February 5, 2012
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Flowers
Mariana: Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: No
Mariana: Oh! Is that why you are so rich?
(Mariana and I)I find children’s brains interesting. They are a whole person in a little package. Sometimes, when talking to them, I try to figure out where their train of thought is coming from. Mariana had the above conversation with me during church, and I must say, my self-control did not stop me from laughing much longer and louder than was appropriate. To Mariana, who lives in a a mud and stick house with banana leaves for a roof, I am rich. And apparently, I got that way because I don’t spend all that money on a boyfriend.
Cajueiro Claro Living Stones will be starting up this week. Last week was all the planning and cleaning and organizing. Pastor Flavio now lives at the church (he turned one of the classrooms into a little ‘apartment’), but everything having to do with the project wasn’t touched while I was gone. Meaning that it was now covered in dust and bat gifts. I have a growing hatred for bats and all of their gifts.
Mariana, Jon-Jon, Milena, and their cousin ran over as soon as I showed up. Milena got quite upset once she found out we couldn’t play together–we were just there to clean. They took some of the tall grass and began making me flower strings.
Jon-Jon, who used to be too shy to say anything, now greeted me with words, a smile, and a hug.
Milena was still grumpy about not getting to play.
She presented me with a flower sting, but refused to smile for a picture.
When we finished up, I walked the kids home (next door) and they showed me what they do. They get bags of old material
And then the children, the mom, the grandma, whoever…unwind it. The stringy stuff is then sold to people who use it to wash cars.
You learn something new every day.
