Just wanted to compose a short post about the children I've encountered here.
As most of you know, I'm kind of a child magnet (in the least creepy of ways). I've been working with kids in a myriad of capacities for around a decade now. I know how to talk to kids, now to play with them, even how to teach them (somewhat). I love making friends with children.
Lima, Peru, has presented a challenge. It's not as easy to befriend a child when you can't even speak her language. Or so I thought. Last Saturday, at the wedding, I found out otherwise. I had my camera out, and when three amigos pequeños saw that I was pointing it at them, they had fun posing for pictures, and then looking on the screen to see themselves. The two little girls wanted a picture without the little boy, but he kept pushing his way in. With my ninja camerawoman skills, I managed to snap a picture of the two girls just before the boy jumped forward. When the one girl saw the picture, she threw her arms around my neck and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. I was in.
A little later, the girls came over and asked my name. I told them, and then they told me theirs. Jasmin, Radha, and Misael (sp?). The girls turned to each other, whispered together for a couple seconds, then turned to me and said in English together: "You are beautiful." These little girls broke through the language barrier and made me their friend, just like that. Sunday evening, during church, I made a little bird out of a sticky note, and gave it to Rhadha. She immediately sat me down and made me show her how to do it. When I tried to make her an origami elephant (a much harder feat), she tried to have me show her each step of that as well. At one point, she was asking me a question. I knew the answer to it, but I didn't want to tell her. I didn't have the words, so I just shook my head. She turned to her friend and said something like "She doesn't understand what we're saying."
Since then, Radha comes and gives me big hugs each time she sees me. I can't tell her stories or jokes or everything I want to. I'm pretty much limited to telling her that I love her and that she's pretty. But it's OK. More isn't needed.
Then there's Juan David. Karen and I went to have lunch with him and his mother last week. Juan David soon realized that I would make a great playmate. He pulled out all his toys and showed them to me, and blew bubbles with me, and dragged me all around the room looking for his pencil (which we never did find). Whenever I'd say something in English, he'd ask: "¿Qué significa? ¿Qué significa?" until Karen told him what I was saying. The fact that I didn't speak much Spanish amused him. At one point he brought me a dictionary and asked me to find a, and then to find z. I'm not sure if it impressed him very much that I found both.
In summary, though, I think I've learned not to be so worried that I can't do the same things or be the same person in another place. Did I break through the language barrier with these kids? Somewhat. Are these children still enjoying the fact that their vocabulario de español is bigger than mine? Undoubtedly. But who I am doesn't change just because of where I go. I'll still love children in any part of the globe. And, thankfully, they'll still love me.
Mis palabras en español para hoy: Jesús le ama los niños en todo el mundo.
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