Raúl

Raúl does the maintenance work at the comedor. Every morning, when I arrive at the comedor, we greet each other with besos and "how are you?". That has basically been the extent of our interaction for the 2+ months that I have been at the comedor. I have been impressed with Raúl. He doesn't just work at the comedor, he really cares about the children the comedor serves. I see him joking around with the children and pushing them on the swings. The children all seem to like him. One day, during the busiest part of lunch time, the 1-year-old of one of the cooks was crying and fussing. I looked in the kitchen and Raúl was in the back of the kitchen with the child trying to calm him down so his mom could work.

This morning, I was on the playground with the children and Raúl was pushing one of the children on the swings. He started talking to me. He said he likes to talk, but he hasn't spoken to me much because he didn't know if I would be able to understand him. He asked me about my family and we talked for about 10 minutes. Sometimes, I worry about people here thinking I'm stuck-up or not interested in getting to know them (which is definitely not the case) because I can't think of what to say in Spanish (especially when I see them in passing), so I just don't say anything more than "hi. how are you?" Or I respond to their statements with "yes" or "no" or a smile and nod. So this conversation, as basic and short as it was, was a significant part of my day today and I hope it has opened the door to more future conversations - now, I know Raúl likes to talk and he knows I can understand him (for the most part).