Gotta Start Somewhere

I know I've mentioned "secciónes" before. Every volunteer is paired up with a section of kids here at NPH, and they are sort of "yours" for the year. According to your contract, you have to eat dinner and spend time with them twice a week. In reality, you probably end up seeing them much more often than that.

To a section of kids, a volunteer becomes the cool friend they're pretty excited to have. You're a new face -- and more importantly, you're not their teacher assigning them homework or their caretaker telling them when they have to go to bed. In their eyes, you're basically an automatic superstar.

My girls are between 12 and 15 years old, and they automatically think I'm cool because I know the words to songs by Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Rhianna (oh, and High School Musical too, although I didn't just admit that). I didn't have to work too hard to get this far, but it would be nice if we could talk about things other than Zac and Vanessa's off-screen relationship.

However, my Spanish so far has been a little rocky with them. When we hang out, it's a lot of them talking and me just sitting and trying to keep up. (That's right, I said I do very little talking. Clearly this is a new experience for me haha.) But, I decided that I  have to start somewhere.

So, I decided to make it my goal to learn all their names as fast as possible, and this week, I made it!

I know all 21 of them apart from one another! I think it's helping too. When they say hi to me now, I think it catches them by surprise that I respond "Hi, _______!"

I'm so proud.

And now, just to practice, I'll name them all off from the photo, haha.

Back row, left to right: Yocari, Adela, Marta, Estrella, Yohanna, Dañia, Fidelia, Juana, ...um girl who isn't in their section so I don't actually know her name...shoot, Irma, Xela.

Middle row, left to right: Reina, Rosalia, Odilia, Maria, Stela, Katerin, Celeste, Carmen.

Bottom row, left to right: Georgia, Ana Patricia.

Missing a.k.a. sick: Ruth

Hah!