Day 4

Hi again!

Our fourth day was just as wonderful as the previous. We go to meet more awesome kids and teach some  frisbee. We had another great breakfast at the hotel before heading out on the ride to Guatemala City. We arrived at Safe Passage and helped in English classes with middle and high school kids again. The classes were conversation style this time and we got to talk to the kids all about their hobbies, families and favorite things. Many of the kids were shy and others were very interested in our lives. All of us found a few themes among the answers to our questions including black and sky blue as favorite colors, a liking of math and a love of soccer.

Virginia lists some of her interest for the kids

Next we had went to "Escuelita"  to teach another frisbee class to high school age kids. This group was very enthusiastic and did well at learning the throws and catches. We started again with the tortilla, bear, crab and chicken catch from the day before as well as the the backhand and then the flick throws. We played a throwing game that started with two partners very close and then with a completed catch each person took a step back. If a pass was incomplete then the pair returned to the closest distance. The girl I was throwing with was not discouraged even when she dropped it or the wind caused our throws to soar over our heads, which happened frequently. Instead she laughed and ran back to the center to try again. It was encouraging to see their enjoyment of the game. 

Partners at different distances during our throwing game

Our group arrived back to the CRE early from frisbee so we helped out in the kitchen again. The kitchen staff was a lively group who teased and joked in rapid Spanish while they worked. We listened to pop tunes and danced as we served food and washed dishes. Meg, Virginia and I marveled at the incredibly large cooking pots and vats of stew and rice. One of the best things about serving today was that we could recognize and greet some of the students from English and frisbee classes. The meal was delicious and as every other day was accompanied by tortillas. 

Meg, Virginia and I serving lunch

Tristan got to talk to the student that his family sponsors and the two had a brotherly farewell after lunch. This student was one of the kids Tristan worked with both times in the past he has worked with Safe Passage.

Tristan and Francisco 

After lunch we helped out with English classes again. we got to work with the same kids from the afternoon before. This time we read a book with them and talked about the meaning of the pictures. Then we got to participate in a scavenger hunt to find books that were hidden within the garden. We each partnered with a kid and ran frantically to find the most. The volunteers shared in both the excitement of discovery and the disappointment when they were all found. When we had to leave the class and stop reading many were sad.

Nate and his partner wanted to keep reading

 We taught one last class of frisbee in the afternoon. This one had more of an air of chaos than the others but the kids were still enjoying frisbee and getting exercise. The age group was a greater range from 8 years old to 13 years old. Throwing with partners lasted most of the class but by the end the kids were tired and happy. A few of the older kids had even begun to defend each others catches and throw around defenders.

A younger participant tosses his backhand

 We ended another wonderful day and climbed back into the van for our drive home. Tomorrow we are going to La "Escuelita" to work with the children around the age of 5 and 6. I know we are all very excited to get to experience this different age group. Keep checking our blog to hear the end of our adventures!

All the best!

Amelia