Alahonda (Cori at Aldea)

Dear Southern Cross-

We definitely have had a strange week this week with the kids back in school. . . the Aldea is . . . quiet. Something that hasn't really happened since we have been there. It has been quite weird, but its great to see how these kids are so busy and have so much going for their futures. The mornings however are quite different. This week I wanted to highlight the Alahondra in casa 9. I was looking at the part that said she was shy on the website, which is definitely true. . . at first. :) Once she is comfortable with you she is so playful, full of laughter, and such a jokester. So one of the nights we were sitting playing jacks. . . Wow! That girl is amazing at jacks, its fun to see how patient she was in teaching me when she was simply incredible. We had so much fun chasing the ball around on the floor when I messed up over and over again. Alahondra, Antonia, and I just laughed, laughed, and laughed. Great girls, who again taught me what true joy is, that you can find it in the simple things in life. And that communication really is heart to heart. She also is quite the cuddly girl, when I was watching something with all the girls in the casa she was sitting with the other girls and you could tell she wanted her way to feel loved. She would lay her head down on the laps of the older girls, it was adorable, at the same time it hurt me. Hard to see that these kids don't necessarily get that same love you would receive from a mom/daughter relationship, a sister/sister relationship. I know that they are all family here, and I absolutely love how that happens here, but it still made me wish she had a chance to feel that, made me wish she could experience that. But one thing I admire about her, is that she loves so much and that is how she receives love is by giving love too. I wish I could learn that myself. What an example she is in my life.

One Last Request (Mitch at the Aldea)

Dear Southern Cross,

This is my last week for writing about the kids. I don't really know who to highlight. I want to talk about them all. They are all so wonderful and have taught me so much! Karmela and I are still having our regular piano lessons each night from 7:30 till 8:00. She is going to miss the lessons more than anything. She definitely has potential to become quite good at the piano. If there is any way that you could somehow get some self-teaching piano books for her, that would be amazing. She has pretty much learned the basics and just needs to keep practicing.

Jose Andres invented a new game the other day - steal the shoes from one of the girls and run away while she tries to catch him. It turned out to be a success as I was recruited to be on the boys team with Jose and Pedro against 9 girls. The girls sould pass the shoes back and forth while we tried to intercept them. Once we obtained both the shoes, then it was boys against the girls in trying to keep the shoes from falling into their hands. I guess the kids liked it so much that they already have planned to play it on Monday after school.

Cesar Humbarto and Juan Carlos have been exercising with me almost every day. They are both doing chin-ups and push-ups every day. Cesar and I have a goal that if he can do 15 chin-ups and 50 push-ups before I go, I give him something that belongs to me. A month ago he started out only doing 7 chin-ups and 25 push-ups. Now he can do 15 chin-ups and around 40 push-ups. He told me once that he did 50 push-ups in his house. I think it is awesome how far he has come. He has kind of inspired the other boys to start exercising more as well. We will see if he wins the prize or not.

Mitch

Mitch's final report (Aldea)

(note: The following is a letter from intern Mitch - his last letter before ending his internship at the Aldea Infantile.)

Dear Southern Cross,

Life changing. That is how I can most accurately describe my experience in Peru. I went, as many probably do, thinking about the difference that I could make in some children's lives, when in reality, what I gave is small compared to what I received. My love for others has grown and hopefully I can further develop a child's love, a love that has no bounds or reserves and is shared with all. As soon as we walked through the Aldea doors, children were offering to help us with our bags and holding our hands as they accompanied us to our casa. They had no idea who we were. We were a different color than them. We spoke a different language; and yet, they immediately loved us. I want to love as they loved.

Peru has also taught me that it is not so important what is done together, but rather the time that is spent together. Many children just wanted to talk with you, walk with you, or simply sit beside you. I have vowed to spend more time with those I love. Peru is home to many wonderful families, some of which I was only privileged to meet, while others I was privileged to stay with for a certain amount of time. It seemed to me that many families were more concerned about building family unity that they were about building their financial portfolio. These people really knew how to spend quality time with their families, something I hope to improve upon with my own family Peru has taught me that instead of hoping to find more joy with the acquisition of material things, find joy in the things you already have. It is okay to not have a toilet seat; at least there was a toilet. It is okay to have a house full of bugs; at least I had a house. It is okay to not have a personal car; conveys and taxis do just fine. It is okay to not have clocks or watches; more time could be dedicated to the moment. It is okay to not have computers and ipods, more time can be spent interacting with real, living beings.

