On Thursday, I really had time to reflect on what had happened and WANTED to (finally!). Four pages of my journal later - here I am! I'm going to share a portion of this with you, since it is a little more personal.
"This week is quickly coming to an end but I think today was my favorite day so far. This morning we went to a couple neighbor's houses in AJS - Wellington and Gabrielle. Wellington* is one of the guards at the other house. They are just so genuinely kind, which is something I have almost been brought to tears by all week. Their willingness to say their door is always open when they are just meeting us is something so uncommon to me...Him and his wife asked a lot of good questions and hard ones too, including how he was interested in the prevalence of suicide in the US. It sparked a lot of tension in the group and debate during discussion tonight...
Next we went to Gabrielle and Theresa's home - an 80 and 68 year old couple simply doign what they do to stay afloat. Gabrielle went around and wanted to know our names and then told most of us we have strong (or sort of strong, in my case) characters. They gave us coke and cookies, and Gabrielle showed us his leather collection, and let us stamp letters and symbols onto some. The spirit that he had was amazing and so inspiring. And even though we did not get much time with them, I was so impressed by their welcoming attitude, kind spirit, and overall generousity... After that we hopped in the van and went to our mystery location...Nuevo Mundo! It was the most gorgeous school ever! We got ot talk to Pat, one of the people who started the school... the school has around 1200 student in the morning and 400 in the afternoon, who are mostly kids from Duran that get bussed in and go for free... It was one of the most amazing schools I have ever seen with one of the most enlightening woman I have ever had the privelege to speak with.
In the afternoon we got to go back to Semillas, do a scavenger hunt, and then played soccer on some teams with kids, and then again after the program with the older helpers - ayudantes. It was so fun and sweaty, and just a good ol' time! Going back to Semillas was the best since it was the group of kids that we felt we got closest with. We really got to work closesly with kids of all ages in the hunt groups and had some authority, which was different. It was also the day that they chose which kids got to go on the field trip (to see Alice in Wonderland at the Cinemaplex), and could only bring 12. It was so sad to see some kids heart broken, as they had behaved all week. The field trips they do are things that these kids could never afford to do, so it is a real treat for them!"
* Wellington had Hansen's disease and spent a little time at Damien House. The house him and his family currently live in was provided to him by Sister Annie (owner of Damien house) and he very humble to have that provided to him.
I really enjoyed Semillas, since I loveeee working with children. To have all these little kids hanging all over me was such a joy, minus the obnoxious ones! But it was so fun and enjoyable, and a great way to wrap up the week.
Showing posts with label damien house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label damien house. Show all posts
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Adventures of Tuesday, March 16
"We went back to Damien house and got to buy crafts from the patients like earrings, bracelets, and peace birds (little fabric sewn stuffed birds with bells on the end). It was so nice to be able to sit down and actually talk individually with both the men and women, minus the language barrier, but just listen to them and be there for them just to share time. It was very nice and all are such happy people that it made it so much easier to feel comfortable. I wish we could spend more time with them but there are just so many places to visit.
In the afternoon we went to an after school program in the other neighborhood (Antonio Jose de Sucre - AJS), called Valdivia with Tom (one of the volunteers from the Arbolito house) and two of the AJS RdC volunteers. It was definitely very different from Semillas but still good. I got to do multiplication tables with los ninos and they were so fast, well I would be too (in English)! We got to do a chista for the kids, which is a sketch about the theme of the week - sportsmanship. It was fun and the kids like it! Also today was our day to COOK! and we made a BOMB dinner of tortillas de papas con queso (potato tortillas with queso) Sooo yummy!"
At Damien house I spent a good amount of time talking with one of the patients who I could not understand at all. I really didn't care about the language barrier, or even the fact that he had a speech problem and no one could understand him, but he just got to speak and tell stories, and when I did pick up on things, I loved it! Little things like that make me happy and I was just humbled to be there. What else was I going to do with my time!
Making dinner on Tuesday was so much fun, and surprisingly easy, and everyone was very jealous! Tortillas in Ecuador aren't the same as we think in the US! They were just balls of cooked and mashed potatos that we made a whole in before cooking, and put some queso in. We made a "salad" minus the lettuce with lime juice on it for dressing - soooo good! who knew it would be just that easy!
I was surprised during the week of how much onion we ate, mostly for flavor, but it definitely made me like onions more!
Ciao!
