I have finished work at the orphanage now. It was really great working there but it is sad that you cannot do anything to really change or help in the long run, maybe you make that day or month better but you dont make any of the childrens lives better. I think for this projects like building them a new area or something is better, maybe in the future I will return and try to do this.. I was so sad when I had to leave; i spent nearly an hour just with milagro (my favourite!). i dont remember if i already said this, but i found out she had an older brother and sister, but when their mother died they were split up and put in different oprhanages. things like this actually make me really angry.. a bit of extra admin/organisation would keep the remnents of a family together and essentially make a huge difference to their lives. maria tells me this usually does happen. when i was leaving the head nun came and said thank you and we chatted a bit, although it was all in spanish so it was a fairly retarded conversation on my part! she then gave me a bracelet, which i immediately broke in front of her, good, and then she gave me another bracelet, which i now am wearing and will always keep. i still cant decide whether i think it is better for some of the children to be there than the potential lives they could have had; sometimes you see children working with their parents in the markets or on the streets at night, and then i think actually for the children in the orphanage who are safe and sleeping maybe it is a better start to life. I felt really weird and a lot of guilt on my last day i was looking after them and i couldnt help but think how different our lives will be and how nothing will change that. The children need a lot of look after, by the end as i was more involved i realised how much there was to do, constantly looking after nearly 20 babies between 3 of us, but often just 1 of us, is difficuly, because its crucial you dont let anything go amiss, and then of course there are all of the other children, so they really have a lot to do there. I found out that the other people who work are all paid and are not volunteers, maybe hence some of their attitude! But obviously this is a big drain on the money available, and then with having to feed, water and give medicines to 70 children, you can see that it is struggling. This is why volunteers are actually a big help, it made me think maybe i should work for a longer amount of time in the future, so to actually save them the cost of another person working.
On sunday we went to a national park, Guembe, which had a mariposario (butterfly dome), a bird sanctuary, natural springs, waterfalls, a lake, an island for monkeys, etc. This was probably my best day yet! I went with Maria, Sergio (marias boyfriend) and Luis (marias brother). We didnt actually plan to go, we were going to go to aqualand again but it had closed down (not paying its taxes.. good one) so we ended up taking the long dirt track to guembe which was a result! Did some kayaking, climbed to the top of the bird sanctuary water tower where you can see the entire city and beyond, swimming, etc. Once again, even though i bloody wore cream this time, i ended up with a bright red face. This needs to stop happening. They keep looking at me and saying ´....ohhh... roja´ yes thank you i had noticed!!! Also was not ideal when, i kid you not, about 25 wasps attacked me at lunch, dad you would have been proud i did not make as much of a scene as usual!
On monday i went to the cinema and for ice cream and then later for dinner with Luis because everyone else had to study. I suppppoossse you could call it a date. haha... joke....
Moving on!!!! Yesterday we went to the river. (with maria, luis, their mum, aunt and cousin) I thought ohh nice, sit and watch the water, maybe some boats... Right this was not the case. In reference to a previous post about this being the hottest city ever... THE RIVER HAS DRIED OUT. i mean seriously is that some kind of joke?!! anyway it was actually awesome. there are like these hut restaurants selling the best local food (you have to try sonso... yuca and cheese on a long wooden stick) on the drive up, which is all sand and dirt track, and then over a mound (we were in a 4x4 obviously) and then theres this huge plaine which is the ´river´. i think maybe the word desert would be more appropriate bit never mind! there is a bit with water which is knee deep, we went from paddling in this to basically mud wrestling. then luis and i got a quadbike (HOW romantic... ha) and went across the river on it. again was such a good day.
apart from that we´ve been going out to markets, for dinners etc, i´ve been getting more into the local cuisine etc.. the stomach can just about handle it now! theres a market near by, which looks from the road like a few shops, and then as you go in suddenly becomes a maze of indoor lanes selling clothes, dvds and all sorts of apparent foods side by side. we went there the other night to get a film, and even at 10 at night there are young children, dogs and chickens all wondering around in the lanes for you to squeeze through, then it was a hectic array of sounds, smells, colours etc, but then we tried to go on the sunday and it is a genuine ghost town because obviously sunday being the holy day is taken more seriously here. crazy how much it changed in one day.
so then today... my ´last day´... i had my ticket booked for a 1.30 flight to la paz. i went to the market in the morning with maria and her mother, then came back and had a bbq with marcelos family and maria. then we set off to the airport, marias mother was driving, there were then a further 6 of us in the car, all good, wasnt much of a sweaty journey! got to the airport (10 minutes before my flight was due to take off.. these bolivians are fairly lax like i said!) and as we were approaching i said oohhh i dont want to leave, next thing i know marias mother has changed my ticket for me and i am here until monday. i never even got out of the car at the airport. anyway, i am very happy about this so i think we will maybe go to samipata this weekend where the family have another house in the countryside with marcelito, miguel, maria, luis, sergio and diego.
So heres to another week here! i hope everyone is well and enjoying the build up to christmas!
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