Peru has taught me to share. I saw countless times people who had so little, give so much. Many people are so willing to offer their home, food and resources to help others. While traveling on the bus once, a lady who we were talking to, invited us to lunch and if needed, offered us her place to stay the night. Another time while traveling, we became friends with a family that made us promise that we would visit them when we passed through Lima and once again, offered us their home if we needed a place to stay. A couple of times at the Aldea, a kid brought me some fruit that he had just picked off of a tree. Two kids at the Aldea gave me their bracelets cause I mentioned that I liked them. I need to be less concerned with what I have, but concentrate on what I can give.

Above all, my heart has been softened, and I hope that I can continue helping where possible at the Aldea, especially in finding people to adopt. Just think, if every solid married couple in the world chose to adopt just one child, there would be no orphans and many happy children. I know that in addition to the children that I hope to have, I am going to adopt at least one child, and offer him/her the endless opportunities that I enjoy.

Thank you Southern Cross for aiding me in coming to the Aldea.

Mitch

Antonia (Shelisa at the Aldea)

Antonia is one of the mothers at the orphanage and is very mature for her age. I love seeing her with her baby, which she takes care of very well. I have never seen such a child so loved by a mother and at the age of 17, that is quite exceptional.

She is striving to learn more every day and is always asking what some words mean in English. The other day during computer class, Antonia came up and asked if she could learn some more. So the other intern and I allowed her to come in and learn how to turn on and off the computer and how to use some programins including Word.

In the process, we found out that even though she has the dream of being a schooltecher and going to college some day, she does not know how to read or write. She is very outgoing and a strong woman when you talk with her, but when we got her in front of the computer and asked her to click on a "file" in Spanish, she did not know where to click and she became very shy and told us she did not know how to read or write. She has a great deal of potential and I think after a lot of education, she will become a great teacher. She just needs the assistance to get her up to the educational level she needs to be at at her age.

a bit about Benjamin (Shelisa at the Aldea)

Benjamin is such a joy to be around. He always has a smile on his face and it just makes your heart melt, especially because one of his front teeth is missing. He is such a handsome boy. One day during football, Benjamin was running to get the ball and one of the boys, in excitement, pushed him to the ground. Benjamin had scuffed his knee and was on the ground crying so I went over to comfort him. At the time I was wearing a hat that my father had given me from his work and that Benjamin had taken a fancy to. So to cheer him up, I gave him the hat.

I must say he looks much better in the hat than I ever will.

Getting to know him, I have learned that he is very athletic and loves to play any sports he can. He is always out with his little gang of friends, all boys about his age. Everyone gets a long with him quite well because of his easy going personality.

He also loves to be tossed around while swimming and has fun playing sharks and fish.

a little break....

I have a business trip for the next few weeks so will be taking a short break. Come back at the end of April for some more great stories!

Natalie

Here's Blanca

Here's a special profile on Daniel just for the Paramount School, in Meridian, Idaho who is sponsoring Daniel and Blanca. The 5th graders participate in "Wacky Wednesdays" once a month. On that day, the children at school bring $1 to do whatever wacky thing is going on that day (crazy hair, dress backwards, dress like twins, pj's, etc...) and the $1 goes to sponsor Blanca and Daniel. Thanks so much Paramount School 5th Graders! (Note: Daniel is one of our special needs kids who we are trying to help diagnose and treat.)

Blanca also struggles with a speech impediment. Interesting, her three siblings do as well. She has already received an operation on her mouth that has greatly facilitated her ability to speak. Blanca is at first rather shy, which is probably influenced by her speech impediment, but after she gains trust in you, she is far from quiet and calm. This girl loves to dance! When ever music comes on, she immediately starts to dance. Her hips just want to move. She also has a little bit of jungle fever as well, as she loves to hang from monkey bars and climb around in trees. The Tia's had only good things to say about her, as all report that she is usually very obedient and respectful of others. She is always willing to help out around the house and in what ever other thing someone might need help with. Something funny about Blanca is that when she watches television, she mimics almost exactly the dog ''lucky'' off of 101 Dalmations. There was one time that she was watching a movie with some other children in our house and as we were watching the DVD on our computer, the screen was not that big and the sound not all that strong. She sat right in front and it had to be 4 or 5 times that the kids or us had to tell her to sit down so that the rest of us could see. When I asked others to describe Blanca in one word, the response ''smiley'' was quickly returned. She is always smiling and it is one of those big smiles where every tooth is showing. It is rather contagious and one can't help but smile when you see her.