Working with the Kids and Home Visits

          6:15 A.M. was the beginning of today. After waking up we collected our things for the school and took the van to the school. We arrived at the school around 7:30 and were immediately greeted by hugs and smiles from two of the students, which was a great start to the day. From there, Gena and I went to work with the kids in the first grade classroom. This classroom had five students and one teacher. As Gena and I sat down around the table, a student named Tatiana grabbed our hands and didn't let go until it was time to color. Another little girl, Michael, was crazy. She had so much energy. Gena and I were already in the room when Michael came in and when she saw us, her face lit up and a huge smile spread across her face. 

          The later part of the morning I was working in the deaf classroom. The moment I stepped into the classroom I could feel the positive energy. As I sat down and watched the teachers teach in sign language and the students sign back, I was mesmerized by it all. A student named Tania in the deaf classroom was very smart and loved to watch what we were all doing. 

          In the afternoon, AJ and I went on home visits. To get to the homes we took a taxi. The taxi had a driver, two people in the passenger seat, and four people in the back row. 

          At the first house we visited we met a little boy named David Antonio, who is three years old, and his parents. David was dropped on his head when he was nine months old and now he has a leisure in his brain. The leisure causes David to have seizures. His parents had him taking his medication for nine month but then took him off of them because they were giving him heart problems. David also has eye problems. In really hot weather David's eyes would get really dry and he would complain about a burning feeling in his eyes. To help this problem,the parents had a cream for David's eyes if he had the burning sensation. This house was a little odd and we were unsure of what went on there. 

          The second house we went to was Carlos Jesus's house. He has a condition called Mioclonia. This condition causes Carlos to have seizures. Fortunately, Carlos has not had a seizure since October of 2012. Carlos was on his medication and his parents seemed very nice. 

          The moment that effected me greatly today was when we were at David Antonio's house. David is an only child and does not live with his dad. Yet, when visiting the house, we saw more men, women, and children in the house. We were told by our translator that this family was sharing this house with other families. This house was about as big as a classroom in Battle Mountain High School.