Dia de los ninos

Yesterday was Dia de los Ninos which translates as Children's day. It is a very fun celebration here for all the children where they have a big party and get gifts. We didn't have classes but students came from 8-11:30 and we had different game stations (like a carnival) and then separate parties in each classroom. In my (Cody) class we had a pinata, food, cake and gifts for all the students. Last week we had open house where the parents came and decided how much money they were all going to contribute and who was getting what. Some parents came to help out and it was pretty much chaos. But at the end each student was very happy and walked away with a nice gift and tons of candy.For Dia Del Nino I (David) went with the middle schoolers to an orphanage in town. My students were told that they are no longer children, but that they could help other kids have a great day. We took candy, pinatas, toys, and a cake. There were about 20 kids at the orphanage, and most of them were pretty little. All of the school aged kids there were at school. It was fun to sit with the little kids and watch them do the pinata and celebrate. After we left the orphanage we walked back to school through a real rural area distributing bags of candy to the kids that we came across. I got back to the school just in time to slip into Cody's room and have some food! After seeing how they celebrate for kids day I cant wait until Teachers Day (Next Wednesday).

The school has been practicing marching everyday this week and last in preparation for the Independence parades this weekend. Independence day is on September 15th and there are three days of parades starting Saturday. Every morning the students line up on the dirt road outside the school and march down the road about a 1/2 mile. We then turn around and come back. The students walk in 4 lines, 2 girl lines and 2 boy lines and follow the middle schoolers who are playing drums and xylophones. Every morning my (Cody) students look at our schedule and get excited when they see marching practice on the board and I can't figure out why they look forward to it so much. We teachers are so tired of it! Next week we have Monday through Wed off for various holidays and we are planning a trip to Antigua, Guatemala with Zach. We'll let you know how that goes.