More Little Kiddos

I am posting three posts today, so make sure you scroll to the first one--Happy Independence Day! I apologize for the overload; I guess we were camera happy, and I wanted to show you. 

I have one particular student, Elizabeth, who loves to take my camera and take pictures of everyone. I'm glad she is so energetic about taking pictures because I have some good pictures that I can share with you.

Jennifer and Elizabeth smile for the camera. They are precious girls. 

Elizabeth insisted that I be in a picture. Little Jennifer is so cute and and sweet with her pigtails. 

I also love the pretty view of the mountains in the background. 

Group shot--I'm glad others decided to join us. Junior on the far left is one of my favorites, but then again, they are all my FAVORITES and hold a special place in my heart. It's impossible to choose just one, so how about they are ALL MY FAVORITES! :) 

It took us a while to make this one. Elizabeth recorded videos instead of pictures. Oops! I love my boys in sixth year. They are rowdy at times, but they are all ready to pose for the picture. 

I especially love this picture of Anderson and Mateo. Both boys are in my house, and I also believe that I see a smile beginning to form on Mateo's face. So, he can smile. Who knew?! :)

Jhonny wanted to join us. He is also in my house. The smiles just keep coming... 

Sweet Nataly--how I'm going to miss her! She and I had a date every afternoon as I helped her with English homework. She is such a sweetheart! :) 

Superman smiles for the camera after dinner one night...he is my hero! :) 

All the boys in my house (La Casa Ocho). They are all smiles (maybe even a few giggles too) and looking at the camera! This is my favorite picture as of yet. You guessed it...I love these boys, and they are so sweet. They make me smile! 

1st and 3rd Level Classes

On an earlier post, I posted pictures of some of my pictures. However, I was missing some of them. I am happy to now say I have a picture of all my classes.

1st Level 

This is the youngest class. They are too sweet, but Steven wasn't too happy in the moment. There was nothing anyone could do to make him smile. 

Literally a minute later....he was all smiles. 

Aw...how cute! He definitely has my heart! Why couldn't he have flashed that smile a minute ago?

Little Steven wanted me to take one with his friend. I couldn't resist! 

More sweet smiles...they are so cute. 

Lucia and Ariana are the only two sweet girls in the class. They usually don't get to talk too much because the boys are always running around. Ariana has maybe said two words since I've been here, and when she does, it is barely above a whisper. She is always the first one though to greet me as I come in with a big hug. The girls don't seem to mind being the only two girls; they just work quietly together. 

3rd level

This is a fun class. I don't know why Brayan decided it was a good idea to lay on the floor. Perhaps it's a new pose that I don't know about. I love how Joseph has his hand on his head as if he is keeping him on the floor. haha! Yes, really I know what you are thinking. It is the best picture of the bunch. :)

Happy Independence Day

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! 

As Mony greeted me this morning with a hug and a kiss, she wished me a "Happy Independence Day." She was interested in the holiday, and the fact that most people have a day off from work. I hope you are enjoying your day off and doing something fun.

Today was a regular school day for me. School is winding down. School officially ends on July 8, but students do not have an English exam on Monday.  I'm sure I will go to school on Monday to help Mony post grades, but I'm pretty much finished with school. We have been getting out of school by 11 each day, so I've had most of my afternoons free.

Last night I talked to my grandmother, and she informed me that I hadn't posted in a while. I was given strict orders to post more, and I hope she approves. I realized though that she is correct.  I have not made a post since last week, and I hadn't talked about my weekend. On Saturday, my neighbors and I went into San Luis. They are so friendly and kind, and I've loved having the company next door. They continue to tell me that I've been a  life-saver for them, but God has blessed me with their company as well. 

My neighbors wanted to eat at TGIFs in San Luis, and I was happy to accompany them and show them the bus route. We ate lunch and went to the movies. We saw Fast and the Furious 6, and it was a pretty good movie. We were trying to recall if we had seen the previous five, but we could not remember seeing all of them.  It was an amazing day! I'm so glad that I've gotten to know them. 

On Sunday, my neighbors took me to see the animals on the Foundation. I've seen the llamas, but I had not seen the guinea pigs and pigs. 

There are many more guinea pigs at the Foundation. This is just one stall, and I would say there are about 100 guinea pigs in this building. The children and house mothers on the Foundation do not eat the guinea pigs; instead, they raise them to sell and make money to support the Foundation. Whew, I'm sure glad! I still can't get over the fact that Ecuadorians eat these little furry friends. And No...to clear up all questions, I have not tasted guinea pig. I saw them on a skewer at the market, but they looked exactly the same as they do in this picture except they are dead of course with their eyes bulging out. Needless to say, I don't think my stomach could have handled that experience, so I had to pass on the offer! Maybe next time...or NOT! 

While I knew that the Foundation raised the guinea pigs, I was not aware that there were pigs on the Foundation until Sunday. There are three of them, and they are all pretty good sized pigs! They don't eat the pigs either, but just like the guinea pigs, the Foundation raises them to sell. 

I also saw a tiger on Sunday! Can you believe it? No...because I'm only kidding...well sort of! Mateo sported an Auburn Tigers T-shirt on Sunday. Does that count? I think it's as close as I want to get. 

I tried to explain the rivalry to him, but how can you really understand the rivalry of Alabama and Auburn unless you live in the state of Alabama or at the very least in the South East? I really don't think you can. I also explained to him that I went to the other school, and I'm a huge fan of the other team.  I assured him that I would bring him an Alabama shirt the next time I came for a visit, so he could at least support both sides! :)  

My neighbors return to the States tomorrow, but they promise to send pictures from the weekend. I will post them when I receive them. I will miss them, but I know they are excited to get back to the States. I pray that God will give them a safe journey home, and hopefully we can keep in touch.