The neighborhood children – David, Melissa & Rita.

I went out to our road with my camera to take some pictures of a couple of trees and flowers that I had spotted earlier. However, I had a wonderful surprise instead! Three little children were playing on the road. Two were the little girls (sisters) who live across the road, whom I got to meet today for the first time. Their names are Rita and Melissa. The third was their amigo David. My camera was quite a magnet! While David was eager to show me his cycling skills (photo below), Rita was all about me taking photos of her. Melissa was the youngest and was quite shy. They chattered away to me in Spanish, with me catching a few words here and there. It is wonderful how children are so forgiving of our Spanish errors, and how they just want attention and kindness. They loved looking at each photo I took of them and had lots of giggles. I gave them a couple of mangoes that had fallen from our tree, and they were very happy with them. This happenstance encounter was a welcome addition to my otherwise low-key afternoon!

Every child should have a bike!