November 18: The good things in life

Words of the day:
descomunal- enormous, colossal
traba- barrette, derived from the word trabar, meaning to hold something back. Spanish is such a cool language.
malabarismo- juggling
chispa- spark

Sort of a crazy day. Got up super early to go to Maipu for the Anniversary celebration at El Trampolin. Made a ton of food and got to spend time and talk with a lot of people I hadn't previously interacted with very much. All the adorable kids from the center put on little "acts" which were adorable and usually included at least one child who broke down in tears. And then everyone ate a ton of food.
The event was a little bittersweet though to be honest. There were a lot of people who came, albeit late, but apparently nothing compared with past years. A lot of the staff talked a bit about how the "spark" had gone out of the community, in terms of their involvement and willingness to initiate things. There was a whole picture display which showed the evolution of the community and the center. What struck me the most was the way that, as they described it, material progress hadn't exactly translated into a better sense of community or even better lives. Not to romanticize poverty, but the direness of the initial conditions led to a need to fight in a way that isn't entirely consistent with gated houses on square blocks.
I guess this reality is, well, awkward. When you have an non- profit working in an area, there is an expectation, at least internally, that things will improve in a linear fashion. And when they don't?
Regardless, the staff hung out for a while after and I got to join since my class was cancelled which was fun because I got to see another side of their personalities.
After, I had the last (gasp!) class of salsa and headed home, where I danced more, this time a zumba workout video with 3 year old Martina. Which was hilarious. And then I just hung out for a bit with my host parents and Arturo's sister who is visiting. And played with Martina a lot more- school, dolls, legos...Just as its the little things from home that I miss, I'm going to miss daily life here a lot as well.