Viviana, the English teacher, gave us a ride to the Maximo so we didn't have to wait for the bus. There was a huge traffic jam and it took us a while to get out of La Carpio. While we were sitting there a little boy approached the car and asked Viviana for money. He was only 5. There is something I just don't understand about parents who send their young children to beg for money. Don't they worry about it being dangerous? Maybe they are just at the point where you do what you have to do to get buy. Within five minutes we watched a young teenager slowly opened up the back of the truck in front of us. He hopped in and grabbed the hand truck, got out and took off running. He stole it in broad daylight. I have never seen someone steal anything right in front of me. We couldn't even try to stop him because it would have been too dangerous. It is really unfortunate that teens here don't have much going on. They seem to find themselves in trouble. Theft has become a big problem. Another big teen problem is older teenage girls working as pimps to connect younger girls with men. Just last week a story hit the news about a 12 year old who was hired by a man. It was all set-up by an older teenage girl. It's crazy. La Carpio has its challenges - I hope that things will start to turn around in the near future. Hopefully I won't see or hear of anymore firsts.
The rest of the day was status quo. Had lunch with frienfs, went on my usual walk and had Spanish. This week I am in a group lesson from 4-6. I have a different teacher too. At first that worried me but I think it will work out. Tried salsa dancing again tonight. I am terrible but it was fun.
Good Night.
Love the write ups! Looks like your initial nervousness about the trip has gone away! I'm so excited for you and how you are flourishing on this incredible journey! Can't wait to hear about the sea turtles! Love you and see you soon. Be safe!!
ReplyDeleteCourtney