Vaina y Cosa

Dun dun dun DUNNNNN!

Boom! We graduated! Our first round of Supermen have graduated with flying colors (for the most part). To celebrate I ordered a cake, which quickly ended up being the talk of the town causing casual "passers by" to stop in and say "hello". Angela also made an amazing juice, equal parts pineapple and passion fruit. Everyone is making a funny face except that kid in the red shirt, who is clearly upset about something. Straight up. We had many ups and downs during the course of our 8 weeks, but when you see things like this:

Working as a team to solve a problem and congratulating each other afterward, it makes it all worth it :)

One class has ended, but another one has begun. Superman Valle Nuevo is officially underway with 8 awesome dudes that i am really excited about. Nothing will compare with the likes of Chino and Kachimbo, but im pumped to get to know a new group of kids. Two more groups are beginning in the month of July.

Hannah, our amazing intern, is here and doing an amazing job. We created our work plan for the next year which involves a ton of activities, groups and other events. It is really nice to have another person here dedicated to the same cause. She is from Idaho (middle of nowhere) and loves to cook (yay). She also seems really driven with tons of great ideas.

Also, we have a fully furnished house now. Instead of my 3 plastic chairs which were down to 2 (thanks Ryan) we have a couch and cool lounge chairs, an actual kitchen table and plates!

Shedaisy! Bet you didn't think (with reason) that i had any sense of style. Bought it all online too!(Ikea, i know it feels like I am cheating, but it REALLY was the cheaper option and they delivered for free!!) Our office is pretty decked out as well:

Those ARE chalkboard walls gracias a Hannah. We are so much more organized now! Helps to have someone here that IS organized.

Not much else is going on here. We are pretty busy as of late, and we hope to keep the momentum going. On the verge of hiring our first local hire! So we are pretty excited about that.

I will leave you guys with the funniest photo i have seen since the baby fart one a while back.....

Open to your interpretation....haha...

English is for Suckers

So, how sick nasty was Lebron's definitive block on Splitter last night? Yes, I am in Santiago.

Last time i wrote in this thing i was preparing for my trip to the US. Now, i have returned from the US....the same man. I got to see a lot of family that i hadn't seen in years, which was really nice. I went to Disney World, which is always the highlight of any experience. I think i spent way to much time there (ggaassspp), but it was incredible nonetheless.....How is nonetheless one word? This is why it is so difficult to teach English. Try explaining that to someone who is learning english, and don't say you just wouldn't teach them that word, because we all now how people read the most random stuff then want to know what it means or how it translates. You just end up realizing how little sense your own language makes. Maybe its just me.

Since returning from the United States of Everyone Makes Way Too Much Money (USEMWTMM), we have been busy finishing our in-school nutrition presentations. We hit a few schools and had a cute little 4th grade graduation (new ways to celebrate mediocrity) and handed out school supplies that were donated by Beverly Hills Elementary School from  near my home town. 

They loved it! After looking at all the pictures from the event, it came to my attention that kids seem to enjoy holding their things directly in front of or above their face....

I was quite odd. I was just like, show me your notebook, and then they pegged it to their foreheads.....must be a cultural thing.

Today, I picked up our new intern/fellow, Hannah, from the airport! I finally have another colleague here to help me tackle this beast. She is here for one year and seems super excited to get started. Good stuff happening.

My supermen graduate next week. It has been an interesting 8 weeks with these muchachos. Hopefully they learned something. We are graduating this group and starting 3 more groups in 3 distinct villages this month. The very last week of the month i am heading to San Cristobal for the National Camp Superman held by the Peace Corps every year. I get to bring two of my boys. 

This summer will be a fun one! Stay tuned for updates.

Adios