For the final two weeks of my time in Cusco I volunteering in the afternoons with young kids at a local after school program. In reality it'd hard to call it such a program because most of these kids really didn't go to school. They were very poor, wore the same clothes every day, and had rotting teeth already. They generally were between the ages of 3-10. But despite all their hardships at such a young age, they all were adorable and I fell in love with them immediately.
Getting to the volunteer location was an adventure in and of itself. I had to take the local El Dorado bus, and that involved hopping onto a bus made for ten people with about twenty-five people already sitting and standing. We drove through back alleys and cobblestone streets, and about half an hour later I would hop off with my lungs filled with exhaust. But it's always fun experiencing a new adventure.
I knew working with these kids would be tough because kids can always be that way, but you cannot forget about the language barrier. I have a hard time understanding little kids when they speak english, and now I had to try and figure out what these kids were mumbling in spanish. Half the time I had no idea what they were saying, and there was plenty of head nodding and saying yes. Lord knows I probably said "Yes, I love putting yogurt in my ears while dancing on hot coals." Oh well.
Each afternoon I worked with a friend of mine who also volunteered at this site to prepare the day's activity for the kids in the arts and crafts room. We had to choose a project and set everything up for the 30 or so kids that would come into our room. There was also the homework and sports room, but we were the most popular place to be. We had projects such as making masks and hats, origami and making cootie catchers, and decorating ornaments to put on xmas trees and hang from the ceiling.
The first day the kids asked what my name was and I told them Alex. They looked at me very confused, but I wasn't sure why. The asked again the next day, and when I responded Alejandro they all knew exactly what I was talking about. Ale really isn't a shorthand way to say Alex, so I just went by my full name the rest of the time. Luckily for me they actually called us--the volunteers--professor most days, or profe for short. It was insanely cute, I loved it.
Some of the kids even expressed an interest to learn english (why it isn't taught in their schools I have no idea). So for the second week I was there we took some of the kids each day to another room to teach them the alphabet, typical greetings, colors, fruits, and other random words they thought up ("How do I say ugly?".....then they would point to someone and say "You're ugly."...maybe I shouldn't have told them the answer).
Despite the language barrier and the one or two meltdowns kids had with fighting and screaming, the experience with these little boys and girls was nothing short of incredible. Even with all the adversity they faced they showed up with smiles on their faces and energy to create something to show a parent; each day they created something they were very proud of. They truly were inspiring children.
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