were complaining that the gas prices in Nicaragua were higher than any other Central American country, and that thier current president, Daniel Ortega, was willing to purchase gas at this price only to maintain relations with Venezuela.
Outside of some of the routes in the capital, there was no public transportation available during this time. The markets were unable to recieve food and goods, which caused prices to rise even higher. Most were unable to make it to work, or had to take drastic measures to do so. For example, one of the security guards at Hogar Belen rode his bike 1 1/2 hours (one way!) to complete his shift during these two weeks.
It was an awful situation that affected all. I was a part of many conversations at Hogar Belen in which my co-workers were discussing what they were and were not able to provide for their family that week. It opened my eyes to the vast implications of the strike.
In the end an agreement was reached in which the government offered public transportation subsidies of $1.30/gallon. The economy took a real hit, but buses are again roaring down the streets.

Rain.
On May 10th I smelled rain for the first time in five months. There was a breeze a few drops, and that wonderful smell (It is a very distinct memory :) I am awakened to the beauty of a refreshing rain after hot, dry sun for 5 months!
The rain began by coming in this way, a few drops here and there. Then we began to feel some of the affects of tropical storm Alma with incredibly strong wind and rains. We are offically in winter- the rainy season. Positive sides of the rain: It has cooled down a bit, we no longer have to fill barrels at my house at night because now we have water, and I just love that sound on the tin roof:) Negatives sides of the rain: laundry that never ever drys, more mosquitos, and the river that takes over my road when it rains for too long!

Trip to Bromedero.
May 18th I was able to visit the rural community of Bromedero with a group from MCC. We attended a church service, and were given lunch by the members of the community there. Afterwords we were able to visit a couple of projects there- a small farm, and a weaving center where young people make and sell woven items. As always, it was nice to get outside of the city. The people were very friendly and hospitibal, and it was a peaceful day :)

Some of the woven items

Ruth.
This month I have difficult news to share. There was an accident the last Monday in April in which Ruth, a 13 year old child that lived with us at Hogar Belen, injested a cleaning acid (she mistook for water) at school in the morning. She had just one swallow, and was taken immediately to the hospital. She appeared to be healing well for a few weeks, but her body was unable to handle the burns to her stomach. She passed away in the hospital May 22nd.

Ruth was one of the higher functioning children at Hogar Belen. She had a mild form of down syndrome and was very communicative. When I came to work in the mornings, she would spot me from across the home before I even entered the gate and shout "EM-MA!"announcing to all my arrival:) Ruth loved to sing, dance, laugh, and talk. She lived with incredibly high spirits and brought life and laughter to Hogar Belen. It has been a pretty difficult time and adjustment for everyone this past month.

I could post many more photos of Ruth, because she always seemed to manage to get in front of my camara.. Here are just a coupe:)

Dia de Madre.
May 30th is mother´s day here, and is celebrated quite significantly by most families. For many it is only a half-day of work for the holiday. I went to Hogar Belen for the morning, and at my house celebrated with a family gathering for the afternoon. I treasure these family get-togethers! :)

The three mothers of the family cutting their cake

Vacation.

The first week of June, a good friend of mine from college, Natasha Diener, was here for a week long visit. It came at a time when I was needing some sort of break, and was a refreashing week of both rest and traveling. We visited Mombacho, a large volcano in Granada, with Ruth and Issela (my host sisters), spent 2 days on the coast of the Pacific Ocean near Nicaragua´s oldest city, and spent a day at a crater lake with the MCC team. There was also time for relaxing with my family, a morning to spend with the kids and my co-workers at Hogar Belen, an evening to learn how to make empanadas (a food more common to Bolivia where Angela, the MCC country rep. is originally from), a lot of laughter, and a very satisfying amount of "American" foods like pizza, sandwiches, and my most favorite- a box of cinnamin life ceareal :)






The 4 of us at mombacho (L-R Issela, me, Tasha, Ruth)




Tasha and Juan Jose at Hogar Belen



Below: I love the ocean!!!












