Fun Times in Adelante

In Adelante, the other salon I am helping out , you'll find Jose Manuel, a boy who is energetic, loud and confident; who can get excited over the story about a little bunny who says, "Te vuelvas a chicharron!" laughing with delightfully and blurting out “Te vuelvas a chicharron” throughout class; but who doesn’t get excited over learning many other things since it’s such a struggle. He roughhouses with all the others in the class, especially Geraldine, a good friend of his who is a bit of a tomboy.

When Professor Marilu is not around, both gleefully race around the room, chasing one another- Geraldine pleading to make him stop- though you can tell she is having fun. In fact, they all feed off each other’s energy and go crazy when the teacher is away, it's time to play.

Geraldine is a sweet girl, sturdy and with an open face, returning my smile with her own right away. Jose Manuel has more of a charming grin, 80% mischievous. Junior also has an elfish, winsome smile, big and delightful, with his Sierra features; tanned skin, high color in his cheekbones and wide hands that look like they are built from hard, manual work that seem to be common of many people from the Sierra (mountains). Junior is growing more attached to me, one day telling me "Esperame, esperame" and wait for him when I was about to leave. He's cute- with a charming personality- though can be mischievous and jugeton, falling all over his chair and claiming he forgot his Mimate (math book) when it is right in his backpack.


Geraldine is easily attempted to be traviesa as well and use any excuse to get up from her seat. But she is considerate, filling up a spoonful of her lunchero consisting of rice, potatoes and fried egg and giving it to Junior. Later, she complained she was too full and told Junior to eat the rest. Junior ate it so fast it made me wonder about the fact on why he is so small compared to all the others. This boy catches on quickly and seems sharp when it comes to math, eager to read out loud and also loves the story about the little bunny. He struggles when it comes to Spanish since is used to speaking Quechua.

I started working with Alexander in Professor Diana's class when I started out as an Auxiliar; so he has a special place in my heart. He had a brain tumor when he was really little; he is older than all of the kids in his grade (10 years old in 3rd grade) and severely below level since he missed so much school. Since he struggles so much he is usually unmotivated and you have to push him every minute to try. But he is a nice kid, always very respectful and quickly getting to know the other kids and fitting in. Though I am always scared he is going to roughhouse a bit too roughly with the other kids and hit his head again (which happened a few weeks ago and he was out of school for two weeks!)

Renato is a lot different from the rest; shy and bashful, answering questions with a two or three word reply, and only to say goodbye when leaving the class. Marilu says he doesn't like any physical contact, completely opposite than Jose Manuel who eats up any kind of affection and from Geraldine who always is petting my hand or my hair. Today, I literally fell over on the ground because Jose Manuel, Geraldine, Junior and Alexander catapulted into me and gave me a group hug, everything falling down and laughing. Me, trying to act like a professional assistant teacher, trying to keep my composure while lifting myself off from the ground and struggling to not laught and smile. I am still working on perfecting my "stern face" and authority with the students...