Wow!

Hola a todos! I`m excited to finally write something here! I don´t know if I can put into words how wonderful the trip has been so far. Sure, we´ve had our ups and downs (like scary instances on horses, trips to the medical clinics and some rumbling stomachs) but I have been so impressed with how the kids are handling most of those down points. And they´re taking everything else in with enthusiasm, positivity and an observant eye! Yesterday we headed to the Mayan ruins and got to walk around the land where the Mayans settled in Copán. It was really interesting, especially because our tour guide, Mauricio, was very enthusiastic about everything and answered all the kids´questions in a very clear way. And the kids were asking some great questions and making some pretty insightful comments about what they were learning!

It has been awesome to speak so much Spanish here but even more awesome to hear the kíds´ excitement and exhaustion when they get out of their one-on-one Spanish classes. They are learning a lot (some in a very different than myself or Thérése has taught them) and I think they´re really enjoying the one-on-one time with their teachers. They keep talking a lot about the different words they´re learning and who´s farthest along in the workbook, etc.

I think my high so far for the whole trip has been to hear the kids talk about their host family experiences. Almost all of them are having some great opportunities to speak Spanish with their host families (Dale and Rex got help with their homework from their father and Tylisha and Kayla Pam´s host mother has kept them up late into the night chatting in Spanish!) and it´s wonderful to hear the kids making cultural comparisons about their host family´s culture and see them stepping out of their comfort zone with things like traditional food, the language and learning how to live in someone else´s house!

Today we went to the orphanage for the first time and the kids got so involved with the children at the orphanage that some of them want to go back on Wednesday and bring undergarments, pampers and wipes for some of the younger kids that clearly did not have those things. It was cool to see the "taking care of others" culture that our students have been brought up with!

Ok, I´ve written too much probably, but I hope everyone´s enjoying the kids´ posts more than mine anyway!

¡Adios!

--Profé