Currently..
I have only 4 weeks left here in Nicaragua, which hardly seems real. Time is winding down so fast! Right now at Hogar Belen, we have two more volunteers from the study/service program from Goshen College in Indiana. They will be here until after I leave for home. At home, I am trying to spend much time with my family before I leave. My host sister, Ruth, just found a job (a huge and long awaited blessing!!), but it means that I see her quite a bit less which is unfortunate. I have some weekend trips planned for the next couple of weeks before I leave as well.
Many of you have been asking what I will be doing when I get back, but I just don´t know yet :) I have been working on applications and hope to find a teaching position at some point. My main possiblities seem to be in Indianapolis (where my sister and brother-in-law live), so I may become a Hoosher...but so far I have no concrete plans.
I hope to do one more blog, but it will likely be when I get home in July.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support throughout this past year.
Until next time...!

Marzo!

A sunset from my front porch :) Some of my favorite memories here come from my times spent on our front porch..

Hogar Belen

In recent times at Hogar Belen we have had some staff changes. Our last supervisor was from Jamaica, and returned in March to work at a children´s home there. Our new supervisor is Nicaraguan, and I am really enjoying her presence at the center. There was also a psychologist recently added to our staff. She too is from Nicaragua, in her late 20`s, and has spent the last few years working at another children´s home. She has many ideas when it comes to working with the kids. Yelba (the psychologist) and I not only spend time working together, but also eat lunch and do the walk back to Santo Domingo together in the evening. (Hogar Belen is actually located in a village called San Antonio, and is about a 25 minute walk to where I live and where Yelba takes the bus to her home). In addition to learning from and sharing ideas, I am enjoying new friendship as well.

Semana Santa

My sister, Ruth, after some time in the waves :)

This month was the celebration of Holy Week. Holy Week has some traditions here. There are some traditional foods that are prepared during this week. One is Mivel- a sweet dessert of fruits (papaya, mango, jocotes) cooked over fire with honey and sugar. It is typically served with a corn-based drink called pinolio. It is also traditional for people here to make dishes with fish. At my house we had fish soup with fried fish.

Another tradition for this week is a trip to the ocean. I don`t know how this became a tradition for Holy Week, but it is quite popular. Some people goes as far as to camp out on the beach for the week. My family went to one of the well known beaches, San Juan del Sur, the Saturday before Easter. I was pretty hesitant about the trip because I knew the beach would be packed, and we had to get up at 3:00 am to take the bus there, spend the morning and afternoon, and take another long bus ride back for the evening. But we honestly had a great time. The ocean was beautiful, the waves were huge, and it was yet another great bonding experience with my family.

The next morning we had a sun-rise service at 4am. Again, I was skeptical about this being a positive experience, but there was something special about gathering together at this time to honor the day.

My New Chore

I like to try and give small tid-bits from everyday life, because I think it helps to illustrate my experience here more wholistically than just the large events from each month. So here is a description of my latest household chore.

As we are in the dry season here, we only get water at the house during specific times. The water typically comes on arund 10 at night (we hope), and is off again before 6 in the morning. In order to have water for the day to bathe with, wash clothes, dishes, cook with , flush the toilet, wash hands, etc. etc., we fill large barrels, buckets, pans, and even down to two liter pop bottles with water each night. I have been designated Friday nights to do the filling. It is quite a long process and I am typically up until at least 2 in the morning Friday nights, outside with the hose, filling barrels.

I don't mean this to complain, because I am well aware that in many places in Nicaragua people have no access to water in their homes. They walk distances, carrying the water that they need each day. Clean water directly to our house, at whatever hours it might be is a blessing. I admit though that at 2 am on Friday nights, I often have to remind myself of this several times. :)

Jorgito
This month there was an addition to my family. Jorge Jr. was born to my host brother Jorge and his wife Raquel. Our entire family was at the hospital the day he was to be born. In events like this I am able to see how I have become a part of the family. There was no question that I too would go to the hospital for the birth of my "nephew," and I felt that I truly shared in the excitement and anticipation.

