16-7-2010

Lemar´t´s early bedtime....at the dinner table.

I helped Jhonatan change his pajamas.

Everyone was quite hyper by showing me their stuff before bedtime. Left: Joanca wrestled with Marcos. Center: Franklin showed me a painting he did in the morning. Right: Jhosmelyr and her beloved Anita.

José Luis in his cutest pj. Actually Jhonatan has the same one too!

Alonso in his bed with his Barney.

After being sick again and stayed in bed for the whole day yesterday, I finally got better and was able to eat something and got myself moving for my weekend off. This week, though, in comparison to last week has been much more ´tranquilo´ and less dramatic. I have been quite busy though because I have been planning more activities with the kids as well as the local workers for whom I am planning to do training workshops. But more importantly, I just wanted to spend more time with the kids. Three days from today, it has been six months already since I got here! And I found myself to have built a really strong bond with the kids. Franklin called me "Papito" the other day, which means "Daddy"! Actually sometimes I feel like a daddy to them, as I play with them as well as discipline them when they are naughty. I help them with their homework, bathe them, take them to bathroom, change them and put them to bed. I enjoy every part of it, and it is always a joy to spend time with them even though it has its hard part. Whether it is Jhonatan gripping my fingers so tightly when he was in bed or Franklin arm-wrestled-like hugging me when he was falling asleep, it makes all the pains worthwhile.