July seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. Summer is in full swing here, with the kids enjoying the daily activities and the volunteers checking out the local fairs. Last weekend we all went to the nearby town of Diez de Agosto to celebrate its anniversary. We saw the creatively choreographed dances put on by children from three of our schools. They all looked adorable in costumes and absolutely beamed when they saw the “teachers” smiling and watching. This weekend entails a repeat visit to Diez de Agosto to experience a bit of the local agricultural lifestyle. There will be animal shows, a crowning of Miss Livestock 2011, new foods to try, live music and even a bull fight! Additionally, the weekly football match in El Triunfo is getting more and more intense. Typically there is a team made up of our volunteers and some local friends and they play against a team formed from the town El Triunfo. El Triunfo always wins. However, our boys are holding their own and only lost by one point last night. Next week may be the week!
In the schools, the children are opening their minds through arts and crafts as well as strategy games. Last week they learned the difference between night and day and further explored the wonderful world of English verbs. We are all looking forward to the start of next week when we will begin “Wizards & Fairies”. Hopefully their imaginations will get the best of the wee kiddies and we will see some amazing resourcefulness and interesting costumes.
On the home front, the cats are working hard at keeping are house free of any pesky intruders and Jim (the dog) is looking mighty fine after his (first ever??) bath. There have also been some blue headed parrot sightings and even a toucan! The jungle sure is a wonderful place to spend the summer!

Jessica Torres