Retreat groups and graduations

2011 started out just as busy as 2010. We had 3 retreat groups visit us in january, from Boston College, Iona College in New York, and Manhattan College. It was great hanging out and getting to know the visiting students. They asked a lot of good questions and noticed a lot of things about our lives and the community that we have long grown accustomed to and no longer notice.  It was especially rewarding to spend time with the BC group because of my own experience leading the BC group to Duran last year. I didn´t know any of the students this year but it was great seeing my former staff leader Chris Darcy, an administrator at BC, who returned to Ecuador with this year´s group. Retreat groups are one of our few connections to the US and it was great to get to know all the students and staff that came to experience life in Duran.

In mid January, local schools let out for a 3 month vacation, the equivalent of summer vacation in the U.S. A lot of kids that used to go to school in the afternoons have now started going to our After-school program. We now average 100 kids at Semillas everyday, making discipline and planning activities a real challenge. We have been slowly adapting the program to run with twice our normal attendance, but having over 100 energetic kids ages 4-15 running around at the same time has been crazy.

The rainy season is now fully upon us, which means mud everywhere, lots of mosquitos, very humid weather, and wading through standing water in rubber boots in order to get to work.

The last weekend of January all the volunteers went to the beach for our 6 month retreat. I have mixed feelings about my year in Ecuador being half over. Sometimes I feel that the first months flew by and i will be leaving before I know it. Other times it feels like I´ve been here forever and I can´t believe I still have another 6 months left. Our Ecuadorian neighbors are already getting sad about us leaving, but I try not to think about that yet, 6 months is still 6 months no matter how quickly the days pass.

I´ve been to two high school graduations in the past month. A few weeks ago Syrah Cuenca, one of our neighbors and the sister of a Rostro staff member, graduated from Nuevo Mundo School as the valvictorion of her class. She gave a very emotional speech thanking her parents for instilling the values of education in her and her siblings. We celebrated at her house afterward with dinner, cake, and lots of laughs and dancing.

Yesterday, my friend and neighbor Joseph Bonilla graduated from his high school in Duran. There is a tradition in Ecuador where children and their parents choose a "padrino" or God-parent to support them in each of their major childhood accomplishments, including baptism, first communion, confirmation, graduation from elementary school, and high school graduation. I was honored to be asked to be Joseph´s "padrino" for his high school graduation. After the ceremony we gathered at the his family´s house for dinner, more cake, more dancing, and lots of fun. Too few kids graduate from high school in our neighborhood, and I have so much pride and respect for those that do, especially given the conditions that they are raised in. One thing both Joseph and Syrah have in common is at least one parent that would do anything to see their child succeed.

                                                                                          

Joseph and I

Jospeh with his Mom, sister and me.