Day 4: Meeting Mariposas

At the Mariposa Foundation the smiling faces of the Mariposa Girls and staff greeted us. We got into a large circle and began the day by singing a group song and moving and clapping along. We then divided into groups and began assisting in classes and projects. The first thing we noticed was how friendly the girls were; very outgoing. As soon as we walked in the room, they would hug and act as if they had known us for a long time. Even though some of us struggled with the language barrier, the girls were helpful, patient, and still just as loving. The community amongst the girls is like that of the barrios, very reflective of Dominican culture. After spending very little time with us, we had already created friendly bonds. Some girls were even inviting us to their home.

In the morning we worked with the younger girls, most of whom were around age eight. They were very cute and easy to talk to. Some of our group members were worried when moving on to the older group, because we were afraid they would feel as if we were talking down to them. This feeling however, completely disappeared once we met the girls, as the experience was as if we were speaking to a friend, rather than a student.

We did three activities at the Mariposa Foundation: math, writing, and painting. One activity was playing math games with the girls, who were at varying skill levels. Some games included throwing giant dice into the air and then adding the numbers on them when they landed. Others included math flashcards in a competitive game. The girls would get competitive, but still remained light, friendly, and cheerful. We also helped them write letters to their pen pals at the Lower School at Parker. Fourth graders had previously written letters to each of the girls asking them questions about their life and telling the girls facts about their own lives. Here was the language barrier: the letters were written in English and we helped them translate to Spanish. The last activity we did was painting the building’s back wall white, which we had sanded down yesterday.

           

The day was finished with a fun, competitive softball game between the Mariposa girls and the volunteers. The older girls were very sassy, funny, and spirited. Working with them was somewhat similar to the younger girls, but they were goofier than the younger ones. More jokes were told and they had a less serious approach to class. Our day winded down by some relaxing time at the beach. We are looking forward to working with all of the girls tomorrow.

-Marissa, Eliza, and Ben