What a difference when you teach people who actually want to learn...

So yesterday was my first session with the young girls in that orphanage i told you about earlier and it was super super fun!  I turned up with Elbia and Hugo and all the girls were standing at the gates all giggly and excited.  I have to admit...due to the kid who drew that moustache on my face (referenced earlier on) I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of freaking teenagers!!  STILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!I was so nervous they were gonna bully me too and I know i'm twice their age and size but u never know - KIDS CAN BE EVIL!!!!!!  We all get into the class - there were 9 girls in total.  I was trying to suss out the bullies so i was giving them the Luma eyes -the good news is that I think i found her!!:-)

I introduced myself and then we went round the room for them to do the same.  I asked them to speak veeeeeeeeeeeeeery slowly and in very simple spanish.  I asked for their name, how old they are, how many years they been in there and what their favourite dance is.  They range between 14 and 18 and have been in there about 2 to 3 years.  I'm having a little trouble with the names but i'll get there. 
Continued....Even though i was planning on teaching english first, they were absolutely DYING for a dance class so i taught them bachata.  They all melted when i played Aventura but that has the same effect on me so ok, i understand it:-)  7 out of the girls got it for the most part - the rest have 2 left feet so they just watched.  They realy had a blast and were so energised!  I'm going back today for my second class but this time I'm gonna have a half hour of English and a half hour of dance. This way the nerds can benefit too! 

My main purpose quite honestl,y is to teach them stuff they will put to use further on down the line and to make a difference - however small it is.  Dance, although a fun thing to do, is not my main thing.  It was how i am luring them into the world of education during their holidays! :-)  So now they know i can offer that kind of fun, hopefully they will be more inclined to learn english as i plan to then "reward" them with a dance class!  As in the salsa world, it's all about proving urself right??  My imgaination ran wild last nite as i thought of all the activities i would like to do with them - I need to settle down a little but i'm happy i finally found the thing where i think i will make se sort of impact.  I just wasn't feeling it in the other shelther - what a difference it is when the place you are volunteering at are happy and grateful for your time and effort...It's a whole other experience....

When I left the orphanage, they all followed me out and were standing at the gates like prisoners waving me goodbye, promising to practice their moves to impress me today - it was so so cute:-)  They asked if i could come over on the weekend, as well as 3 times a week so i talked to my mama of the family and she said her grandson may be able to take me on Saturday.  I would like that as I also wanna teach them how to use the computer and i can't do it all in an hour. 

The truth is that i would like to be there for 2 hours per session during the week but i just feel bad to have Hugo wait in the car for me...So i'm trying to find if there's a way i can go there by myself without having to bother anyone - we'll see.  I will also be working at that other place for disabled kids twice a week - i start that next week so i have a busy schedule!! :-)

Separate from this, I finally found some info on Christian...

His mother is very poor and is an alcoholic and as such, he was living on the streets until he got picked up and brought into this shelter.  They don't really know anything about him: does he have siblings, was he really born in the US, who his dad is, etc so there's a court date in a month to decide what's gonna happen to him.  He will definitely be leaving Xela and most probably stay in the Capital - which is about 4 hours away from here.  The shelter where I met him at is for small kids but they had to place him somewhere - so this explains why he's the only giant kid amongst the smaller ones.  I asked if there's anything i could do to help his situation and it seems not...But they did say that due to his age, they don't really have clothes for him so if i could bring him some clothes and shoes, then that would be good.  I asked if i could take him shopping and they actually agreed which surprised me cos i could totally kidnap him!  I thought it would be cool to make a day of it - give him some fresh air, take him for some lunch and have him see the outside world again... Someone is going to accompany us - i can feed her too:-)  So tomorrow is the day - I'm really looking forward to it!  I still want to keep tabs on him somehow after the court date - i sort of have a plan but we'll see if it takes off!

ok guys - got to run to school.  Baaaaaaaaaaai xxxxx