First Day...

What a day! Woke up at 6:30am to start work at 7:30am. Grabbed some yogurt and a banana and off I went. I worked the morning shift with Jen in Casa Alegria. Casa A is the younger children. Cecilia and Orvin are bed bound with feeding tubes but are able to be in chairs for some of the day. Manuel is partially deaf and blind and where’s the cutest blue glasses. Bryan and Dayana are siblings. Bryan has hip dysplasia and can’t walk. Dayana is so cute and es gorda! Domenica and Jhon are also siblings. Dome is a little diva! Jhon runs the show. He is a big brother to everyone but also mister bossy. He is always helping the tias which is cute. Cristian is dependent but needs reminders. Cristian and Jhon are little buddies. They’re the older and more dependent children in Casa A. This morning we helped the tias change the children and brush their teeth. We played a little inside but then went outside. We stayed outside until lunch time at 12pm. The kids had soup, noodles and rice, and then a drink. We changed Bryan and Dayana and laid them down for a nap. It was then our lunch time. We had potatoes, rice, tomatoes, and then popcorn soup. It was like a broccoli soup with popcorn in it. It’s weird but actually pretty good. We rested then went to our afternoon shift. Afternoon was in Casa Esperanza with Ashley. Casa E everyone is in a wheelchair except for Nancy and Gabi. They have a baby, Gabi, who has a feeding tube. There’s Vanesa, Lucy, Maria Jose, Edison, Martin, Blanca, Laura, and Nancy. Nancy is self-sufficient. She was sexually abused at a young age so she is not to be alone with any children because she has shown actions of such. Laura takes care of herself but is still in a wheelchair. We helped change the children and get them ready to go outside. The children said goodbye to the HEFY volunteers and then we went to the park. After the park we came back and got the children ready for dinner and bed. We have to help change the children, diapers and pajamas. We bib them for dinner and assist with feeding. Children had soup with noodles in it and then a smoothie looking drink, called colada. We brushed teeth and helped the tias put them in bed. After our shift we went to an all-girls orphanage called HML, Hogar Miguel Leon. We arrived and the girls were just eating dinner. They ate dinner, brushed teeth, and then started looking for something. And we just sat there! We were only there for 45 minutes and did nothing. We then came back to the house, made a quesadilla, and watched “Something Borrowed!” Gwena and Vanessa made caramel filled empanadas and Katie made apple caramel muffins. They were all so good! Everything was delicious! But that was my day. I’ll get more into it later. Good day with lots of learning. Hopefully I can pick up on the routine and be great at it. Here’s to that...