So after months of planning, fundraising, and excitement Ive finally arrived. I got in yesterday afternoon at about 3 o clock with the worst case of jet lag Ive ever had. Perhaps it could have been the pre departure party my Mom and Swede had for me but I was in no shape to be communicating with other human beings after an 11 hour flight.
Today was a different story. After sleeping for about 11 hours, and getting teased by other volunteers for it, I felt refreshed and like a whole different man. We toured Villa El Salvador, the community where most volunteers are placed, and I saw REAL poverty. Dogs eating garbage, children standing shoeless in a landfill, elderly parents abandoned by their children, and the funny thing about all this is the people in this village were optimistic. When our van pulled up to the senior citizen center that a few of our volunteers will be working at, a elderly woman who was not even educated enough to speak the local language of Spanish came to meet us in the driveway and did a song and dance for us in the indian language of Quechua. Later, I found out the song was about drinking beer which made me love her even more. We went in to the senior center and introduced ourselves and got an applause after each volunteer stated their name and where they were from.
Tomorrow I will be placed at my volunteer placement called Deporte y Vida (sport and life). Im so excited to meet the class of kids Ill be working with. A few of the volunteers who arrived 2 weeks before us seem like they fell in love with these kids. Its going to be a mind blowing expierence to see hope in the eyes of these kids whose families live on $1 a day.
We arrived back at the home base for lunch and I have to say that spinach soup was phenominal. Our chef named Lucia is constantly cooking for a house of 40 volunteers and does a great job. I tried passion fruit for the first time and I have to say the flavor is great but the texture is a bit...awkward.
Dinner is in 30 min and i better start walking back so stay tuned.
Hasta Pronto.
2 comments:
Hi so glad you made it! Sounds like it will be a life changing experince . SO we will be waiting to read more we love and be careful . Mommy and Swede
Aw, you're so lucky my brotha. Have tons of fun and be safe. I love you. Thanks for the fun weekend. (:
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