This week is a bit choppy because there were only two days of school at Centeno. Due to a national teacher's conference, I only had classes Monday and Tuesday.  On Tuesday we said goodbye to a volunteer who had been in my department for the last five months. Anni is from Finland and has worked with the 3rd Cycle class (I'm with 4th Cycle, so her kids were just a little younger than mine). I have gotten to know her a bit in the last two months because if I ever have down-time I go to that classroom. It was nice to have another volunteer around...I'm going to miss her!  Tomorrow we have off work to begin our fall retreat with Frair Rick who is en route to us now.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I went to work at the daycare with Margie. What a difference! Working at "La Guardaria" takes so much energy, but the days fly by. I really enjoy spending time with the littlest kids, even when that means changing poopy diapers (which I usually just make Margie do...sorry!) and having little kids smack me for no reason but attention. They're adorable. Also, last night Sor Nela, the Selesian sister who runs the show at the Guard (as we so affectionately call it) invited us to join other volunteers, staff members, and the moms of all the kids for a presentation by a psychologist about setting boundaries for kids. The psychologist gave an excellent background of theories behind the need for discipline and some great practical advice, especially for the moms. The presentation brought be back to Child Growth and Development, a course I took at BC, and was a wonderful refresher and practical application of the theories I studied in depth in college. I really appreciated it, even though I'll only be at the Guard sporadically.

Last night, Fray Tonio joined us for community night and showed us all sorts of pictures from his life, beginning with birth all the way through his Franciscan vows. He talked to us about what he did before he entered, his family, growing up in Costa Rica, etc. He is so much fun, and it was really nice to have the chance to get to know him better!

Cultural Observation of the Week
As I may have mentioned, its been raining a LOT here. One of the first things I noticed here is that no one wears rain jackets! It's unbelievable. Many people have a light jacket or sweater (or even a scarf if you can believe it) with their umbrella, but not a single person wears anything remotely water resistant. Whaaaaat? I'm so confused. I wish someone would explain. Our rain jackets are just another giveaway that the gringas are a-comin' down the street!  As I walk through the streets among the hundreds of people battling to stay dry, I narrate what I call "Umbrella Wars" in my head. See, there's a strategy to carrying an umbrella against foot traffic on narrow or crowded sidewalks. It usually involved eye contact and either tipping your umbrellas to the side so you can pass, or the taller person (often me) raises their umbrella up so the shorter one can duck beaneath. It takes strategy; on one of my first days I knocked a guys sunglasses off his head with the edge of my umbrella when I tipped it sideways to pass. Sorry, dude. But then again, why are you wearing sunglasses when it's pouring rain? There are some things I just may never understand.