Laughs and Frustrations

I have a lot to catch up on.  I had a great weekend.  Saturday Jana and I slept in until 9:00, which was really nice.  We can`t sleep in too late here because the nuns prepare 'breakfast' for us. breakfast here is bread, butter, sometimes cheese, some type of jam (we pray for strawberry every morning, but it`s usually orange with a rediculous amount of rhine (sp?) in it and it`s too much for me. we got scrambled eggs (!) one day which was amazing.  I thought it was some type of granola though and was pretty confused for awhile. we also get cornflakes (rarely bowls) with the flavor of the day liquid yogurt to put on it, OR tan milk which i have yet to try.  i drink instant coffee every morning, but i`m not convinced it has caffeine in it.  i am dying for a normal cup of good coffee.  maybe in ecuador.  After our bread, oh and i forgot to mention fresh squeezed OJ, we took our 7 kilos worth of laundry to the lavanderia. We had one trash bag full of clothes. Jana had it slung over her shoulder, and i was walking behind/next to her supporting some of the weight.  As if that wasn`t sightly enough, we were trying to cross this huge confusing intersection with 20 islands to hop to and from and one way traffic and roundabouts, when we got soaked by a friendly car with someone carrying a super soaker.  terrific. well we finally made it, after asking several people where to go and being harassed by some guy along the way.  (side note, she said our laundry would be ready the next day. next day, they are closed. day after, 4:30 pm, we are there, but alas, our clothes will not be ready for another 30 minutes...pains!)  anyway, i bought some sunscreen (blockedor) off the street, and we headed on our way.

we got to the beach around 1100am and it was PACKED.  we had to pay 15 soles ($6) for two chairs and an umbrella, which was our only option as the entire shoreline was filled with people.  We sat and baked until about 4:00 when we got so hungry we had to go back.  During this time, we saw people eating the most rediculous things.  The fmaily next to us let their little boy eat non-stop sugar/fat foods the entire day.  We did not buy a meal there because it was so expensive. We saw another family drop a good $50 on food to feed 3 adults and 2 kids. CRAZY. There were people trying to sell us all sorts of things all day.  Food, drinks, jewlery, candy, ice cream, you name it.  I want to hand out free food pyramids next week. People hardly ever drink water here either.  Everywhere we go and every meal we eat is accompanied by some sort of cola or sweet drink.  No wonder we see so many kids with cavaties.

Sunday: relax, homework, relax, sleep, fresh delicious food in a caboose restaurant, sleep. beautiful

On monday we were supposed to take two girls from the orphanage to this school called Cerrito Azul.  Cerrito Azul is a school for autistic children who cannot function in the regular school system.  One girl did not show up, so we just took one, Luciana, 8 years old. We noticed Luciana looked/acted a little different during our initial screenings last week.  We found out during the day and spending time with her that she is mentally fine, and does well in the regular school system.  We got a full tour of Cerrito Azul and talked to the director there for a long time.  They takes kids from 2 years to 18 years (i think that`s the max).  They teach them everyday things such as how to prepare food, 'cook,' basic reading and writing, and other basic survival skills. Unfortunately, they are on vacation right now, so we did not get to meet any of the children.  The director seemed like a very intelligent woman who was able to make a place for people with speical needs feel safe and able to learn.  The building is nothing special.  There are several rooms, divided by age group, and small kitchen, and a very small outside area that is hardly enough to play in, if enough space at all.  We ended up sending another mom and her son there for evaluation.  Her son is 9 years old, and seems to be pretty high functioning.  She was brought to tears when she was telling us how he cannot keep up in regular school and how he is not developing as he should be.  Today we found out that after talking with the director at Cerrito, she is going to home school him under the guidence of Cerrito.  He seems to be too high functioning for Cerrito Azul, so that seemed like a good option.  It is unfortunate that there is not a better alternative for him.  In the states, he would be able to remain in public school, while receiving extra help.  He attends the public school in San Genaro, where they are hardly enough teachers to go around, and the kids only attend for 5 hours a day, in two sessions because they are so over populated.

Today we were in the San Genaro school checking the kids for the same old lice, flat foot, scabies, cavaties, height, and weight.  It is very frustering at times trying to get organized.  Jana and I have concluded that it`s not a language barrier, it`s communiucation issues. For whatever reason, getting organized around here can be like pulling teeth (which some of these kids need very badly).  But we got through about 200 today, and we are going back tomorrow and Friday. Ok, going to go look at the pretty sunset!