First Time To Volunteer At the Children's Orphanage

I woke up nice and early due to jitters. I met Ana Julia and Gabi at the metro station around 8:30 am, then we picked up Camila, and headed to Ceilandia for the children's orphanage. I had passed by the area before going to the Sao Joao Festival, but I had never been into the interior part of the city really. We knocked on the metal gate door and heard children playing and yelling. We got inside and there was an array of about 10 children between the ages of 2 and 9 running around. The moment I spoke they knew that I was a foreigner. They tried to say my name and had a really tough time, and they especially thought that my Polish last name was funny. I started asking some questions about the dolls that they girls had, and the next thing I knew there was a circle of five kids around me and asking questions. I tried to understand what they were saying, but I only honestly got about 50% of it. I would sometimes ask them to repeat, but if that still failed then I did the classic nod my head and hoped it satisfied as a response. The nine year old girls were very intelligent and especially loving when it came to braiding hair. One girl tried to introduce me to someone else and said I was from Rio, and another girl corrected her and said the USA, but I giggled and pretended I had the Rio accent for a few phrases. The kids were so loving, and didn’t care about my background, but just wanted to be seen and heard and have fun. They called all of the volunteers Tia. It was enduring and made my heart happy. Ana Julia had brought flowers and plants for them to replant in vases that they decorated. It was a mess with dirt all over, and some children eating the dirt, but the children seemed really proud of what they had done. We spent about there hours there and left when they were having lunch. I can't wait to go back and see the kids next. I joined the group and they go about every other week!