loose ends

My mind is wandering. It cannot seem to find a resting place on any topic. There are events that I need to recount, but there is no over-arching theme to these events. For this, I apologize but also acknowledge that such is life.

For those of you who were wanting more information on ´mi Manuelito,´I will tell you what I know. He left to go live with his mother, and a few days after my return to El Salvador he and his sisters were able to visit the hogar. It was in the morning, during my time for work when I saw him for the first time, and we were able to talk for a few minutes. Then after I was done with my work, I was returning my rakes to the storage area and happened to be walking alongside Manuel as he was going towards the gate to leave. We talked some more, but this time about how we both had been so sad that we hadn´t gotten the chance to say good-bye to each other. It was nice to know that he had missed me too. I stood there with two other SMs, Jessica and Elisabeth, as we each said our good-byes. I was beginning to cry, but tried not to show it. I hugged Manuel and his sisters, Lisseth and Deysi, and waved good-bye. They walked away without looking back. I turned back toward the office when I couldn´t hold my sobs in any longer because I didn´t want him to hear me cry. Jessica and Elisabeth comforted me and cried with me as we talked about the three kids. Deysi had lived in Jessia´s house, and since Deysi was the oldest, she was able to speak frankly with Jessica about her new situation. Deysi had confided that she didn´t feel exactly safe, but when asked what the worst thing was about it, she said it was the boredom. I figure it´s a good thing if the worst thing in your life is simply boredom. At least they´re not being abused and seem to have a good life.

Another bit of news is the final decision on my new job description. I now work with Maestra Sandra, who is the pre-kinder, kinder, and prepa teacher in the mornings. If she has a student worker assigned to her in the morning, then I help out with the kids in the classroom, but if she doesn´t, then I am to watch the library section of the building, checking out books and making sure that nothing is destroyed or stolen. Wait--a job where I´m supposed to do nothing? Sounds good to me! This week, however, has been less than wonderful because it has been dedicated to the organization of everything. The library and classrooms were recently moved, meaning that we had many boxes of books and many boxes of junk to go through. Let´s just say that it´s not my favorite activity. One day I took a ´break´ from sorting things to sweep, just because I couldn´t take the mental work anymore. There´s something therapeutic about sweeping, and I would rather sweep any day than sort through a box full of toys, art supplies, and miscellaneous materials, deciding which things to keep, which to throw away, and where to put everything. The hard decision comes when you know that something could be used, but you don´t know if it will be used. Then, in the afternoons I work in my house, delegating chores to the kids for the first hour or so and then helping with homework. After homework, I take all the kids to the pool on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I´m not sure I like this arrangement because then the kids that work from 3-5 can´t ever go during the week and neither can the older kids, who have school in the afternoon. So I´m still doing the Sunday afternoon pool thing to let the other kids have a chance to use it.

Recently, a new music teacher at ECAS (the school right outside our gates) has been working on putting together a band--drums, guitar, bass, etc. Ian and I sort of got roped into playing in it, but it has been pretty fun. The first week we practiced almost every day, and that got annoying, so we´ve cut back to twice a week, and that´s livable. I love getting the chance to play my bass and improve my skills. Eventually, Ian and I are supposed to teach the songs we learn to other kids so that we can leave a band for after we leave. This band is to then go around and perform at local churches, so that´ll be cool.

Highlight of the week, as far as kids go--the other day Moisés was walking with me, and he said to me, "I have a secret," so I bent down for him to tell it to me, half-expecting it to be a trick so that he could shout in my ear or something like that. But instead he said, "Te quiero," which means, "I love you." Awww. So sweet.

In other news, I went to Immigration on Friday and picked up my final visa card--no more trips to San Salvador to wait for hours and do lots of paperwork! I now have permission to stay in the country until October, but I really won´t be needing that.