Wa-ter-lemon!

Today after service I walked to my newest english job, tutoring two boys 7 and 5 years old. I walked through the market with Lacey to buy some vegetables and meat then went to their house. They live in the market in between a vegetable stand and clothing stand down a small alleyway barely wide enough for one person to fit. I was walking there in my flats and dress carrying my satchel filled with my notebooks, books, and ideas. I walked down passed the black gate through the blue gate up the stairs to the very back of an endless stream of concrete walls and closed curtained rooms, passing a man that looked at me confusedly like I must have gotten lost while looking for a tomato. I called out and was welcomed into the small dining room where the family was gathered for lunch. They are a family in the spanish congregation with 3 boys total but the youngest is just 8 months old. David, 7, and Daniel, 5, greet me with shy smiles then run into their shared room to get their pencils and notebooks. They take me to a big empty concrete room with only one lightbulb, a big wooden table, a small chair and bench. They sit across from me with wide eager eyes, pencils in hand, and notebooks. We begin class and today I taught them how to say greetings, good morning, good afternoon, etc. Then we draw pictures of fruit and practice pronounciation. It was adorable, these boys dont even write and read completely yet they are still learning in school and now they are trying to learn english too. We learned how to say strawberry which they pronounce wargrerry, apple, orange, and my personal favorite watermelon. Daniel, the younger of the two, is more outgoing and speaks very loudly. David is more shy and timid. I quiz them pointing at the pictures and asking them to repeat the words in english, when they say it wrong like grange for orange or epel for apple they both erupt in bubbling laughter. I point at a picture of sandia, watermelon. I asked Daniel to tell me the name in english. I say the name and he tries very hard to repeat it exactly how I said it, he says "warlter-lemon" I say again "Wa-ter-melon" he looks at me with his eyebrow furrowed and tries very hard he says "Wa-ter-lemon" I smile again and say "Wa-ter-MELON" he grins and then with a look of determination says "Wa-ter-LEMON!" this goes on for several times and then I realize that even if for the next five years he decides to say waterlemon instead of watermelon it will only be cute to me. In an hours time I have fallen in love with these boys and now want to tutor them for free. For the enjoyment that it can give a person to hear that bubbling laugh or look into the face of a child and see them want to learn and look back at you with sparkling eyes when they have accomplished something is worth more than pesos.