Jorge had some complications when he was born, but thankfully he was able to leave the hospital after several days. Jorge, Raquel, their son Huberni (7 yrs.), and little Jorgito stayed at our house for a little over a week. That means that there were nine people staying in our little house (I'm still not sure how we did that), which was very different. I spent a lot of time entertaining Huberni. I really did enjoy the atmosphere of a gigantic family for this amount of time, but I was relieved that this was not a long term situation..

(Huberni, spending some serious time with my headphones :)

(Jorgito's very first bath)

Until next time...:)

Febrero!

Greetings from sunny Nicaragua! The sun is getting stronger every day. Everyone walks around with an umbrella, or rag, or t-shirt on top of their head- anything to keep the sun from hitting them directly. I have been told that March and April are the hottest months of the year, so I am bracing myself..


February brought with it some more pets to my house. First, there was Davíd (this is what I call our rooster). Davíd stays outside the wall of my room and crows all night long. The wall of my room is wooden, and there is literally no sound protection (I can sometimes hear my host siblings breathing in the room next to mine at night.) So I may not sleep through the night again until Davíd becomes soup :)

We also just got two puppies. They are to guard the house at night when they grow bigger, not for soup, and they are much cuter than Davíd!

Hogar Belen:

This month at Hogar Belen, Gretel and I spent a lot of time doing evaluations for each of the children. We evaluated them in four different areas- physical, social, cognitive, and language. We then made up a form that we used to create annual goals for each of them in each of these areas. The third and final step was developing a list of activities and methods that we would use to work at these goals in the next several months. It feels a lot better to be working with the kids with more knowledge of their current levels, and with some clear goals in mind.


It is an unstructured role that I am in this year, which can be a challenge from my own cultural background- but I am learning flexibility, and these little steps of more formal organization are helpful.


Little Moments...
This month I have often thought of how much I appreciate the places I find myself in this year- the little moments that I think to myself "I really like it that life has me in this very place at this very moment."

For instance, last week I spent Saturday afternoon on my front porch with my host mom "limpiando los frijoles" (cleaning the beans). Cleaning beans involves taking a handful of dried beans in one hand, pulling out the tiny sticks, stones, and reject beans, and then placing the "cleaned" handful of beans into another recepticle. We sat there cleaning beans and having conversation for the afternoon. I like that about Nicaragua- there isn´t a way to do everything quickly, and though it can be quite the pain sometimes, I still treasure the pace.

Another time I really enjoy where I find myself is when I go to our Saturday evening church service. You may be wondering- why church on a Saturday evening? My church here actually has services on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and twice on Sunday. Now I don´t go to all of those, but people are generally confused when I try to explain that at home we only have a service for the whole congregation on Sunday mornings.

Anyways, I really enjoy Saturday evening chruch because we meet in two different groups in someone´s home. We have a group of about 20 people from the neighborhood, all gathered together on the front porch of a house. We sing songs (not at all quietly), read scripture, someone gives a short talk, and then we sing some more. The houses here in Nicaragua are incredibly close together- yards rarely exist. And the cool thing is that 20 people making quite a raquet in the middle of this small neighborhood with their church service is not seen as anything out of the ordianary. I can´t explain it, but it is such a unique atmosphere, and I so enjoy it when I can go :)

Another expample of these little moments is this past Friday night. I went to a concert in a cafe with two other volunteers here. The singer was a man from England, married to a Nicaraguan, and sang the songs of Victor Jada (a Chilean who wrote and sang songs for social justice in Chile, and was eventually killed for doing so). There is a movement of young people in Nicaragua working for social justice with Victor Jada as their inspiration. The cafe was a small open air setting, and we were among the first of the handful of people that came. They were serving free coffee, and when I asked if there was milk (here in Nicaragua coffee is amost always served with milk), the singer there to give the concert left the cafe to find me some. Only here.. :)

Other happenings this month:

The MCC team had a meeting this month up North in Matalgalpa, and went for a day to a farm in the mountains. We went for a hike and heard ( but didn´t see) some monkeys, saw a lot of coffee plants, and a waterfall. As always, it was wonderful to get out of the city and into nature for a while. And the climate in those higher altitudes is such a relief!


This last weekend I went to a big carnival here in Managua with my host sisters. It consisted of a huge parade with a lot of folklore and traditional dancing, and a massive amount of people all in the same street.




