All Moved In!

Hey there! I don´t have a ton of time, but I just wanted to write quickly to let you know that I am all moved in at el Centro del Muchacho Trabajador and things are going well!

Dan, Stuart, and I (and ALL of our luggage) made the 30 minute trek across across the city on Saturday afternoon. The second we pulled into the driveway, I felt like I was finally "home." At the same time, it was very surreal to be back here after trying to imagine that very moment since I left CMT last March. More than anything, it just felt "right" (I know, I´m throwing out cliche after cliche, but there really is no other way to describe it!).

We moved into our very spacious rooms, and I encountered a problem that I´ve never had before in my life...I didn´t have enough stuff to fill the shelves, or enough clothes to fill the closet, or enough junk to fill the drawers, or enough things to hang on the walls! Stuart and I spent yesterday shopping at every market in town though, so my room is starting to feel a little less like an insane asylum.

Over the course of Saturday night and Sunday, the other volunteers slowly trickled in. We spent both evenings getting each others´stories, and it truly is amazing what a small world it is and how paths cross. For example, Patrick has been to the same Guatemalan village that I spent my Sophomore spring break in, and it turns out I met a few of his friends from Loyola Marymount when I was there! I could tell you about 15 stories of a similar nature....but alas, dinner awaits :). So far, there are 10 volunteers moved in, and about 6 more to come. Most of the returning volunteers whom I met when I was here for spring break are arriving on Wednesday, so I am super pumped to see them again!

The directors of the Center, Madre Miguel and Padre Juan, are just as wonderful, energetic, and witty as I remember them. Madre Cindy also helps run the show (the 3 of them all live in the house with us) and it is hilarious to watch the 2 madres constantly gang up on Padre. Poor guy!

Today was our first day of orientation and we spent most of the time talking about procedures, house rules, meeting people, eating with the kids, touring the Centers, and going to church (not kidding - we went twice...guess that makes up for not going the past 2 weeks, right mom?!). It was a fun and exhausting day. I definitely have an advantage in that I´ve been here before though. Everyone else is feeling major information overload! We have orientation the rest of this week, then we will mostly be shadowing teachers next week when classes begin.

I apologize for the discombobulated entry! There is so much I want to tell you, and not nearly enough time right now! I promise to write again soon. Thank you so much for all your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragment!

Keely