More Twists in the Story

On Friday I was planning on going to the beach to surf with Dane, but I got a text message from him Thursday night cancelling due to something in the school he teaches English at. It wasn't a big deal, though, because Melissa had called and said that the school needed help doing inventory and organizing. So, I went in the morning to the school and we counted tables and chairs, swept the floors and ceilings (spider webs) and organized all of the school supplies like books, pencils, etc. Friday night I went to an art exhibit on the south highway where Melissa had set up a sale of the La Chureca kids' artwork. They had some really good work, and I wish I could have bought some, but I didn't have any money at the time. I did get to spend some time with Eli, Deanna, Melissa, and other Americans, as well as two teenagers from La Chureca who are now living outside with a pastor from the Verbo Church that I attend. Their names are Miguel and Romolo, and I talked with them for the majority of the night. Romolo told me that he knew how to ride a motorcycle, so I foolishly decided to let him drive it. I showed him the basics, which he did kind of know, and let him at it. He drove around the parkinglot at a very irregular pace, without changing gears from first to second. It was funny to watch. Then Miguel told me that he wanted to learn, so i spent about five minutes explaining everything to him with Romolo also helping me. Then I got on the back and he tried to drive. We took a lap around the lot, and it went alright, but then he started heading for a portion of the lot that had a slight hill. I told him not to go much farther, but he couldn't turn very well, so we went right up to the hill. I told him it was really hard to start on a hill, but he tried it and sure enough we fell. He accelerated, but with me on the back, the front tire went up in the air and he didn't know how to recover, so we slowly fell to the side. We caught the bike fine and nobody was hurt, but it was pretty funny. He felt so bad, but luckily nothing happened to the bike.

I spent saturday with Esmir, Dylan and Lauren. Dylan and Lauren had just come back from a Thanksgiving trip back home, so it was fun to watch the hokies win and get some other college football action. Saturday night Esmir and I went to a concert in a coffee shop close to where the art sale was. A Christian group runs the shop and also performs, and it was a fun night. They sang worship songs in English and Spanish, as well as some of their own stuff. They later opened it up to whoever, and Eli played wagon wheel, ring of fire, and some others with another missionary named Mike and the group keyboardist. Sunday was another chill day. I went to church with Dylan and Lauren, had lunch with Eli in MetroCentro, a mall close to my house, and then spent the afternoon watching some NFL with Dylan.

On Monday I went back to the school, where all the staff met to do a census of La Chureca. We split up in groups and walked around, talking to families about how many lived in each house, how many kids were or were not studying, and if they weren't we asked how far they'd gotten to if they ever did study. It was all new to me, and I was fascinated to learn the different backgrounds of the families. About half of the adults never studied, and of those who did there wasn't one who made it past 6th grade. It was pretty much the same story with the kids. Half worked in the dump, and those who are studying are in the school in the dump, which goes up to 6th grade. There are only a handful of kids that are attending secondary schools, from which none have ever graduated. Romolo and Miguel, who I mentioned earlier, are in Melissa's scholarship program, and are in their last year of high school. If all works out, they will both graduate as the first ever from the La Chureca school to do so.

While doing the census I ran into some of my favorite boys boogie-boarding in a terrifyingly dirty lake in the middle of the dump. I waved to them, and they shouted and waved back, just having a blast in the lake filled by dump runnoff. Next to the lake was one of the cutest girls ever with some of her friends looking for who-knows-what in the trash. She called my name and hid behind her cousin, who I'd never met. I went up to her and gave her a big hug, and she introduced me to her cousin, who was nine, and worked instead of school. I didn't want to leave them, but I had to continue with the other teachers.

Today Marvin, the High School Musical organizer, called me and said I just had to come back. He said that the owner of the Distributor wanted to talk to me and so I decided to at least hear them out. I went in, and the owner decided to pay for my rent and also give me gas money each week, and I only have to go two days a week. I said yes, and now I'm reluctantly back in the group, but they do seem to be more serious now at least. I'll let you know how it goes.