Saturday, March 17, 2012

Day 5 in Chile

Friday was Mia´s birthday so our day started with cupcakes in her honor!  Then we spent the morning working at a hospital for children who are in state custody.  Students from Colegio Santa Ursula start visiting this hospital as 3rd graders and each class goes once a semester.  Visiting these children was a wonderful experience and made us all realize how lucky we are.  We played and helped feed them lunch. 


Kelsey describes her experience:
"Yesterday we visited SENAME, a foster care home and hospital for children. We boarded the bus and made our way over there, which took about 15 minutes. As soon as we got there, we were split into groups. My group went to into one of the hallways, where we were instantly greeted by many young smiling faces. We immediately felt welcome and appreciated for coming to spend time with these little three to five year olds. They were so cute!! They ran up to us with hugs and requests for us to pick them up. The kids liked holding our hands and each of us had two kids assigned to us. Then, the Ursuline girls, the kids, the caretakers of the kids, and the teacher Claudia from Colegio Santa Ursula boarded a bus to drive around Santiago while watching Disney-Pixar music videos. It was nice to see more of the city and watch the kids' faces light up at the sight of all the playgrounds, fountains, and Chilean flags. Some of the little girls started singing the Chilean national anthem when they saw the flag! We drove for about an hour and then went back to serve lunch to the group of kids. Although some of them initially resisted the meal of chicken-noodle soup as an appetizer and rice and beef as a main course, once we held the spoon up to their mouths they were happy to open up for us. Unfortunately we had to head back to Colegio Santa Ursula after that, but it was obvious that all of us made the kids' days a little brighter. It was a great feeling to share some joy and love with the kids, and we were happy to help!"

After returning to the school, the girls went back to class with their host sisters for the final class of the day.  At Colegio Santa Ursula, the school day ends at 1:45 on Fridays!  The teachers checked in with the girls and everyone seemed excited for the weekend.


Happy Birthday Mia!

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