(Courtesy of Trazando Espacios Públicos) — (Courtesy of Trazando Espacios Públicos)

Monday

I'm spending the quarantine with my sister, my mom, an uncle and my dad. My uncle was going to leave at Easter but couldn't because of the pandemic. He's from Guárico and we go there every now and then. This time we couldn't. I miss it. There are almost no mountains there. There is a lot of land and mosquitoes, and it is all flat. I miss my grandmother from Guárico very much. I haven't seen her since the beginning of the quarantine. We only talk on the phone.

Before the pandemic my school used to send us a lot of homework to do. From Monday to Sunday we had no free time. Now my school is sending a little less and it is calming down for me. But I was listening to my sister in our house. "They are sending homework and not letting us have free time. 50 questions and we don't have the answers," she said as she checked her phone and saw message after message from school. She was upset.

My school asked us to make a black and white drawing as homework. I made a drawing on a piece of cardboard that I can hang. On one side, I drew the night with the planet earth and stars. On the other side I drew the day with a sun, the sea and sand as a sunset. So when it's day I turn it to the day side and when it's night, I turn the drawing to the night side.

Before I drew ugly, too ugly, now I started to draw better thanks to my time with Trazando Espacios Públicos (TEP), an organization that repairs places and teaches you teamwork. It helped me draw a lot better and be more creative. For example, when I used to try to draw a person, it came out ugly. Now I know how to draw the face. I also know how to use colors.

Tuesday

I'm having a good time even though I'm locked up. I have more time with my family. To entertain myself I play computer games, read books, draw and play board games. What I miss most is the beach and the plains. They’re wonderful. What I like is people who live there. They are cheerful and loving, like my grandmother, who isn’t in great health but she always keeps going.

My dad and my uncle left to look for gas and they are not coming back. They left early. I am afraid that something will happen to them because there are many people looking for gas and there may be bad people or something bad may happen, such as being robbed or arrested for being on the street.

I am participating in a TEP contest called "Chamos del Hatillo" (“Kids of El Hatillo”), where children make drawings and people vote online for their favorites. We already sent the drawing, I'm excited. The drawing was a heart and it means how we all love each other and no matter the circumstances. Inside my drawing is the map of Venezuela and inside Venezuela is the symbol of peace that means that we will always make peace no matter the differences and the hands that hold Venezuela that we will always be together. My sister helped me to choose the colors and I like the style of red, yellow and orange because they mix well. Venezuela’s flag has the colors of yellow, blue and red, and the hand was blue like the sea, and the circle of peace as if it were the earth, blue and green. There are quite a few kids in the contest, some I don't know. TEP is wonderful because I met more people. Also, the teamwork. It doesn't matter if we are different, we continue being friends. The teacher Rachel was an angel because she taught us a lot of things.

Wednesday

Today I played on the computer and saw how the votes were going in the contest. I’m doing so-so. TEP even posted an Instagram story about the contest and posted several things to support me. I feel nervous and excited. Tomorrow at 11 a.m. they announce the three winners of each category on Instagram and I need more votes to be included because I'm in fifth place. Close but I need more to get to third place. If I don't get to first, I want to get to third. I didn't do homework today just to play and take a break. My dad and uncle arrived today from getting gas at about 3 p.m., they couldn’t get anything but still decided to come back home today.

Thursday

My sister told me I won the competition! Voting was until 12 p.m. I was in fifth place and out of nowhere — boom! I feel wonderful, I didn't expect it. I was watching the votes all the time, and last night I prayed a little bit for that. The same thing happened with the story contest I won at TEP. I asked the Virgin of Carmen to help me win this contest, that if I didn't win first I would at least win third or second, amen. That contest was about the goodness of my people, their festivities, the joy and values that we have at the El Calvario community. My sister helped me, but when I won the contest my mother accompanied me because my sister could not, that was in the Plaza Bolivar of the town in El Hatillo. I am also in another contest in El Hatillo until June 6. My sister and I are doing it together. She gives me the ideas.

I made some drawings that the school sent as homework. It was about the rural area and the urban area. Right now I am with my little cousin. We took care of him while we made faces for him to laugh, and I gave him my stuffed animals. I played with him for a while.

Friday

Turns out my sister got confused. I ended up in fifth place in the drawing contest. We went to the amphitheater of El Hatillo in the morning. It was an event organised by “Chamos del Hatillo” to give us awards for participating in the contest. The mayor was there, as well as friends from the school and people I knew from other places. There they gave us a drawing pad, paints, six pencils, colors, pencil sharpeners and two erasers. I feel good that I participated.

I spent time doing crafts at my sister's friend's house. He taught us some tricks like how to make hearts, and he taught my mom how to decorate plastic bottles. We were making things for Father's Day. We made cards and I made a heart like an accordion for my dad. I also played with my pink skateboard on the street in front of the house with other kids who were also out there. I like crafts but I like drawing more.

From TEP, I learned values such as love and friendship, always being in solidarity, teamwork. I learned to use tools, for example the ruler and the paintbrush. I used to paint horribly, but now I know how to paint better. I learned to imagine and I learned that those who invented things, like the refrigerator, had to dream it to create it. I didn't take pictures before, because my hands were kind of shaking a lot, now I'm better.

Saturday

Today I have only done homework: multiplications, a comparative chart of the legend, the myth and the fable, also a word search and a map of Venezuela. I am making them by myself, but if I have doubts I ask my sister or my parents. I rested a little bit and then played and watched TV, then at 2 p.m., I started to finish my homework.

Sunday

I was playing with a book called "The amazing senses." I also started the drawing for the other contest of El Hatillo. We are supposed to draw the Santa Rosalia del Palermo. She is the patron saint of El Hatillo. My sister was the one with the idea, while I was doing we lost power. I don’t know why we lost power, it happens sometimes. So we’ll continue tomorrow.

Alexandra Requena

Alexandra Requena is a fifth-grade student who lives in Caracas, Venezuela with her dad, mom, sister and uncle. She loves drawing and colouring landscapes.