Saturday, June 15 Landon

Que lo que! Since I started at my site, Education at El Callejon, I have truly had such an amazing and once in a life time experience. The people here of all ages are so loving and hospitable no matter their circumstances or timing of our visit. The children are no exception to this. The niños are extremely affectionate and love to help us with our Spanish. I have found myself especially amazed with their energy and positivity, despite the intense heat, humidity, and mostly their attitudes while dealing with the high level of poverty that exists in El Callejon. As explained by my site leader, Joel, who experienced similar situations himself growing up, many of the children come from broken homes without two parents, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and parents beating their children regularly. This was especially real when one of the students, Juliana, came to class with multiple open wounds on her arm. I only noticed the fresh wounds on her arm when she attempted to put tape over it and I helped with a bandage instead. It was extremely eye opening, because I had never really felt those emotions before in my life. This girl was the sweetest, craziest, most joyful girl, so when I saw the wounds, I was confused, sad, and mad all at the same time. I couldn't understand how her parent could do that to her and how she was still so joyful. She continued on with her day and I looked at Joel confused. She kept running around with all the kids, so after digesting what I had seen, I decided I'd do the same, though that feeling lingered the rest of the day.

These kids are truly crazy (in the best way), and much of my time at the eduction site, I have found myself becoming a human jungle gym as kids latch onto my back, arms, and legs. They love to talk to me and refer to me as "Americano" as I attempt to use my classroom knowledge of Spanish in reply. Whether it's through soccer, piggy back rides, or singing, these kids really know how to have joy despite understanding there are those who are better off. El Callejon is split in half by a wall that was created to hide the poverty from the wealthy who play golf on their freshly trimmed grass while stray dogs, and shacks exist 10 feet on the other side. Even though these kids understand there are much better living conditions, they continue to choose joy. As cliche as this may sound, I have no place to complain about being uncomfortable for two weeks, when this is much of these kids lives. Though I definitely miss my loved ones, as many of us do, we all understand that feeling homesick is only temporary, but what God has for us on this trip will last long after we see you all again in a week!

Landon (Hi Batz)

P.S. Since it's Saturday, we didn't go to our sites. Instead, we hiked down to a waterfall and went into town to shop and have dinner. Here are some photos from my site and today's activities.