First Day of School

Today was my first day of ¨work¨ here at Mission Lazarus. I spent the day at the school in San Marcos, helping with a Kindergarten class. Even though I can´t understand much of what the kids say to me, I know the words for the things they are learning - letters, numbers, colors....As long as we keep the conversation to foods, animals, numbers, and colors, I can follow. :) I did learn the words to a couple of songs in Spanish. The rest of my Spanish-song repetoire will take a while to catch up to theirs, I think.

So what did I actually DO today? I helped to mop the floors this morning before school started. I met some of the kids as they arrived. I watched and listened while they prayed and sang their morning songs. I helped to lead a line of kids to the bathroom to wash hands. I helped to serve breakfast to the kids - coffee and breakfast cookies. I helped to pass out paper, crayons, scissors, playdough, etc. during class. I participated in a few games and tried to lead a few. I don´t know many Spanish games yet, but they have a few I recognized: ¨Pato, Pato, Ganzo¨(Duck, Duck, Goose), and ¨Simón Dice¨ (Simon Says). They also have a game similar to London Bridge, but I don´t know the words yet. I helped to serve (and eat) lunch - rice and onion and potato and plantain soup. I played with them at recess - everyone´s favorite part (including mine), but the sweatiest and most tiring. Especially since I spent 15 minutes spinning kids in a circle and giving horsey rides! I also pushed some kids on the swings. Then for the last half hour, there was an old swingset with no swings on it, and I lifted the kids up one at a time so that they could use it as monkeybars. It was hard work keeping the kids in a line with everyone pushing forward (I don´t know how to say ¨back up¨ yet), but I was able to teach the kids how to say ¨1, 2, 3¨ in English and French. (They already knew it in Spanish!) After recess, we went back inside and sang some more songs, and then played with playdough again until dismissal. I made a cat and a dog out of playdough, and after that every kid in the class wanted one! So I obliged.


Oh, by the way, yesterday I went with David and Jarrod to Managua, Nicaragua to pick up Dr. Rick Lytle and his daughter Hannah at the airport. Dr. Lytle is the dean of the College of Business Administration (COBA, my department) at ACU. I´m excited that he and Hannah are here - and I very much enjoyed the trip across the border. San Marcos is only 11k (7 minute drive) from the border, which consists of a rope stretched across the road, then a customs building, then another rope across the road. Crossing the border is pretty easy - one just has to stop at the building, present a passport and exit-entry taxes (about $7 total each way), and then continue on. The drive to Managua was about 3 hours total one way. Good time to relax, chat, and enjoy the scenery. On the way we saw people selling parrots, iguanas, and a monkey along the side of the road!

That´s all for now, folks. ¡Que Dios le bendiga!

Haley