First Day of School!

Today was a big day at La Juanita -- the first day of school at "El Jardín Ciel" (the kindergarten). We arrived early to get the last minute details finalized. The kids and parents started arriving around noon. A bunch of volunteers helped make pizza and we later served them with lots and lots and lots of soda...help get our niños nice and riled up. Some kids were excited, some petrified, like anywhere else. The parents were so proud, taking lots of pictures-- I really loved seeing this. The parents are pretty involved in the school... It's a good thing, but also a double edged sword in that the kids have a harder time seperating themselves.

Once school officially started, everyone left and entered from the side entrance, and we greeted them as they walked in. We (well, they) sang songs and raised 2 flags-- one for Argentina, and another as a symbol of the peace, strength and unity that La Juanita strongly promotes in the community. Once inside the classroom, we had a small handful of hysterics, but overall it went well. Some moms stayed in the classroom, but I think starting tomorrow, they aren't allowed to stay. Probably a good idea. I passed around some molding clay, some kids ate it. Others played with the doll house, others with the musical instruments (bad idea), others with building blocks. I built a little wooden house with little Paulina. She's named after Paulina Rubia the singer, and doesnt seem to care that I have a cousin named Pauliina. Or that my name is Paola. She just stared at me. It's cool it's cool. We'll bond later over that. After passing out some milk and cookies, the first day was officially over, and I was officially exhausted. We had a brief meeting with the teachers and supervisor, and some of the visiting "godfathers" (Padrinos), and we were on our way back to BA. I'm excited to see how the rest of the kindergarten develops, there's a lot of transition for everyone involved. I'm hoping I can get to know some of the moms better, and have some sort of conversation with the kids. It's waaaay harder than I expected, but I guess any kid at age 3 or 4 is not so easy to talk to!

El Jardín Pics