A WEEK IN REVIEW

This week we have had a great time volunteering and getting to know the children of INTI.  We have taken part in a variety of fun activities with the children.

We have helped the children with photography (as another volunteer was able to get digital cameras donated to the organization).  They absolutely love to take pictures of each other in different silly poses.  I would call out different emotions and tell them to pose (happy, sad, excited, scared) and then capture them on film. They absolutely LOVE seeing themselves in the photos.  They are truly little hams!

On Wednesday we surprised the children by bringing face paints, and they had a ball.  Of course they were talking a million miles a minute about what different character they wanted painted on their face, and since 1. I am no artist, and 2. although my Spanish is improving I still can’t fully understand everything, we painted a lot of hearts, stars, rainbows, suns, etc. on their faces.  They still absolutely loved it and we got some great photos of them.

Thursday was Matt’s favorite day at INTI…Sports Day!  We spent the morning playing futbol (aka: soccer) with the kids at a local park, and Matt was a great goalie!  With the change in altitude here (in Cusco we are at 11,000 feet above sea level) we easily got out of breath, but still had fun running around and playing with the kids.  At the same time we were playing soccer, a nearby Kindergarten came out for their recess, and I decided to go up and say hello.  (I have a soft spot for the little ones!)  I ended up taking photos of them, and just like the kids of INTI, the little ones absolutely LOVED having their photos taken.  They would ask to see the photos immediately and could not get enough of the picture taking!  They were absolutely adorable!  I also had some bubbles with me, and when they saw beautiful bubbles floating through the sky, their eyes lit up like I have never seen.  They ran all over the park chasing the bubbles, having a great time.  Apparently they had never seen anything like it before and they were completely in awe.  We got some great photos of their cute little faces!

Today, we spent the day back at INTI, although many children did not seem to show up today.  We decided to make a Welcome (Bienvenidos) sidewalk chalk mural outside of the main entrance, and the kids had a great time being creative.  I think they thought they were “gettting to break the rules” by drawing on the sidewalk.  They will be amazed come Monday when the usual afternoon rains here will wash it all away.

SO, as you can tell we have had a great week at INTI and the kids we are getting to know are incredibly sweet.  I have put together a little slideshow below of some of my favorite pics from the week at INTI.  Enjoy!