This morning at the orphanage we stayed outside for the majority of the time making bracelets and painting which the kids loved! We also helped the orphanage director, Emilia, with lesson plans to start teaching the kids next week. A lot of the crafts are similar to the ones I make with my one and two year olds at my job back home. Although these children are older, they never learned any fine motor skills while growing up. I’m really interested to see how well the kids do in a classroom setting. Walking into the orphanage every morning and getting bombarded with hugs is a feeling so rewarding I can’t even put it into words. This afternoon was the warmest it has been all week so we all laid out on the front patio to tan.
Sorry mom, you’re not gonna like this one but god, am I sunburned. We only laid out for about 45 minutes but afterwards we all looked like lobsters. Although it feels like Massachusetts summer sun it is so much stronger since we’re so much closer to the equator. Tonight was Helen, Victoria and Nicole’s last night here which is sad. One tiny detail I forgot to mention was all of the handprints on the walls. They are everywhere and everyone who has ever volunteered here in the past 10 years has made a painted handprint before they left. So tonight they all got to make theirs. On Sunday the new students are arriving and Molly and I will be getting four new roommates; Jenna, Jessica, Riordan and Ansley. I am nervous to see what this group will be like but hopefully we become fast friends. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a little bit later because we aren’t leaving until 9am to go to the La Paz waterfalls. Late afternoon I went on a run through Cartago and the views I saw definitely beat the treadmills at the YMCA gym. I ran by fields of cows and horses and looking at the most beautiful mountainous skyline. With the clouds and sun shining through them it was so perfect that it looked like it was photoshopped into the background.
Seeing the girls go home has made me a little homesick knowing I still have three weeks left here but I’m going to Skype with my family tomorrow night which I am really looking forward to. The wifi is down tonight so I am unable to talk to anyone but I’ll probably end up falling asleep earlier than usual which won’t be such a bad thing. Goodnight!
TRUST THE JOURNEY 