High Cloud
intern Derek Escalante, a student at Notre Dame University, is spending
the summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil working with children in the
impoverished Rocinha district. In Derek's words: "Two
weeks ago, we took a trip with the three and four-year-old class to the
zoo. The kids had a blast, and I really got to bond with a lot of them
by carrying them around and showing them all the various animals.
Also, we took a field trip last week with the English class kids (9-11
year olds) to the Jardim Botanico, the beautiful botanical garden here
in Rio. We had an amazing time, and the kids were all really happy to
have a day out and enjoy themselves.
I can't speak enough of how I love the people in Rocinha. They live simple lives, and they are genuine. They're not worried about petty things; they really cherish the most important things in life like family and friendship. This is my sixth week, and all anyone has asked of me is friendship and it's really an amazing feeling. Also, I've really bonded with the people that work at the school. It's really a cool feeling to get down on my hands and knees and scrub floors after the kids leave with the school staff. I feel privileged to be able to contribute to the kids having clean classrooms to learn in the next day. I have clean classrooms in the States and these kids definitely deserve that too.... The High Cloud programs in my own opinion are reaching their max potential here. The kids are learning about nutrition and about hygiene, something that I think is crucial in a community that is for the most part pretty dirty. There are great English classes going on two days a week that I love to contribute to. Also, the kids are planting a garden and a small orchard outside one of the school buildings. The cool thing about that is that what they are planting are healing plants used for medicine as well as healthy veggies like tomatoes. It's awesome to see that all the components that High Cloud emphasizes and upholds actually come to life here in Rocinha."
I can't speak enough of how I love the people in Rocinha. They live simple lives, and they are genuine. They're not worried about petty things; they really cherish the most important things in life like family and friendship. This is my sixth week, and all anyone has asked of me is friendship and it's really an amazing feeling. Also, I've really bonded with the people that work at the school. It's really a cool feeling to get down on my hands and knees and scrub floors after the kids leave with the school staff. I feel privileged to be able to contribute to the kids having clean classrooms to learn in the next day. I have clean classrooms in the States and these kids definitely deserve that too.... The High Cloud programs in my own opinion are reaching their max potential here. The kids are learning about nutrition and about hygiene, something that I think is crucial in a community that is for the most part pretty dirty. There are great English classes going on two days a week that I love to contribute to. Also, the kids are planting a garden and a small orchard outside one of the school buildings. The cool thing about that is that what they are planting are healing plants used for medicine as well as healthy veggies like tomatoes. It's awesome to see that all the components that High Cloud emphasizes and upholds actually come to life here in Rocinha."
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