Playing with the Children

One of our fun pastimes in Pommern was playing with the children in the village.  Playtime is universal and language barriers don't matter.  Here is a collection of pictures of us playing with the children of Pommern.

Kids coloring with Amy

A makeshift basketball game with Jack and Kendra

Video of the makeshift basketball game

Trying on my sunglasses

Coloring books

Not really a picture of "playing," but this little girl had a wig that she wore on Sundays. Too adorable! Most girls and boys both keep their hair very short to make it much easier to care for.

Sonia kicking a small ball with a couple of young boys

Right before this picture was taken, this boy was pretending his shoe was a truck and making "vroom vroom" noises. In a village where there are only a couple of vehicles, I don't know how he learned that!

No time to play -- these girls had to work.  In fact, we rarely got to play with the girls, except on Sundays, because they were busy helping their mom at home with the cleaning and cooking and water fetching.

These girls made work fun, though!

Who knew a simple bottle cap could be so much fun? This little boy and Sonia dropped the bottle cap into each other's hands, back and forth, for quite awhile.*

Taking pictures and then looking at them is fun too!*

Jack spent a LOT of time playing football (soccer) with these boys*

Bubbles that we brought from home were a fun treat*

Not a "playing" picture, but how adorable is this little guy waving good bye!*

Playing helicopter, swinging the kids around in circles*

Playing football**

Kendra and I hanging out with some of the girls on Sunday**

A traditional game involves rolling an old bike tire down the path, typically using a stick to keep it upright and moving**

There you have it -- playing with the kids in the village.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

*Indicates photo by Amy
**Indicates photo by Kendra