The main reason for my visit to Santiago was to spend time visiting with the two boys ? Roberto and Bianny ? whom I sponsor through Children International. Unlike my visit in June when I was able to see the boys on separate days, this time it was necessary to see them together because of the busy Christmas season. And so, we decided to spend the day at one of the larger shopping malls in Santiago. I had brought several gifts with me from Canada but wanted to give the boys the chance to pick out what they wanted.
Since Roberto lives about an hour away from Santiago, he came with his mother and one of the CI Social Workers and they went directly to the mall. Yaseni, the CI field office worker (and my translator) arrived at my hotel together with Bianny, his father and their Social Worker and then we were off to the mall to meet up with Roberto.
We all got together in the cafeteria at the Mall to figure out our plans for the day. This mall is absolutely huge and would rival anything we have back in Canada. I told the boys that they could go shopping and that they had 2500 pesos each to spend (about $75 US).
The first place we hit was the shoe department because both boys decided they wanted some new shoes. It was difficult finding a pair of shoes that would fit Bianny and as you can see from the following picture he was getting a little bored with the whole thing:
He finally managed to find some that fit and to show you how unselfish this boy is, he said he wanted to get a pair for his younger sister who was back home. This is Bianny, his dad and me with the shoes.
Meanwhile, Roberto had selected two pairs that he wanted:
Next on the list, was some new jeans.
Bianny is very shy and it takes him awhile to make up his mind .After looking at several pairs he decided on the following:
Roberto, in the meantime, had selected his jeans as well as a T-Shirt he liked ? seen here with his mom:
By the time the boys had finished with what they considered ?necessities?, they had purchased some new shoes, jeans and a t-shirt and had a little left over to buy a toy and some candy..
By this time, we were all getting hungry and so we returned to the cafeteria for some lunch. The unanimous choice was for pizza from Dominoes.
When it was originally suggested to me that we would have to combine the visits with both kids, I was a little worried because I didn?t know whether or not they would get along. Roberto is 11 and Bianny is 9 and at first they were a little apprehensive together. But there?s a kid?s play area (similar to what you?ll find at McDonald?s back home) and they both headed there after lunch while the ?adults chatted.? I think this was the ?icebreaker? because when they returned to the table, they were laughing and joking together. It?s absolutely amazing how kids can get along when you leave them alone!
Here they are checking out the toy catalog:
We left the mall to take Roberto, his mom and their social worker to the bus stop for their hour-long ride home at which time I gave Roberto the gifts I had brought from Canada. These mostly consisted of school supplies ? notebooks, pens etc that is so lacking in this country as well as a watch that I had gotten for him. Then Bianny, his dad, their social worker, Yaseni and I headed over to Bianny?s house to spend some time there.
While there, it was time to give the gifts I had brought from Canada for Bianny and his adorable little sister. I felt bad about the fact that there were cousins visiting and I didn?t have anything to give them.
And then unfortunately, it was time for me to leave but I did so with the promise that I would be back again sometime next summer. The family wished me a ?feliz navidad? and Bianny wanted to give me a hug.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what Christmas is all about!
Cheers!
Robin
Since Roberto lives about an hour away from Santiago, he came with his mother and one of the CI Social Workers and they went directly to the mall. Yaseni, the CI field office worker (and my translator) arrived at my hotel together with Bianny, his father and their Social Worker and then we were off to the mall to meet up with Roberto.
We all got together in the cafeteria at the Mall to figure out our plans for the day. This mall is absolutely huge and would rival anything we have back in Canada. I told the boys that they could go shopping and that they had 2500 pesos each to spend (about $75 US).
The first place we hit was the shoe department because both boys decided they wanted some new shoes. It was difficult finding a pair of shoes that would fit Bianny and as you can see from the following picture he was getting a little bored with the whole thing:
Bianny is very shy and it takes him awhile to make up his mind .After looking at several pairs he decided on the following:
By this time, we were all getting hungry and so we returned to the cafeteria for some lunch. The unanimous choice was for pizza from Dominoes.
Here they are checking out the toy catalog:
While there, it was time to give the gifts I had brought from Canada for Bianny and his adorable little sister. I felt bad about the fact that there were cousins visiting and I didn?t have anything to give them.
Cheers!
Robin