La Lluvia.

The rain.

Today things became real.

It was my first day on my placement at Los Pimpollos and I am at a loss for words. I’ve never been confronted with such poverty in my entire life. After the 45 minute bus ride out from the city center of Córdoba we arrived in the neighborhood of Jose Ignacio Diaz III. Suddenly the roads were dirt and most of the houses were falling apart. As we walked to the community center, children peered out of their barred windows with eyes of despair. We turned down a long street and at the end their was a large group of children standing in the middle. At the sight of us they came running and shouting with joy. Every child, ages 5-15, kissed me on the cheek as I said hello.

As we rolled in, so did the storm clouds.

The small building was filled with children running left and right. I walked in and a group of young girls grabbed my hand and pulled me into conversation. They wanted to know everything about me and were beaming with excitement. After about twenty minutes of chatter, we were able to get a small group of kids to come into the classroom for an English lesson. The storm was now directly above us and the rain came down with force. The girls screamed at every clap of thunder and the boys laughed teasingly. Finally we got their attention and gave a lesson about body parts in English. It lasted about 20 minutes and then they gave up. There’s nothing we can really do because it isn’t mandatory that they come to class, nonetheless to the “camp”. It is their summer vacation after all.

After we came back into the main room their was a commotion by the doors. All of the kids were now running through the streets that had suddenly become rivers. The rain was persistent and heavy while they danced and splashed in the murky-brown river street. They were having a ball. We also painted butterflies or “mariposas” on the faces of many girls as a fun activity. They loved it, but once they ran into the rain their butterflies melted away.

Watching everyone run around in the rain was a sight I’ll never forget. Not only were the kids playing, the adults were too. To me rain has always been a nuisance, an annoyance and a pain in the ass, but to them it was a bright and cheerful day. They made the most out of it. No one was worried about their iPhones getting wet or if their hair was messed up. They were just living.

After about 3 hours we left because the rain had let up. When I got off the bus about 10 blocks from my house it poured again. At first I started running, but then I thought to myself ‘what’s the big deal if I get a little wet?’ and then began to casually walk the rest of the way home. By the time I got there I was soaked through and the sun had come out. I went up to my room and to my astonishment there was a beautiful rainbow across the whole sky. It was another perfect example of the beautiful things that rain can bring.

It was difficult seeing all that I saw today, but I am more than eager to head back there tomorrow and try to make a difference. It sounds cliche, but in this town I think I truly can help. By just giving these kids my time of day they are ecstatic, so I am willing to give much more.

Si viene la lluvia o el sol, estaremos feliz.