"hello how are you i'm fine"

Hola!
My name is Laura, and I arrived in Trujillo two weeks ago to volunteer with SKIP as an English teacher for the next four months. I just graduated high school and am spending a gap year volunteering before I head to college next September.
Peru welcomed me with arms wide open- the earthquake in Ica happening on the eve of my flight out of Washington DC, and truth be told I was extremely nervous about coming. All I had planned out was a flight to Lima and then up to Trujillo, were a "Larry" was supposed to meet me. Thankfully he was there, and after dropping my stuff at the SKIP house, we hit the ground running. Larry, the director of SKIP, took me to el Porvenir, the neighborhood where the SKIP office and school is located. The Saturday "Charla" (charlar is spanish for "to speak") had just concluded and Peruvian mothers were streaming out of the school's entrance discussing what they had just learned about- each week SKIP addresses a different topic, such as earthquake safety or personal hygeine. I greeted countless faces, some of whom I've come to know pretty well over the past two weeks, with a kiss on the cheek. Kids also would randomly run up and grab your hand, then motion that they to wanted to kiss you hello, or just be held and hugged, regardless of the fact that we'd never met before.
On my first Monday I accompanied another English teacher volunteer to the nearby colegio, Indoamericana, where I would be teaching classes myself- little did I know just how soon I was to start. Wednesday found me standing alone in front of a class of 40 sixth graders chiming, in one breath "hello how are you i'm happy." I've learned since then that it is imperative to approach each class with a plan, and to stick to it, no matter how out of control or unattentive the children seem, becuase if, as a teacher, you give the impression that you know what you're doing, the class tends to go by at least a little smoother.