One Of Those Days

I came home yesterday afternoon after spending the morning at the orphanage. The first things out of my mouth were, "I've been hit, kicked, tackled and bitten. I want a shower." My mom responded with "Oh, you had one of those days." Yes, yesterday was one of "those" days, and despite the brutal beatings it was perfect.

We were greeted by happy faces when we walked into the kindergarten. Each kid was working on a puzzle. I watched for a moment until I heard "Mira" look, and turned to see a girl holding up her completed puzzle. I walked over and knelt beside their table as I exclaimed "Que bueno, muy bien."  Not to be outdone, one of the boys tugged my hand and said "ayudarme" help me. I started helping him put pieces together. I pretended to put them in the wrong spaces and they would say "No!" and point to another spot. Occasionally a little hand would grab the puzzle piece and put it where it belonged. It was fun to see how they figured out where to put the pieces, some by trying  everything, some by matching up lines and colors.

We did puzzles, and then we sang songs and colored. They sang a song where the teacher would ask how are you today, and they would yell back their reply. It was the cutest thing.

 

We played outside. We played pato-pato-gonzo (duck-duck-goose) and then a game that resembled red rover and tag combined. I think they really just wanted to see us run around teasing them.

 

A few of us also climbed trees. We were feeling a bit sloth-like.

 

After we sat down, listened to music and ate cake to celebrate one of the Tio's birthdays.

It was a great day, my favorite part though was seeing Alejandro-Victor and Eduardo. I helped Alejandro practice his multiplication facts while Eduardo asked me all sorts of questions I couldn't answer. They talked to me about their day and about living at the orphanage and about foods they liked. I split my piece of cake between them to share. It was fun just to be with them and see them get excited over something like cake.

It might have been one of "those" days, I might have a few bruises and I might be a bit sore, but it was worth it. I saw smiling faces and got a few warm hugs and that's good enough for me.