Posts Tagged: community service

El Sexto

October 23, 2012

As I walked into the classroom with Juana, all I heard was gibberish: a word here, a word there, but mostly lots of noise as the kids settled into their desks. The teacher wore jeans and a t-shirt and she quickly established order: Literature was first. The students took out these mini notebooks that looked almost like my old composition books, complete even with stickers and drawings/colors. Before the teacher began to teach, she gave the kids a talking to– …

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Sixth grade doesn’t change much

October 22, 2012

Sixth grade was such an interesting year for me: super small class (only 5 girls + the boys), incredible teachers, baby brother, and finally an entry in the science fair.  Sixth grade for Juana, Maria, Victoria, and the other students I met at St. Francis Coll is a very different experience than mine was; at the core, however, the similarities outweigh the differences. The day I worked with machetes  began with an opportunity to sit in with classes at St. Francis Coll for half of us …

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What can top concrete? Machetes.

October 19, 2012

Jennifer and me holding the machetes after a day’s work! Thursday (for those of you keeping track) we worked with children in the morning and machetes in the afternoon.  First, let me tell you a bit about machetes. I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C: one would think that machetes would be few and far between, and yet, we were familiar with them. Ask any of my family members.  There was a day …

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Concrete- el final

October 18, 2012

To wrap up the never-ending concrete story, let me begin by sharing, that as long as this concrete story feels, our day felt longer. After we returned from lunch, the kids huddled and decided whether or not we would proceed and finish with the project: clothes were torn, arms were dry and peeling, construction boots were close to being sucked off of our feet. My hands, albeit bandaged, had none of the damage that some of the other kids did …

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Mas Concrete

October 17, 2012

Here’s a picture of Rigoberto, whom I mentioned at the end of the last concrete email: Rigoberto shared his glove with me, so that I could cover my bandaged hand and avoid any further injury or infection. I mentioned my herniated disc  here  and here : there were several pieces to that story, though.  I would take breaks from our work so that my back could rest for a few moments.  Although I aimed for discretion, it wasn’t always a success.  Case …

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