January 7 - A,E,I,O,U

The children are again excited to be in the classroom. They arrive with their pencils and notebooks, the luckier ones carrying Spiderman and Barbie backpacks, and settle into their desks. I now understand why Brian rides the combi home alone - his mother accompanies him to school today, a baby cocooned in a traditional Peruvian blanket slung across her body, with a toddler in tow.

Lourdes and I segregate those children who have obviously had some help with the alphabet and counting from those who are absolutely green. Another volunteer, Julianna, and I get the green ones. We set to work printing our vowels and learning their sounds. The children are delighted when they successfully replicate the letters we write in their notebooks.

We break for recess, and a soccer ball (futbol) provides incentive to play in the dirt schoolyard. Some children aggressively kick and run with the ball, while others timidly hug the wall. With a bit of coaxing, Julianna gets the shy ones to dance. Hot and tired, recess ends with a song - something about counting elephants. Snacks are distributed and the school day ends.

In the evening, I find I have six students in my English class - four more than at the previous meeting. After class, we have dinner at the center. Ugenia is our cook and, although I had hoped to lose a few pounds during my visit here, it appears that my enjoyment of Ugenia´s culinary talents will prove otherwise.