Wednesday

Today we woke, had breakfast and then were off to Alejandra for our third day of work. I was particularly excited today because we got to go and visit the school across the street. The teachers and principal of the school invited us to come and share in a fiesta for a teacher who was retiring after 29 years. The celebration was beautiful- an enitre school assembly in the courtyard filled with student speeches and dancing. I can only understand Spanish up to a point, but from what I could get out of the speeches, it seemed like she was a very popular teacher who made a great impact on her pupils. The school itself was a surprise to me... there were lots of kids, but it did not seem overcrowded. Because of the nice weather the school children and teachers used the central courtyard a lot, and the school did not need any sort of heating system. Moreover, many of the classrooms were outfitted with SMART Boards. This came as a surprise, but I was really excited to see cool educational technology at the school. Mary and I got the address of the school and hope to continue correspondence with the teachers and principal who were so nice to us in hopes of fostering a connection in our classrooms in the future. After our visit we painted some more and I had the opportunity to play whiffle ball with Eric (a 6th grader from the school whom I've befriended) and his amigos Cruz and Enrique. Eric had the same shoes I had on, and at the end of the day I gave him a Chris Cappuano bobble head that I brought along on the trip. He was most grateful and really enjoys baseball. Who knows, this kid could be the next baseball star from Mexico! I am greatly enjoying my experiences here, particularly with the people of Alejandra. It is amazing how regardless of language and cultural differences, you can see the joy of working with children. My visit to the school today really helped me realize this. Hoping the Brew Crew is doing well and that everyone back in Milwaukee are doing well.

Will