The most fun yet...

I was wrong last time because today was the most fun I have had in Guasmo. When we arrived at Mi Cometa, we went upstairs and most of the kids were there already. We saw that Solange had brought a basketball so we immediately started dribbling. We went all the way on the roof and were dribbling up there. Anthony and Andres wanted it to be them two against me just trying to steal the ball from me. It was really fun keeping it away from them, but also challenging too. The girls started taking pictures of us playing and finally they all said they wanted to go to a park where they have basketball courts. Martin and I agreed without hesitation because basketball is our favorite sport. 

The park took a while to get there but it was an amazing park. They had giant slides, high monkey bars, rings, a chain to climb, soccer field, jet, train, basketball court, stage and see-saws. We had so much fun at the park with the kids. We took pictures of all the activities we were doing played some games that the kids made up. We played a 5 on 5 basketball game that the kids seemed to love. The kids did really well they all had their own talents that were good for playing. Joel is an all around athlete and excels in every sport he plays. He is really quick and learns things fast. Andres and Anthony were doing really good at shooting the ball. Solange was able to dribble and pass the ball well and Maria was very aggressive it surprised us. Esteve was all over the place so when we played it was a good match up. We took more photos of the kids on the jet plane and on the train. 

In the afternoon, William, Marlon, Bebzebeth, Dianna, Eric and Carlos came. We all were upstairs and we asked them what they wanted to do. They said they wanted to go to the park we went to earlier to check it out. We didn’t do as much stuff but still had a blast playing basketball. It was Martin and William versus Marlon, Eric and I. The girls were just going around taking pictures of each other posing for them. They got very into taking pictures so fast and the quality of their photos keeps increasing. The thing that I think is most important is to have a variety of pictures, but not just in numbers; by making sure they take pictures different ways from different angles. We just want them to be creative and express themselves. 

--July 23, 2012

We left early to Mi Cometa today. It was a great success this morning because we were able to get there only taking two buses. When we got there Betzabeth called Martin and so we went to walk her from her house. We played some of the games upstairs until Maria and Esteve had to leave at 11. The kids have gotten pretty good at Uno and know the tricks to the game. I don’t think I will ever be able to play Uno again without thinking of all the amazing kids here. They have truly impacted my life for the better. 

It was only Genesis and Betzabeth left at Mi Cometa with us so we went to grab some food. We went to this sit down little restaurant that Martin and I had been to before. Martin and I shared a plate and the girls shared a plate. The food was really good! Betzabeth kept telling me I was very bad for not eating the soup, but I didn’t care for it much. 

When we got back to Mi Cometa we were showing the girls some magic tricks. Martin started off with the cards and doing a few card tricks and then I started doing a trick with paper. I hold the paper to my thumb for a while so it stays then eventually I pretend to suck it into my mouth, but what really happens is that I put my thumb back so it isn’t visible. I finish the trick by coughing and pretending to catch the paper in my hand. The girls were so amazed by my trick it was so cool to see the looks on their faces.

--July 30, 2012

Michael, Ryan and Martin with Guasmo Starfish Scholars!