Just Call Me Tía

I absolutely adore working with the children here in Peru.  My project site is on the outskirts of the city and the kids that come here come from extremely poor families.  These children are extremely sweet but many struggle with learning because they do not come from an environment that supports it.  Yet they still come to this program everyday after school to continue to try and learn.  They come from many different directions by many methods, walking, city bus etc.  There are even a few who are only allowed to come if they bring their baby/ toddler siblings with them so it's not uncommon for  an eight year old boy to stop doing his homework to check on his baby brother taking a nap in the corner. 

It often gets frustrating for me when I try and communicate with them because I'm constantly running into a giant cement barrier called language.  It can be quite aggravating when a child asks for help with homework or when I want to talk to them about their days.  But I've learned nothing from traveling if not that there's more to communication than language.  Even though it can be hard, my insecurities about Spanish are nonexistent in comparison to the things these children face everyday and still manage to smile.  Although their speech is just an extremely fast blur of sounds that I'm not convinced are words, there is in fact one word I've managed to distinguish.  It's a word that I hear at least 50 times a day, tía.  The children are constantly referring to me and the other volunteer as tía.  I assumed that it meant teacher, but when I looked it up it translated to aunt or auntie.  

I'm so flattered that these kids are willing to refer to me as an aunt, someone close to them.  They couldn't care less that I don't understand, they just care that I'm there.  I'm there to redirect them to homework or put an arm around them when they're frustrated.  I'm there to play games with them and help them learn English.  Being there is something so simple for me, but to them it's something precious and rare.  

I don't understand much but I'm honored to be called tía for the next month!