Dancing (fifteen months old)

Samuel and I enjoyed a recent visit to Buenavista, a traditional small town near the city of Santa Cruz.

If you've been following this blog, you may remember Samuel waving his arms to the music when he was ten months old. Let me tell you, he now has a full-body dance routine.

So here's Samuel dancing to band music we heard during a visit to Buenavista, a small town about two hours' drive from Santa Cruz--click here to watch his routine. If it reminds you a little of the "funky chicken" dance, it's no coincidence: Samuel learned the arm-flapping and tail-waving moves during MCC Bolivia's annual retreat, which he and I attended at the end of October. (I did Spanish-to-English simultaneous interpreting during the sessions, and Samuel was cared for by Yovana, his beloved babysitter.) One afternoon the babysitters taught the children a dance routine which they presented at that evening's talent show; the music they danced to tells kids to praise God like the ducklings do, by waving their wings and moving their tails.

Samuel's favorite activity at the retreat, aside from dancing: splashing in the pool and playing "sea monster" with the other young kids.