Well, it’s been a few days since I have posted because things have been a little busy for me. For the past two days, I have been interviewing Project Amigo’s students in grades 4, 5 and 6, and we have taken a picture of each of them. I will be interviewing a total of 43 students right through Saturday afternoon. After the interviews, I write up a letter to each of their sponsors, telling them about the child for whom they are providing a scholarship.
Most of the children are a little shy, so I have written down my script – a list of questions to ask them. A staff member sits with me to correct my Spanish if the child doesn’t understand, to help prompt them if they are shy about answering, and to explain their answers if they come up with words that are unfamiliar to me, such as avicultor (poultry farmer) and avejas (bee keeper) when asked what work their parents do, to tacos tuxpeños when asked what foods they like.
I think there are about 132 children that I will be interviewing over several weeks. There were supposed to be 8 children interviewed yesterday, but only 7 showed up. I was told the missing boy was no longer in Cofradía because his family moved to Colima. I only hope that he is continuing to go to school.
These kids are just like kids all over the world. Their family units vary greatly in composition, but they enjoy being with friends, playing sports, eating their favorite foods, and all appreciate the opportunities for education that their sponsors have given them. The majority so far have said they like mathematics and natural science, some want to be doctors, nurses, architects and teachers. A few haven’t narrowed it down yet, but still want to attend University and one boy today had dreams of becoming a professional soccer player.
Before the interviews yesterday, I paid Doña Meche a visit. It is chilly here in the mornings and evenings, but very hot and sunny during the day and wearing my jeans in the heat just isn’t comfortable. So – I ended up buying 3 skirts and 3 blouses (pure cotton and hand-embroidered) and two hats – one cowboy-style to go with my jeans and when hiking and one a little more feminine when wearing dresses or skirts. So now I am all set in the clothing department.
This morning around 11am we had a brunch of tamales for a very special occasion. January 6th is Three Kings Day. On that day people eat a ring-shaped pastry called a rosca. Baked within the rosca is a tiny plastic baby Jesus and the tradition is whoever gets that piece has to throw a party. Two of the staff members who ended up in that position gave us a “party” this morning by having a tamale brunch. They were delicious, made with cheese and chicken cooked in corn husks, and not very spicy.
I’ve also been taking walks around the village and taken quite a few pictures, so I will post them now. It will be obvious that one of the pictures is the tamale brunch. You will also see cobblestone streets, flowers, landscapes, a sign for blackberries and marmalade, and a little chihuahua that decided to defend his property against me. You will also see chickens under the silo outside the cafetería – I wonder if they ever eat the coffee beans and what, if anything, that does to them.
Well, time to go to bed, I think and blog again in another day or two. Got to get up early and type up the letters to the sponsors for the 8 students I interviewed today before the next group arrives at 3pm. So – adios and ‘night all !!!
mex-pat.org 