Today we went back to the school to meet with the sisters and firm up our project for February. We were given a full tour of the school and the facilities. School was in session so we were able to observe and visit with the students in their classrooms.
Along with running the school the sisters operate soup kitchen that serves lunch to street kids and homeless adults. Street kids are a particular problem in South America. If a family can’t afford to send their child to school the kid will just wander the streets throughout the day and possibly throughout the night. When we went out the door to see who was waiting for lunch there was on kid about 6 or 7 years old smoking a cigarette. One of the nuns talked to him and got him to give up his cigarettes and matches. She was quite persuasive. There are two shifts for the soup kitchen. The kids are served first and then the adults.
The Soup Kitchen.
Visiting the classrooms was very interesting. We found ourselves to be very disruptive. Mike is a giant of a man and the kids were very excited. They all wanted to have their picture taken with him. During the time that we will be doing the project in February the students will be on holiday. We asked for volunteers to help up with the project. Amazingly, a lot of kids signed up. The nuns thought there would be little or no interest because volunteering would interfere with their holiday. Yet, they seemed very excited. We will see if they follow through.
Visiting a classroom.
Dinner wouldn’t be dinner in Argentina without beef and several glasses of Malbec. Very enjoyable!