Kindergarten Kindness

The story of Limber is one that is near and dear to my heart when it comes to my early experiences in Iquitos. When I moved to Peru, I taught English to the elementary school students at the school the family I lived with ran. Limber was a kindergartener that year, and I am still amazed at the kindness and patience he showed me at such a young age. The lunchroom was close to his classroom, and many mornings I would go sit in there while I was waiting for school to start. He came early most mornings and would come and talk to me. Now… at this time, I did not speak any Spanish, and he didn’t speak any English. I quickly realized that he was a natural at knowing how to communicate even with a major barrier. He spoke slowly and with the most simple words possible. I don’t ever remember him getting frustrated with me for not understanding. He would bring his school work to me, and show me some of the things he was trying to talk to me about. And he naturally started to teach me some words in Spanish. One of my favorite moments, was a time I was working with his class on some basic English. His classmates all came up wanting to talk to me, and he stopped them and I could tell that he was telling them they needed to be patient and speak slowly to me because I didn't speak Spanish. It was so cute! The last time I was in Peru (before the pandemic), he was finishing 4th grade and still as sweet and patient as ever. He is constantly an encouragement to me, no matter what is happening. Every time I think about his kindness to me, I smile and remember that I should show that kindness and patience to others around me.

Limber and the juice he brought me one day, because he remembered that I said I liked peaches.