Winding Down (Photos!)

Hi everybody,
Time is winding down here at COPPROME, as I only have 4 more days here before coming back to the United States. Nothing too remarkable has happened in the past couple days; it's just been the familiar routine of helping and playing with the kids. It's been increasingly difficult to sleep here, although I'm not sure why. I went to bed at about 10:30 last night, but couldn't fall asleep to past 1:00. I then woke up again at about 5:30 and dozed on and off for as long as I could over the next several hours. I don't know if it's the heat, my bed, or what, but it's difficult to sleep.

I'm starting to seriously crave familiar American food like ham and cheese sandwiches, cheerios, spaghetti, and basically anything that doesn't involve beans, rice, or potatoes. That said, the food here isn't bad, just a little monotonous. It's been consistently hot here, but not to the point that it's become a huge issue. It's tought to tell how hot it is without a thermometer or anything, but according to weather.com, it's been between 93-97 in El Progreso pretty consistently since the time I've arrived, with high humidity.

It still seems hot, but not smothering like you might think. According to weather.com again, it's 97 degrees right now, but feels like 116. Either I've adjusted surprisingly well, or it doesn't really feel like 116 right now. I'd say it feels about 95 right now, with moderate humidity. The sun is noticeably hotter here as well. I sat out in the sun at about 1:00 pm and it took about 90 seconds before I was noticeably sweating. It's not all that bad, but I can't say I'll miss it.

Internet access has been pretty consistent here, which has been nice, as I've been able to stay connected with people and events in the U.S. I was able to watch the Celtics-Magic game last night, which the Celtics won of course, making me very happy.

Most of my day consists of just interacting with the kids, without a set schedule. If they need help with something, I help them. If they want to play soccer, I play with them. If they want to play catch, or monkey-in-the-middle or whatever, I play. If they want to talk, I talk. It's a nice schedule, because it's pretty flexible, and isn't too constraining. Here are some more pictures that I promised. Enjoy:








I probably shouldn't play favorites, but this last girl, Wendy, is 6 or 7 years old and is one of the funniest and cutest kids in the whole place.


Hopefully now you can picture the orphanage a little better, and what everything's like here. It's been a really fun experience, and hopefully these last few days continue to be just as fun! Adios!