Camp Esperanza

Today marks the beginning of my 8th week here in Cabrera. Last week, 8 new volunteers arrived and joined Carissa, Brittany and I on our adventures together this summer. Sadly, some of the volunteers leave in 3 weeks but most of us are staying for another 7-8 weeks. We are anticipating new volunteers later in the summer too but we have a good group of wonderful people.

As I sit here writing this blog, I feel content. Life has been so good here in the past 7 weeks but it is nice to also have a change of pace. Camp Esperanza started last week.

Every morning I wake up at around 7:30 to get ready for camp. We eat breakfast together, buy our snacks for break time and then head to the camp to set up. It´s amazing because although we have to be there a little early to set up, there are always kids already waiting at the campgrounds waiting to get in. In a way, its nice to know that people are looking forward to the work we are doing.

Camp started last Tuesday and we were told that there may be a low turnout in the first week until word got out that camp has started. Slowly but surely, we reached the highest numbers Camp Esperanza has ever had. In fact, there were more than 150 children at camp one day making some activities difficult to lead. To say the least, dodgeball, limbo, volleyball, relay races or bean bag tossing is all very difficult when there are 30 kids standing there waiting for their turn. A few adjustments had to be made and a 7th age group of kids were made to make smaller groups. Camp is going along smoothly... (except we didnt have camp today because it was thunderstorming in the morning).

A few interesting things have happened at camp. On the first day, one of the girls in the oldest group asked me if I was married. All the kids on the first day were so excited to be there we just kept playing and dancing in the rain. I have also become a LOT more comfortable speaking Spanish since camp has started. To say the least, my spanish commands, especially in the negative have become quite good, haha. Having to explain rules and understanding complaints etc., I have spoken a lot more Spanish recently. I am beginning to love the language once again like when I was first learning it. I think that will only help me :)

Kristin and I work really well together, planning activities, and dividing groups up so they are a more manageable number. To date, some of the favourite activities have been Drip, Drip, Drop (a variation of Duck Duck Goose involving water), Bean Bag Pong(like beer pong), Dodgeball, Limbo and the various relay races that we have had. Weve also learned a few games from the kids that we have incorporated into our arsenal of activities. This week, we´re looking at non-stop cricket, parachute games, volleyball, badminton and some more relay races. Hopefully we don´t run out of ideas... fortunately we only get each age group 3 times a week. If anyone has any ideas for individual sports/games (or even teamy things), please comment as we would love to incorporate any great ideas!

This past weekend, Camp Esperanza also had a stand at Cabrera´s fair. We set up shop by the square nad held games and activities for the kids that showed up. We shot off bottle rockets, made paper airplanes, played some bean bag tossing and washers and just hung out with the kids painting sidewalk chalky things and doing speedstack cups (I did 6 cups in 2.81 seconds!!) It is nice to walk around town and when the kids see us now they stop by and say hi all the time. It´s really nice to see the ocean of smiles.

Saturday was also Christie´s birthday (one of the girls at our house). She had a wicked Minnie Mouse themed party with all the decoratings, a pinata, musical chairs, delicious food and a gorgeous cake. It was a lot of fun being at a childs party and seeing all the kids play. Things got a little out of hand when it was pinata time when all the kids were crowding around almost to the point where they would be hit. When the candy came down, DOG PILE for the candy... it was quite the sight. We also danced a bit with the girls and our host family afterwards... an overall solid day.

As for the group of volunteers we have, we get along great. Everyone has come into this experience with the right attitude and looking to have a great time. It´s amazing when we are all together but some quieter nights of cards with a few of us are fun as well. It´s always interesting when we go to the beach as a group of 11 or so, trying to fit into a guagua and seeing how many people we can fit into one in addition to the passengers already there.

On a more personal note, not that it is very pertinent, I think I may have jammed my thumb yesterday trying to do a handstand under water... it still kind of hurts. I am slowly tanning away but also realizing I look super white if I show my thighs--the contrast is actually quite disturbing. Also, mosquitos seemed to have let up on me. Sure, I still get mosquito bites but it is now at the range of a normal person, haha. I get about 10 mosquito bites or so a week, I think and they do not turn massively red like they used to. Life is good :)