This month I also was able to visit a Sewing Center project in Managua, connected with Hogar Belen. This is a small project that teaches women from the community the skill of sewing and tailoring. They take the classes and graduate with some materials and a skill that they can use for the rest of their lives- to stay on their feet economically. It was cool to see, and one of those sparks of hope that brightened my month :)

Until next time... :)

The Half Way Mark!

Hello everyone! Well January has flown by. We are offically in the season of fresh oranges and bannanas, just emerging are mandarine oranges and papaya, and I hear that the mangos are coming soon. I like to define my seasons here by fruit rather than the weather- it is a lot less depressing :)

Some Reflections Half-Way Through:
I thought it might be nice to write about some challenges and favorites half way through like I did in my first blog entry.
Challenges:
Looking back my challeneges so far can be decently summed up in one word- "awareness." Awareness of life´s economic realities for most people, an awareness of what it is like to struggle through days in a second language, an awareness of myself and the narrow view that I have been able to live with, the list could go on.. Awareness is important, but sometimes quite overwhelming.
Favorites:
-My relationship with my host family - I have developed such a comfortable relationship with my family here, which has been a real blessing. We have a lot of good conversations and share a lot of laughter :)
-The Pacific Ocean (as of yesterday!)
-Coconut popsicles
-Hearing peoples stories- people here love to talk, whether it is a half an hour about how to prepare one of the traditional foods, or stories from their childhood, or about the situation of their country, people are almost always in the mood for conversation.
-Singing in church- there are often no instruments, no words on a screen or hymnal, and usually no key- but somehow we make music and it´s fun :)

Hogar Belen Update:
This month the room that I mentinoned in my previous blog became more of a reality at Hogar Belen. It was certainly a community effort- we painted the walls a melon color and the ceiling a sky blue. We spent a lot of time hanging material and lights, and finally the mirror and the foam floor went down. We have a collection of sensory type toys to use. One of my favorite parts is the cds of different sounds that we have- so we can be in a jungle, or in the rain, or surrounded by frogs :) A lot of the materials that we used were donations that the home already had but hadn´t been using currently, which was very helpful. We hope to keep adding to it throughout the year, but we are able to use it as it is right now.

These are a couple of the kids looking at the letters/pictures they recieved from Wabash Middle School in Indiana. Each student included 10 picutres to describe themselves to the kids at Hogar Belen. I think that some of the kids really understood it, and the ones that didn´t still enjoyed the pictures :)

Nicaragua..
Here is some more information about Nicaragua. I thought it might be helpful to have more insight into this place, as you try to picture my experience here from such a distance. This is sort of long, so read what you can or just what you would like to, and I hope it is helpful!

Population: 5.1 million

Of this 5.1 million over half of the population is under the age of 18.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in Latin America, and there is a problem with inequity of poverty- largely affecting women and children.

45 percent of all income goes to the richest 10 percent of the population

One in every three children suffers from some degree of malnutrition.

Only 23 percent of children complete primary schooling.

One in every four households is headed by a woman.

The percentage of homes affected by domestic violence is estimated to be around 65 percent.

Nicaragua has a complex history leading to this very difficult economic situation. Here are some of the main events that I have read/heard about.
There have been many struggles for independance, first from the colonizing Spanish and then from the United States. U.S. intervention began in 1856 when an American adventurer, William Walker, declared himself president. In 1911 the U.S. claimed power of Nicaragua´s economy through the Dawson Accords, and U.S. military arrived in 1912. They left in 1933 after a war led by the well known Augusto Sandino. Nicaragua then endured a brutal dictatorship for 40 years, under the Somoza family (1937-1979). The Somoza´s were careful to maintain the appearance of democracy and recieved U.S. support financially. Immediately after the revolution, in which a group known as the Sandinistas were able to overthrough this regime, Nicaragua faced another war against the "contras." The contras were an army trained and supprted financially by the U.S., because of the socialist ideas of Nicaragua´s new leader, Daniel Ortega. The 80´s were an especailly difficult time economically for Nicaragua because of the U.S. trade embargo (which cut off Nicaragua from all trade with the U.S. and other countries under this agreement), and because of the money that Ortega was pouring into the war. A peace treaty was finally signed in 1989. Though times are more peaceful, there continues to be corruption in govermental leaders. Nicaragua has also had more than its fair share of natural disasters, including an earthquake in 1972, killing approximately 20,000 people, Hurricane Mith in 1998 which was a disaster for the already struggling economy, and again this year with Hurricane Felix on the Atlantic Coast.

