Mondays we don't have classes at the center. So, it's considered our day off. 2 of the other interns go to The Cancha with Joana. That means that I really have all morning to relax, do devotions, catch up on anything that needs to be done or prepared for the center that week, do laundry, etc. In the afternoons, all of us are around so generally we go do something or explore some part of the city if we have a chance.
Tuesdays me and Leah take turns going with Kathryn generally to the Cancha to help her carry all of the things she needs to buy for her women's cooking classes. It really can depend, though, on if she is feeling well. We have gone with Gustavo instead or cancelled before as well. Then we either eat with Kathryn at her house or head back to our house for lunch. Classes start at the center at 2:30. We take turns heading there early, so we either leave the house at 1:30 or 2:00. If we go early, we have to get glasses of water ready for the kids for those that want it when they come and clean the tables from the day before. On Tuesdays, I'm in charge of preparing el refrigerio (the snack). It usually consists of preparing a grain drink (api..purple corn drink! is one of the regulars and one of the kids' favorites) and opening up packages of some type of crackers/cookies/etc. for the kids. One day this week I had to peel 80 oranges and 80 bananas for the kiddos! Wow, my fingers hurt after that one for a few days!! There are about 80 kids that attend the center each day from 1st-6th grade. After preparing snack, we all help serve snack shortly after 4:00. After snack, I help out in Creatividad (crafts) class. When the kids are finished with their homework in their regular classrooms, they can get a pass to go to Creatividad. I generally help prepare the different projects, or at least a couple of them a week. The center time is finished at 5:30. At that point, we clean up and head home and generally get home by 6:30. Then we eat supper, get anything prepared for the coming days, hang out, watch movies, etc.!
Wednesdays we have construction in the morning. So right after breakfast, we head to the center by trufi. Sometimes Howard and/or Gustavo are there to help us, but other days it's just us girls getting dirty and getting down to work! We work for a good 2 1/2 hours or so and then head home for lunch around 11:30. We clean up, eat, and then have to head back to the center already. Construction in the mornings & El Centro in the afternoon. Wednesdays I don't prepare snack, but I help out in the 4th grade classroom. The 4th graders are so full of energy and quite a fun bunch! The room is generally crazy, but I do my best to help the kids out with their homework (which usually consists of a lot of math). It took me a bit to figure out how to help them with their long division, because it is completely backwards from the way we do it! Sometimes I just have to tell them, sorry I have no clue how to help you with this...and they just look at me like "what?! You don't know this?!" It can be quite humbling. :) After refrigerio, I help out with the washing of the dishes from the snack and then any time left over help out in Creatividad.
Thursdays are very similar to Wednesdays. We do construction at the center in the morning. Then we go to the center for classes in the afternoon. On Thursdays I again prepare refrigerio and then help out in Creatividad.
Fridays we have the morning for Spanish lessons. My lesson is at 11 AM with Toni. I sometimes head down to Av. America early to get coffee or walk around or visit the supermarket, though. I just have to take the bus down to Toni's house, and it's super easy to get there by myself. Toni has a gorgeous backyard and beautiful house. Her lessons have been so wonderful for me. I have learned SO much, and it has been a huge blessing for my time here! She is a wonderful Christian woman, so nice to just have conversations with every week, and I can't begin to explain how much I have learned over those 1-hour private lessons!! I can bring any questions I have to her, and she right away could pick up on my ability level and has tailored the sessions to what I really need to improve my Spanish. I will miss having access to such amazing lessons! She is a GREAT teacher. After my lesson, I head back for lunch and then we head to the center for the afternoon!
Saturdays have been a little different the last couple of weeks because we have started experiments at the center. We invited the 5th-6th graders to El Centro on Saturday mornings for a couple of hours to do fun science experiments and another learning opportunity for them. I think the kids have really been enjoying it! They say that they haven't really done anything like it before. It has been fun to find experiments they will enjoy and have an opportunity to actually teach and interact more with the older students. We did experiments all with eggs this past week. We did the classic egg drop experiment and had them create something to protect an egg. They thought it was so cool that they could drop them from the 2nd story of El Centro! In the afternoons, we have time off to do whatever and explore again!
Sunday mornings we head to church. After church, we all go out to lunch together. We usually go to some type of food court where everyone can order what they want or a more authentic Bolivian restaurant. Sunday afternoons we either rest or sometimes do some exploring as well.
As you can see, our days are pretty packed! It has been so fun, though! This week on Saturday afternoon, we went straight from experiments on a little adventure! We packed some bread, fruit, and snacks and left straight from the center. We took a trufi to Plaza Norte and ended up just buying some food there and taking it to-go. We got on a different trufi which took us to a Quillacollo, which is pretty much a suburb of Cochabamba. We basically had to do a lot of asking around to figure out exactly what trufis to take and everything. From there, we found a different trufi to take us to Pairumani, a national park with hiking trails. We went hiking up the mountain. We had no idea how long it would take us or what it was going to be like! It wasn't as long as we thought it would be, but it was a good hike! Especially doing something more strenuous like that, you can sure feel the altitude difference! We came to this lookout area and some amazing views of a huge canyon! It was breathtaking! Then we finally kept going, had to go through a gate, and then got to a narrow path that took us right alongside the side of a mountain. We walked a way and came to the waterfall! The waterfall wasn't much because it's so dry right now. There was barely even a river in the canyon even. Then we could walk up some steps right next to the waterfall and see the river flowing over all of the rocks! It was amazing to hear the flowing water and dip our feet in the water! It was cold, but so refreshing after our hike! We relaxed for a while, ate some of our snacks, and then headed back down! We made it up and down in just a couple hours really! It was such an amazing experience, and really reminded me how GREAT, how MARVELOUS, and how WONDERFUL our Maker is! His creation takes my breath away all the time here.
Prayer requests:
- That I would take advantage of my last weeks here.
- That our VBS would go great this week! We have definitely been feeling the stress with all the things to get done before then! Pray that we might teach just a few kids even who have never heard about Jesus and that we would make an impact on their lives.
- Health: I have been dealing with bad allergies this week (I think largely due to the pollution...Cochabamba was under a red alert for pollution/smog this week) and Joana has been very down with a bad cold this week! Pray that we all continue to stay as healthy as possible and get over anything we have soon.
- Pray that God would really use me this week and that I would be open to Him and what He has to teach me and show me these last few weeks. I want to keep the focus on Him and really soak in this opportunity while I can!
- Continued safety!
Blessings from Cochabamba! I am LOVING my South American life, though at times it can be difficult and trying.
Adios y vaya con Dios,
Breanna
Breanna
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| This girl is the sweetest... Arminda, I will miss sitting next to you at church, you braiding my hair whenever you can, and seeing your joy-filled smile in the 4th-grade classroom! |
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| Teaching experiments on Saturday morning |
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| Sitting on the rocks in the river above the waterfall! |
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| Me and my sweet, funny, & crazy buddy Gabriel |
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| Loving the mountains at Pairumani! |
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