Orphanage

I recently started volunteering at a local orphanage in San José. Here's a little bit about my experience so far...

Just minutes after walking in to the fairly large house that serves as a home for kids who have been removed or abandoned by their families, a shy little girl took my hand and walked me over to the swing sets. She must have been about four years old. Its a strange feeling to be excited about a child befriending you, but her trust made my day. She was so cute. 

Once the other kids had been woken up from nap time they emerged from their room to play outside too. The house has a large backyard (yards are very uncommon in Costa Rica) with a jungle gym, a play set, miniature plastic houses, balls, and tons of toys. There were around ten kids ages 15 months to 7 years old. I haven't learned all of their names yet; mostly because its impossible to understand what they tell me when they are so focused on the game they are playing and only sort of interested in making sure I heard them correctly. The baby, who was probably around 15 months old, loved to be held. I carried him on my hip for the majority of the time I was there. The two little girls were so sweet. As for the boys, well, they were rowdy and rambunctious. I had a great time playing with all of them! They were all so awesome! 

We played hide-and-seek, swings, and monkey bars for a while until the kids taught Gabrielle and I a new game, Lobo (Wolf):

Everyone expect the "wolf" holds hands and walks quickly in a circle singing while the wolf hides.

"We are playing in the forest while the wolf is not here... Wolf are you here?"

The "wolf" makes up some sort of excuse for why he isn't there until he decides to emerge from his hiding spot to try to catch everyone else and eat them (tag them). Here are some of the responses the little wolves gave us: 

"I'm looking for my keys..."

"I'm in the shower..."

"I'm cooking onions..."

It was a really fun game for both me and the kids. 

I also made "leaf soup" in the play kitchen with a little girl, pushed everyone on the swings, and tried to teach the baby the numbers and animals painted on the wall. 

This next story is about an exchange I probably should have stopped, but couldn't resist watching...

For snack time the kids were given dulce de leche (its like carmel) filled pastries. Even after most of the kids had finished their treat, one little boy was still slowly eating his snack. I watch another little boy approach the boy eating and offer him a plastic toy lion in exchange for some dulce de leche. Shortly after the lion was accepted, the little boy eating swiped his finger through the center of the dulce de leche and proceed to stick it in the other kid's mouth. All I could do was smile and laugh.

I had no idea what to expect going into this situation, but it ended up being an incredibly positive experience. I cannot wait to go back and continue playing games and spending time with them.