Oh the Joys of Traveling by Lauren Yutzy

It was 2 o clock at night when the team was abruptly awaken by a military guard asking us for our passports. We were on a bus traveling back to Charavalle from Merida where the team went on vacation. In Venezuela there are random checkpoints with guards. Before this night though, none of the guards had ever come on board any of our buses. We gave the guard the copies of our passports, and he left the bus with them only to return a little later and motion for us to follow him. The team filed off the bus and was lead to a small outpost, where the head guard had our passport copies spread out in a line. His first words were ¨what are these?¨ And he gave us a hard time about not having our actual passports because he needs to see when we arrived and when we are leaving Venezuela in order to make sure that we weren't traveling illegally. We weren't getting anywhere until Irene remembered that she did have her actual passport, so she ran and got it. Once he looked at hers he reluctantly let us go. I'm not sure what would have happened if Irene hadn´t had her passport. Some people think he was looking for a bribe. Thanks to God, though we made it safely home.

And now we are down to only three weeks left. We are busy with random social events, finishing sanding and varnishing desks, and English classes. Anthony, Jon and I teach the English class for kids Wednesday afternoons. We have 5 (adorable!) girls who come every week. I always look forward to class because I love teaching! So far we have taught colors, numbers, animals, fruits and vegetables. While all 5 of the girls are mischievous, 2 are especially so. Every Wednesday those two try my patience, but I am learning right along with them every class except I'm learning how to teach, how to show tough love, and how to have patience. Because the class is only once a week and for only two hours, the kids aren't learning an incredible amount. Every week we have to reteach what was taught the week before, which can be discouraging. However nothing beats the joy the student and I share when they do remember and it shows that they have been practicing and studying at home. They are going the extra mile because they want to learn. I love being a part of that and being able to help them along on their path of learning!