que quieres?

well, we have been on a painting spree and I am going back and forth translating and getting a bit of paint time in. I love painting, if you put some music on, and start to let the brush forth, it's almost as if you forget everything around you.

in the afternoon, I met up with Lise, and ended up on the back of her bike, riding to the other home. I set out to work, taking pictures of the progress they had done. because of last night, we had gone to the streets to strike up conversations with people living on the streets, I could barely function today. I snuck in a quick nap and then went off to help carrying bookshelves to which seemed like the other end of the world. then, one of the Brazilian ladies, who is also a hairdresser, started cutting some of the little kids' hair. I was happy snapping pictures, and take into mind, that these little ones are between the ages of 1-5, they were fascinated with my camera and I had to fight off little hands who wanted to take pictures as well. at one point, the cutest boy in the world, sitting beside me, started making noises, grumpy, and wouldn't say a word as to why he was so sad. I had a boy on my lap, fiddling with the buttons on the camera, and asking to see the other pictures, so after a while, we realized that this little boy was jealous. I wasn't sure what to do, so we ended up asking the other boy to change a bit to let him sit on my lap. after a little coaxing, he sat on my lap, still making noises but they stopped after a while. after I snapped more pictures of him, he started talking and asking to see the pictures as well. before long, I think I might have detected a smile.

at one point, another little girl was up from her nap, her face had pillow marks and she was curiously watching me. I would look at her, offer a smile and ask if she wanted me to take her picture. she would look down and shake her head, still asleep, it seemed. after a while, she started to awaken, and as she watched me interact with the other kids, I came close to her and asked her, "what do you want? do you also want tia to take your picture?"
she looked at me seriously and said, "no, I want my mamán."
she was up next for a hair cut and had the most cute pouty face, but nothing seemed to cheer her up. yet, what would, really? she wanted her mamán. I think, we all do.
I think I wanted to hug all of them, kiss their chubby little cheeks and be their mamán. the evening ended with some of the children riding the bikes that had just been fixed by another pair of workers. the library was starting to look orderly and we were relieved to see so many smiles.
right now, I'm listening to andrew bird, realizing that I see thunder in the distance, and wondering how I was so blessed to be given a task at such a time as this. I'm honored, and I'm fully aware of how undeserving I am.