Feliz Día del Padre!

Today is Father's Day in Bolivia! All of the schools have programs and events in celebration. There is also a big lunch after the programs, and the children are asked to invite their fathers. We have 12 big kids at Houses 2-3, and we didn't want them to feel left out of the festivities so all of the volunteers and tías went to school with the kids. Our kids are spread out over five different schools in the mornings and afternoons, so it took some coordination to make sure everyone had a "father" at the right time!

In the morning, everyone went to the main school of the big kids. I say "main school" because it's the school the majority of them attend. We watched a few dances and a couple kids recited poems, and then it was time to eat! That's when we split up and went to class with the kids. Two of the big girls, J. and A., are in the same class, so Tía Rosi and I went with them together. She stayed with J., while I was with A., who was VERY excited that her class was the only class to prepare the food at the school and not bring it from home ("because the moms didn't want us to eat cold food like everyone else!"). We had meat, potatoes, corn, salad, and beans (I don't know the actual name for them… We eat them in soup all the time, but they were prepared a different way). When the meat was served, A. told me exactly how they prepared it. She was excited it was beef and not chicken and watched with bated breath as I tried it. When I told her it was yummy, she said, "I can't believe you're eating the meat." It kind of caught me off guard, so I asked her why. She then said, "None of the volunteers ever eat the meat!" 

I have always felt closer to some of the other girls than I do with A., so I was happy to be able to spend this time with her alone. She seemed to really enjoy the morning, as well. 

In the afternoon, three of the girls attend the same school. Tía Serafina, Johanna, and I planned to go to their school programs. We had a bit of confusion on the actual start time, so we arrived late… very late. When we arrived at 4pm (the time we were told everything would start), we realized that Oriana and Jhosi's classes began eating at 2:30pm, so we had completely missed theirs. I was planning on going with Shyrlen to her class, and when I entered the room, I was told her class wasn't doing anything because the mothers who were supposed to cook the food didn't show up. A few kids in her class were going to dance, but they decided not to do that, too. Although I was still way too full from lunch to eat anything else, it was a bit disappointing to find out that her class's program was cancelled and that we'd missed the events for the other girls!

It was quite a day, and I've already been told we get to do it all over again for Mother's Day next month!