The Project

As I’ve mentioned often in previous entries, it’s difficult to explain just how el comedor works in terms of organization, as the classroom and the kids activities run on the lack of organization. The worst part being, it’s impossible to organize everything in such a fashion that a framework could be set for future volunteers as they come and go sporadically throughout the year.

I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t be able to set a schedule in the short time I’m here, and can only take each day as it comes, moving with the flow of the kids that show up each day. Each day varies in quantity and quality (measured by ease/difficulty to control) of children, and I must adjust to what I am given.

Amidst this controlled chaos, I have decided to pursue one main goal, a permanent project that will leave a mark on el comedor, more so than an attempt to organize anarchy.

The idea, originally imagined by my amazing mother, will be a mosaic mural on one of the walls inside of the dining area. The center of the mural will be the name of el comedor, La Floresta, in blue tiles, surrounded by orange tiles. The border surrounding the name will be white tiles colored and designed by the kids. They can put their names, flowers, animals, stripes, or designs, whatever they wish. There will be a final border to complete the full mosaic of blue and white tiles with a pre-made design. I found it at the tile store, and despite the expensive price of 13 pesos per tile, I decided it was worth it to make the project complete.

The trip to the tile store was an adventure within itself. It took over three hours to find the tiles, find the paint, buy the tiles, and successfully haul them all to the car. With it being the weekend, the place was filled with customers, and it didn’t help when there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to buy the tiles since I was American. I guess every Argentinean has a registration number, which I assume is similar to a social security number in the U.S. However, people give it out whenever they use a credit or debit card so the seller has record of the consumer. I wasn’t about to give out my SSN to an Argentinean tile factory, and I didn’t have my passport with me, so I used the license number on my drivers license. Luckily it worked.

Now, they didn’t have everything I wanted, so I will need to improvise. Speaking of improvisation, for the record, I have baked two more batches of cookies, one of which included baking powder when Laura found some stashed away in a cupboard (its called ‘polvo para hornear’).

I bought blue and orange paint and will have to hand paint every little tile for the name of el comedor. I also need to find various colors of permanent markers for the kids to use on the white tiles.

It’ll be a big project, and I need to start soon, but I’m looking forward to it. I just need to stay focused and prevent kids from breaking tiles. My goal is to have it completely finished by the end of July.