It is impossible to separate my experience here from the historical context. The people that I am surrounded by have lived through at least part of the following: a brutal dictatorship, a revolution, the war that followed, and devestating natural disasters. As my spanish skills progress I am able to hear people´s stories more clearly. I am also continually meeting people very dedicated to improving the state of their country, and am inspired by that. My host mother, for example, works with a comission of MCC Nicaragua specifically designated to work with natural disasters. She is also a part of a group that works with women to empower and support, she is very involved in our church, and in her spare time she takes seminary classes. She´s a symbol of hope right in my very own house :)

The Holidays are Here!

The holidays are here! This week I helped put up a Christmas tree at Hogar Belen-outside in my shorts and t-shirt. It was a little hard to get into the spirit, but still a good time :) The past month went by quickly for me- here were some of the highlights!

Thanksgiving:

This Thanksgiving there was no Turkey or football for the first time in many years, but the day did involve a volcano and a cow slaughtering.
On Thanksgiving day (not celebrated here in Nicaragua in November) I left work a bit early and went with some of the MCC team to visit a nearby volcano (photo below). When I got home there was a cow tied to the tree in our yard. I knew that this could not be good news. The next night at midnight the slaughterer came to our house. It is tradition here to do slaughtering at midnight, which to me felt somewhat like a scene from a scary movie. My family insisted that I watch this event. So for the first and last time I watched an entire cow be slaughtered. I will stop there with the details :)











Retreat with MCC Team:

The first week of December the MCC team here traveled North, into the mountains for a retreat. It was a nice break from my normal routine, and also it was cold! We slept with wool blankets and drank hot chocolate. This may be my only experience with these temperatures for a year, so it was quite refreashing. It was a good to spend time with the other team members reflecting, singing, playing games, and laughing :)

Hogar Belen:

Work at Hogar Belen is going well. The other day I went with Gretel to the market (the largest market in Central America) to get some materials for the sensory room we are in the process of making there. It is a small room with only one small window. We purchased some different materials for the walls and a full length mirror. We already have some different lights that we will be using and also have some foam material that we will be using for the floor. We have several different ideas, and I´m excited to see how it progresses and comes together in the next couple of months.

Another project that I am working on now is with some of the older kids to paint pictures and write a short letter (and by letter I mean their name, age, and one thing that they like :) that we are sending to students in a classroom in the U.S. The students from the U.S. are also sending letters and pictures to the children at Hogar Belen. We used a map to try to explain to them where their letters will go. I am not sure that they understand it well, but I am sure that they will love getting some mail :)


A good reminder:
I am currently reading the book "Gracias" by Henri Nouwen, which is a compilation of his reflections from the time he spent in Latin America. He shares his reflections in discovering that his niece, Laura, was born with Down Syndrome. He writes that his family can be characterized by being ambitious, hardwroking, and successful, and then writes :

"Now Laura enters and tells us a totally new story, a story of weakness, brokenness, vulnerability, and total dependency. Laura, who always will be a child, will teach us the way of Christ as no on will ever be able to do."

This was a good reminder for me in my every day work. For the days when my patience runs thin, as well as the days when I think I have much to give, it is good to remember that in and through these kids I have a whole lot to learn :)


























Right now I am looking forward to Christmas here. Christmas celebrations here all take place on the 24th of December. On this day I will celebrate with my Nicaraguan family, and the next day my family (from the U.S :) will arrive in Nicaragua for a week! I am so excited to share with them my life here, and am just looking forward to seeing them :)
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday, Feliz Navidad!

