The Many Uses of Uno

In 2008 I brought a deck of Uno cards to Living Stones Paudalho. They loved it. They loved the cards to death. Seriously--we covered them all with tape because they were so worn down. And they still died. I didn't know plastic could fall apart like that.

I used Uno to teach colors and numbers in English. I used it to meet new kids and help them not be so shy around the "American." The kids at Cajueiro Claro are different than Paudalho. Paudalho, with about 35,000 people, has a "downtown" with two banks. While many of the children have never been to the "big city," it still has some resemblance of commerce. Cajueiro Claro, the town of 1000, is up one hill and then down another, with a light on each porch to say that someone is home.
The poverty is different, and so are the problems that the children face. In Cajueiro Claro they don't seem to have the deep rebellious attitude, but they can not sit still. It is "good morning, how are yo---" and they are off and doing something else. Walking around, getting water, climbing a palm tree, something. I thought it might just be me, but even during the church service they couldn't stay in one seat and had people after them, bringing them back to their seat time and time again. Li'l monkeys.

But Uno has arrived in Cajueiro Claro, along with a miracle: all of the children managed to sit at the table playing Uno for TWO WHOLE games. They were so excited about it that on Wednesday we had five kids waiting at the top of the hill, to walk us rest of the way to the church. On the way they told me, "You know what? We saw a commercial for Uno on TV! And we get to play it!" This may be the beginning of something good.