One of the saddest parts about leaving was not getting to say goodbye to the orphans we tutored at La Casa Hogar. Well, saying
goodbye to them would have been as sad. We left just after I felt like I had a real connection with some of them.
About twice a week we went to the orphanage and just helped the kids out with their homework. We had a Valentine's Day Party which was really fun. Most of the time we griped about having to go. Explaining homework in another language is hard, and a lot of the time the kids didn't have good directions, or I didn't understand them any more than the kids did.
I loved the kids though. There was a group of ten-year-old boys who I worked with a lot. They were adorable and fun. They would recite their multiplication tables to me, which they only memorized them in order and did not them out of order. But don't worry, they could do it con muchisma rapidez, "dos por dos, cuatro. dos por tres, seis. dos por cuatro, ocho..." like little Speedy Gonzalez-es. I wanted to play Around-the-World with them but never got the chance.
I worked with one boy named Adán almost every time. He was my favorite. I taught him how to do long division, combining the techniques of my third grade teacher Mrs. Arcand with my Spanish skills. ("Divide, multiply, subtract bring down, hey!" translates into "¡Divide, multiplica, resta, bajamos, ya! ... ok not quite the same rhythm.) On my last day there (not that I knew it was my last day), Adán called me "mami," which I guess is really just an endearing term for any woman, not necessarily Mommy, but still. He was sweet.
The kids were very nice to each other too. The big ones looked after the little ones. They were friends.
I didn't take any pictures because I was waiting for the right time or something, but I stole my friend Jeannine's, so you can see how beautiful they are. None of these are my little ten-year-old favorites, but they're cute too. The little boy is Daniel, he's the youngest boy. The girl in the yellow is Areli. She's about 6 and at first couldn't read at all, but by the end of our two months she could. It was cool to see them improve as we improved.