A small update :)

I just want to start by saying that I am really starting to enjoy my life here in Nicaragua. I am feeling more and more a part of my communuity. Every day begins and ends with about a 25 minute walk to work at Hogar Belen. I have come to love this time in the morning. It is early, so the temperature is barable, and it is just a nice time to clear my head and get ready for the day. I see the same people along this walk, and always exchange greetings and ocasionally conversation. I can also see that I am adjusting, because what used to be difficult for me is now just a normal part of my day- I can take a cold shower without batting an eye (well kind of), I sometimes forget about the invention of the washing machine, and it feels strange when there is not rice at a meal (that has probably happened about twice). :)
Work at Hogar Belen is going well. I am starting to find my niche there, and I am finding different projects to put my energy into. The most recent is that I am hoping to create a sensory room at the home. There is an extra room that isn´t being used. Often at therapy centers for kids with disabilities there are these types of rooms with different lights, mirrors, materials, etc. Of course it would be on a smaller scale, with a smaller budget, but I am excited to see what we can create with what we have. Stimulation of the senses is important to development, and this could be a really helpful to children who are almost always in the same environment.
Personally, I am learning much from my time here. There is a freedom to really enjoy what is real in life. There are fewer conviences, but also fewer distractions. My eyes have been truly opened to a completely different economic situation than what I have known in the past. With this can come pain. There is a girl at Hogar Belen, who is ten years old, and weighs only 30 pounds and cannot see as the result of malnutrition. It hurts to think of what her past has looked like, and to realize that she is not alone where she comes from. She is absolutely afraid of anything new. I have been trying to help her learn to eat with a spoon rather than being fed, but she is terrified to hold the spoon. She is able to walk, but again is afraid. She is terrified also of any new environment. She spent her first time in the physical therapy room crying and screaming only because it was a new room.
I have found in my time here that it is so important to intentionally look for and embrace the pieces of hope wherever they can be found. I find hope when I see the joy that this same little girl finds in music. She absolutely loves music, and to watch her face transform into an expression of contentment and joy when she hears any form of music is amazing. She can be screaming and crying from fear, but when she hears music her demeanor will change in an instant. I love to spend time singing to her or with her. I taught her Mary Had a Little Lamb in English, and when she hears me coming she will begin to sing it, with a smile that just makes my day. It is true that the beauty of the arts touches all people, in all cultures, in all situations.
What I see here can be very difficult. But I have found that to not only see it, but rather also become a part of it is in a sense healing and hopeful.

Until next time... :)

Hogar Belen!

I have been working at Hogar Belen for about 2 weeks now :) Here are some pictures and details about what I do there!




She´s a spunky one :)















This little guy is three years old, but isn´t developing as fast as he should be. In this picture we are in the physical therapy room which is where I spend a lot of my time working with the kids.


I had a meeting the second day there with the director to discuss what my role would be at the home. It was decided that one of my focuses would be to work with five 2 and 3 year olds, one on one, who have not yet started talking for about a half hour each day. They are able to vocalize, but not with words or even sounds that begin with consonants. I focus my time with them on speech related activities and exercises. It has been nice to have a focus like this, and I am learning a lot about speech development.


In the afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays I sit in/help with an English class for the staff members at Hogar Belen. There is another volunteer at the home from Trinidad who teaches the class. I really like it because all day I struggle to communicate with people, and have to put so much effort into every conversation, but for two hours out of the day I can be on the opposite side helping other people with English :)



This is Gretel, the physical therapist. She is really knowladgable and puts so much energy into what she does. I really like working with her.

Ruth like to help with the younger kids :)

I spend some time working one on one with a couple of the older kids, in kind of a tutoring type setting. They are at school in the mornings, and get back to the home around noon. I really enjoy when I work with them in the afternoons because I can draw on experience with special education in college, and it reminds me that I really do want to be a teacher :) The rest of the time I really just float around, help out where I can, and try to give the kids as much attention and love as I can :) With 23 brothers and sisters they need all of the attention they can get! This home is a really special place, though. It breaks my heart to hear the stories of where they all come from. They are some pretty special kids, and they keep me going each day. I´m looking forward to being a part of the staff there for the year.

Until next time! :)