Today was the last day of swimming. The rainy season finally ended last week. This week has been hot with beautiful sunshine. Best of all, Wednesday Saul learned how to do the butterfly and Erik learned today.
On the first day of swimming class the coach said the kids would learn all four strokes. I thought he was crazy. Of the ¨big kids¨ only Saul and Erik were able to come this week so I made it my personal goal to teach them the last of the four strokes - the butterfly.
Tuesday Saul practiced using only one arm. Wednesday I explained to Saul verbally while we rode on the bus to the pool what his next step was, but I NEVER expected him to get it right on the very first try. He pulled with both arms, lifted himself into the air, and dove down like a dolphin. It was absolutely amazing! I was sooooo proud of him! I was jumping up and down, screaming and yelling. All of the cleaning staff came to see what was going on. Saul had quite an audience. It was awesome.
Saul learned in 2 days what many people can´t do in their life. This is the same kid who had to work really, really hard to learn to swim the crawl those first few weeks. It was a huge struggle. Some people... Okay, many people would have given up. Saul was a self proclaimed ¨disaster¨ when it came to freestyle and that wasn´t much of an exaggeration. Apparently Saul was born to be a flier!
What a super feeling, to experience that accomplishment with him. To see him glide through the water and know how freeing that beautiful stroke is. I felt his joy and my own. It was a happy, happy day.
When the coach arrived and we showed him Saul´s butterfly he said, ¨His stroke is better than mine! That was all you, teacher.¨ (He calls me teacher.)
I said, ¨Yes. That was Saul and me.¨
Saul is going to continue in the next swimming class which will start in a few weeks. I have a plan in my head that he can be a sort of assistant coach if he wants to. He is very encouraging and it will build his leadership skills and self esteem. But I also want swimming to be enjoyable for him, so if he doesn´t want to be at the pool in that capacity that would be fine too.
Erik did the one armed stroke yesterday. He didn´t take off flying like Saul did on the first try today. It took some laps and a few adjustments. But in the end Erik learned it too. So, every bigger kid that finished the class DID learn all four strokes. And so much more!
Yesterday I was chatting with my friend at the church. She told me that she is going through a hard time which she has not shared with anyone else. The good thing is that her kids are thriving. In the end I think it will be for the best. But it is still tough. She also said the only thing they had for dinner the night before was rice. She felt bad, but her daughter told her that rice is fine as long as they are a happy family. What a special girl.
I decided I would go to the grocery store and pick up some staples for my friend. Along the way I passed another friend whom I have been trying to help when I can. She and I have an agreement that she will ask for help when she needs it. I may not always be able to help, but I will do what I can. So I asked her if she needs anything at the store. She said she doesn´t have any food in her house either. Oh boy. I asked her to please make a list of some basic things that would help and bought those things for each of my friends.
I leave the food in bags in the office so nobody knows that I am the one who bought it. I can´t buy food for all of the people who are in need. There are so many.
Ana said her kids were so excited to have breakfast today! I got corn flakes, powdered milk and bananas. Something most of us would take for granted. But they were excited.
Here´s the part I have been dying to tell you about all day, besides Saul´s butterfly. In the bus on the way to the pool suddenly everyone started chattering and pointing excitedly. There was a man walking down the street, holding a dirty white cat. The cat was struggling to get out of his arms.
I thought everyone was watching him because people here would normally not pick up a cat or carry it down the street. Then I realized it was a dirty street cat. It was not his pet. The man also happened to be Chinese.
Alejandra, queen of blurting out whatever is on her mind, stood up in her seat and pointed and said ¨He´s going to make chop suey!¨ The bus driver was even freaked out. I asked if he was really going to eat the cat. Saul said he wasn´t sure, but it seemed that way. I asked if people here eat cats. He said not that he is aware, but it has always been an urban legend. I swear, I think that man was going to eat that cat. It was a fat one too.
That was the freakiest thing I saw today. If I think about people I see every day standing in dumpsters eating handfuls of whatever they can find, it almost makes eating a cat... I don´t know. Every single day I see people inside dumpsters. Scrounging for things inside a stinky, dirty dumpster is bad enough. Watching people put food in their mouth while standing in the dumpster breaks my heart.
I will never grow accustomed to the sight of human beings standing inside of dumpsters and eating. I hope.
