Nicaragua: Day 7, and Day 8: last two days at the school

Day 7:

                Today was a once in a lifetime experience for me. I spent my morning doing physical therapy home visits with Carmen Margarita and Jenna. We went to a total of 7 houses, but only 3 of them were home. The first house that was home was a really nice house compared to the houses we’ve seen so far. The little boy’s name was Andy and he was 3 ½ and he had Cerebral Palsy. I wasn’t worried at all about this child’s living conditions or anything because around town they call his house the “dream house”, he seemed happy and also he was well fed and nourished.
                The next house we visited was the exact opposite of Andy’s. The little girl’s name was Marisol, and when we walked into the path to their house, her mom told me that the outhouse-looking shack in the corner of their yard is their old house, and then we walked into the new one. The mom had 3 children, and herself to take care of. Her youngest daughter, Marisol, was the skinniest girl I have ever seen in my life. She was three and a half (same age as Andy) and she was literally skin and bones. My thumb was the size of her wrist, and if you put a wedding ring on her wrist, it could slide to her elbow with ease. Imagine how tiny this child was. I felt like if I touched her, I could break her. Her mother told us they couldn’t afford any food for their family, and yet the sister and mother were in perfect condition and a little overweight. I could tell the mother really wanted to help Marisol, but also felt like there were better ways she could have.
                The last house we visited had a one year old daughter, Alexandra, who was diagnosed with a tumor in her lower back. When she had it removed when she was a baby, it resulted in her loss of use of her legs. She was paralyzed from the waist down. She was so cute, and she was only one year old. She looked healthy and fed well. Their family had a dad, uncle, mom, sister, and grandfather and they were all healthy looking and happy. Their living conditions weren’t as nice… they lived in a dirty shack where everything seemed gross and unsanitary. I found out the mother had HIV and they were yet to know if Alexandra has it.
                Tomorrow is our last day at the school… I really, really hope that all those families will come to the going away party at the school tomorrow and I really hope to see them there.

Day 8:

                I have never felt so attached to 84 children in my life. I was completely surprised about the bond I had built with these children over a course of 7 days. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life, and the worst part is I think some of the children still think we will see them on Monday.
                We spent the morning getting all the things ready for the fiesta we were throwing the children when they had lunch. They ate lunch at 10 in the morning (because most of the children do not eat breakfast, so it’s almost like a brunch for the students), so we had to set everything up before then. We were handing out donated clothes (thank you!!) to the students all morning and it was so cute to have them be so proud of something we don’t really give much attention to. When we showed up this morning we saw Ramon wearing the shirt we gave him yesterday, and it was the cutest thing in the entire world.
                When the fiesta started we had the children all eat, then we all walked outside to start the piñata. Kevin and I handed out cookies, sweets, fruits, candies, etc. to all the students and teachers prior to hitting both the piñatas. I was so so so so so happy when I saw Marisol and her mother show up to the party and I gave them some clothes, food, and candy. I hope they enjoyed it. Once all the children had their food and desserts, the piñata started. The second it broke, the children went insane. I have never seen kids wanting candy as much as they did. It was cute, but also a little scary and different.
                After the piñatas were broken, everyone had their clothes, everyone had food and desserts, and everyone was happy the presents were given to us. Students had made us bags and given us presents inside of them. I was given a small handmade jewlrey box, and a necklace hanger (it looked like a miniature coat hanger). I started crying when I hugged the little boy that gave it to me, well... until he bit my ear in front of everyone... I still loved him though. Everyone was given presents and gifts and then we said our goodbyes. I love these children so much and they will always forever have a place in my heart. 

 If home is where the heart is, Escuela Especial por Maria Romero is my home. 

Nicaragua: Day 5, and Day 6

Day 5:

Let me just say, it's the fifth day and I love it here. I had the privilege today to work in the classroom for the students who were deaf and it was so much fun! I felt like I learned so much along with helping the students a lot as well. I first walked into the room with Kristal (the translator who helped me) and all the students started signing to me. I just could catch a few words, like "nombre", and "tu" so I filled in the blanks and I spelled out my name along with my sign name. They were so sweet and the teacher had Kristal and I do a separate sign language lesson in front of the class, while they worked on their homework assignment. It was insanely fun because everyone was so helpful to me, and I made a whole new group of friends I honestly never thought I would have as friends. Even though there is a language barrier, these children are so sweet and surprisingly don't become frustrated when I watch them sign and seriously have no clue what they just asked me; they write it down on my hand so I'll be able to learn new signs.

At dinner, Kevin and Maddie told me about their home visits they made that night, and it took my whole energy to hold back my tears. They visited with social services and they told me about one house they went into where their child that had special needs was locked in a dark closet with just a paper bag to entertain herself with, she was malnourished, and had seizures all the time. The girl's step-father that was in charge of her, only kept her alive so he could get the $30 a month the government gave him to help her. None of that money was given to her what so ever, just used for the rest of the family that she lived with. Hearing this made my heart sink. I seriously felt like my whole life was in a bubble until now. I am so appreciative about this trip because it has opened my eyes to a world I didn't even know existed.


Day 6:
Today I started out working in the classroom for students in the first and second grade. Some of the students that showed up that day were the kindest souls you'll ever meet. Sulema, Astrid, Wilbur, Maria Jose, Christopher, and Julio. Sulema I already knew from before, and reading Lisa-Marie's blog about her last year made me already love her before I even knew her. Sulema would call me "mama" all the time and it made me feel so loved. The way she said it, the way she looked in my eyes, everything about her I fell in love with. Another highlight of my day today was seeing how excited the children become when you pull out a camera. I would let them take a picture of something, and I was so surprised how professional the photos the children took were.
At lunch/recess the children that were deaf would take me around the school and like try to have conversations with me. They told me all about themselves, and by the end of 20 minutes, I knew about 20 more words and signs and had tons of words written on my hands. Today I almost didn't wash my hands because I thought all the words on my hands showed how much those children mean to me.
After lunch, I worked in the classroom for children in the 3rd and 4th grade. The teacher, Nora, in charge desperately needed help. Each student in her classroom needed one-on-one help, and there was about 10 of them, and one of her. I started working with student by student one-on-one and they learned so fast and so much. I taught each child the numbers 1-10. I was so surprised on from going from not knowing the majority of the numbers to knowing the numbers in less than an hour. They are so comprehensive and intellectual it blew me away. The smiles on their faces after they would get a number right were so precious I swear to god I was so proud of them I felt like I was their mother on the first day of school.
I am cherishing every single moment I have at the school because we don't have a lot of time left there. We only have tomorrow, and Friday at the school. I wish I could just move here forever, get a teaching degree, and work here. (That doesn't sound like a bad idea...)

Love you all!!
-Makena