Team Journal - October 15th

Friday, October 15th

Thought for the day: "Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." Henry Ward Beecher

Hooray! Just some clean-up and a little trim paint and our two-man team has repainted the study hall at Pavilion San Antonio. The second coat went on he baseboards after Jose helped with the paint formulation and technique.

In addition to getting brown paint on my green pants and pale skin, I worked with Flor again on her English lessons. We studied the time of day, locations and directions, distinguishing between 'at' and 'on'. One of the multiple choice answers was the location of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. Being from Michigan, I could easily draw a map of Lake Superior, so I went ahead and filled in the continental U.S. with the Mississippi and the Rockies and the Appalachians. Then I sang out the rhyme that many of us learn in elementary school: M-I-S-S, I-S-S, I-P-P-I. Flor got the biggest kick out of that. And even after lunch she was still practicing it. Comparing our learning, we found that volunteers from Michigan, Maryland and even Idaho are taught the same way -- now we`re bringing it to Peru. Just wait until Flor hears the alphabet song!

Since I`m the first to leave Lima, and my flight is fairly early, I wouldn`t be able to have dinner with the group as usual for a Friday. So Myrian accommodated my schedule by having the 'farewell' dinner tonight. The Junius restaurant puts on a fabulous floor show of some traditional Peruvian dances and music. We had a front row table too. Truly and enjoyable evening, with or without pisco.

There were so many experiences, it`s hard to distill it down to one thing, one instance, or one feeling, but the closes I find is 'vibrant' -- whether it`s the colors of historical native dress, the facades of the homes, the lights and neon of the casinos and businesses, to the people selling even the smallest candies in the streets, and the energetic boys at CDLN, Lima is alive and vibrant.

Denise Hazelrigg