Wed., 7/18

After breakfast this morning, we boarded the bus and began the two-hour drive to the city of Quito. The driver went in the wrong direction, which landed us in a cute town with a little city square/park area and adorable stray dogs everywhere. Ecuador has so many strays, but they look healthy and happy as opposed to the strays we usually see in the US. We got back on track and arrived at the day care. The oldest children there are four years old, so they were so fun to be around!

I was excited to speak to them because since they're so young their Spanish skills would be on my level. I approached the kids as they were eating their bowls of soup at the short, cafeteria-style table. Immediately after the introductions I was lost. The kids spoke quickly and with vocabulary that I did not know. As they napped, we helped with a craft project and spoke with one of the employees. I was very thankful for my classmates who translatted the conversation for me because it was very interesting. The woman works at the daycare and attends night school. She has a 2 year old boy and dreams about going to a great university. She asked us about exchange student programs in the United States, and we clarified her misconception that she would be owned by the family. She also worried that she would be killed for entering the States, so we shared with her that there are legal ways to obtain a visa and study in the country. We also learned more about the day care and the country.

We were able to spend some time with the children, and it was very fun. I allowed a boy named Carlitos to take countless photos with my camera, some of which turned out quite nicely. My classmates and I discussed afterwards that the camera helped to break the language barrier because the kids enjoyed having their pictures taken and seeing themselves on the screen.

The experience at the day care reminded me that I do enjoy working with kids, and I have a certain talent for it as well. As a future professional, this confirmed a couple things for me: I am not interested in working in a day care setting, and I still have a desire to work with children.