Nelson Mandela Project

Well, I have officially fallen in love with a project here. It's based out of a neighborhood called Nelson Mandela. The people moved on the public land and are now in the process of making it private land. In the mean time, they have had electric and water companies move in, but there isn't a lot of space for public places like parks and libraries. It's a barrio of 50,000 people, so it's almost like a small city in Nebraska! The project I am working on is in the library with a group of six-ten other people. We have created lesson plans where we learn the alphabet, practice our colors, and play games like bingo and dodgeball. The library actually has air conditioning, so it's a joy since the house does not. It does not get super cool here, ever. My roomates actually give me a hard time because I brought a fuzzy blanket and use it every night because I'm the only one who actually gets cold here. Anyway, the facilities that we are working at is amazing. They have nice computers, wifi, and brand new books. It's being funded by a steel company that works right across the street, so it's truly a great cause. My favorite part of working with these kids is they walk 20 to 30 minutes a day to get to the library to learn. They truly want to be there, and of course there are some out of control kids, but for the most part, they are a joy to be around. There is this little girl Samara that always runs up and hugs me when she sees me and says she was looking for me! It's an amazing feeling after two days to have connected with these kids. Every day when they leave, they run up and kiss us and surround our bus or taxi and wave until we drive off. Today there was 17 of us out there, and they got a little wild. I was honestly exhausted after today, so shout out to all of those teachers and soon to be teachers. It's a lot harder than it looks.
Sunday our electricity went of at like 6 a.m. and we decided at 8 to go to the center and catch a boat to these islands off of the coast. So from 9-5 we hopped from three different islands, swam, had a drink, tanned, and just enjoyed the tour. Luckily when we got back, the electricity was on, so we had a group meeting inside. We talked about our approach to teaching, and our plan for the week. Some people are already leaving, and it makes me so sad. We all really connect, mainly because we are here for the same reason. That's my opinion anyway. It's a change of environment to meet people that have the same views as you do. I'm feeling like taking this trip by myself is on of the best choices I ever made, and I cannot wait to plan my next one. Especially after hearing all of the stories from the other volunteers!