In the afternoon we went to an after school program in the other neighborhood (Antonio Jose de Sucre - AJS), called Valdivia with Tom (one of the volunteers from the Arbolito house) and two of the AJS RdC volunteers. It was definitely very different from Semillas but still good. I got to do multiplication tables with los ninos and they were so fast, well I would be too (in English)! We got to do a chista for the kids, which is a sketch about the theme of the week - sportsmanship. It was fun and the kids like it! Also today was our day to COOK! and we made a BOMB dinner of tortillas de papas con queso (potato tortillas with queso) Sooo yummy!"
At Damien house I spent a good amount of time talking with one of the patients who I could not understand at all. I really didn't care about the language barrier, or even the fact that he had a speech problem and no one could understand him, but he just got to speak and tell stories, and when I did pick up on things, I loved it! Little things like that make me happy and I was just humbled to be there. What else was I going to do with my time!
Making dinner on Tuesday was so much fun, and surprisingly easy, and everyone was very jealous! Tortillas in Ecuador aren't the same as we think in the US! They were just balls of cooked and mashed potatos that we made a whole in before cooking, and put some queso in. We made a "salad" minus the lettuce with lime juice on it for dressing - soooo good! who knew it would be just that easy!
I was surprised during the week of how much onion we ate, mostly for flavor, but it definitely made me like onions more!
Ciao!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The travels of Monday, day #3!
I figure now, that I journaled during the entire week, so why not use some of that to recap! Duh!
"Today we visited Damien house in the morning, a house for patients living with Hansen's disease (also known as Leprosy)I was slightly petrified that it would be scary or that I would be disgusted by the people due to deformities and also didn't know a lot about the disease but that was not at all the case. It was amazing and one of the most gratifying experiences. All the men and women were so humble and happy, and grateful for our presense in their community. They shared so many stories and experiences, and just very much enjoyed that time. Tomorrow we get to return and hopefully spend more time with them. In the afternoon we went to an after school program called Semillas de Mostaza, nearby and I got to work with the younger kids. The girl I worked with was named Belem, and she was not having it, but it was good to feel like I had some authority, even with the language barrier!"
A little more information about Semillas and my time there... even though the kids aren't currently in school, they come to the after school programs in the neighborhood. Not all of the kids even do go to school. Semillas was in the neighborhood of Arbolito (where we stayed), and was a quick walk from the house. We were bombarded with children as we walked there and soon our group got bigger and bigger, and by the time we got to the park and cancha (the soccer field). It was our first interaction with the kids of the neighborhood, what I have been waiting and excited to do, and where I first got to really use my spanish (and got laughed at!). Nicki and I found a couple of kids who wanted to play futbol on the smaller cancha. It was so fun to just run around with these kids and not understand half of what they said!
Kids in Ecuador are not different than kids in the US when it comes down to it. They want to play and have fun and just be kids, and they love it. And though half of them go to school and the other half don't, there is no stereotyping or differing in the relationship between those kids, and they don't judge. That was just amazing to me!
"Today we visited Damien house in the morning, a house for patients living with Hansen's disease (also known as Leprosy)I was slightly petrified that it would be scary or that I would be disgusted by the people due to deformities and also didn't know a lot about the disease but that was not at all the case. It was amazing and one of the most gratifying experiences. All the men and women were so humble and happy, and grateful for our presense in their community. They shared so many stories and experiences, and just very much enjoyed that time. Tomorrow we get to return and hopefully spend more time with them. In the afternoon we went to an after school program called Semillas de Mostaza, nearby and I got to work with the younger kids. The girl I worked with was named Belem, and she was not having it, but it was good to feel like I had some authority, even with the language barrier!"
A little more information about Semillas and my time there... even though the kids aren't currently in school, they come to the after school programs in the neighborhood. Not all of the kids even do go to school. Semillas was in the neighborhood of Arbolito (where we stayed), and was a quick walk from the house. We were bombarded with children as we walked there and soon our group got bigger and bigger, and by the time we got to the park and cancha (the soccer field). It was our first interaction with the kids of the neighborhood, what I have been waiting and excited to do, and where I first got to really use my spanish (and got laughed at!). Nicki and I found a couple of kids who wanted to play futbol on the smaller cancha. It was so fun to just run around with these kids and not understand half of what they said!
Kids in Ecuador are not different than kids in the US when it comes down to it. They want to play and have fun and just be kids, and they love it. And though half of them go to school and the other half don't, there is no stereotyping or differing in the relationship between those kids, and they don't judge. That was just amazing to me!
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