Hero Holiday

Today we headed out in the bus to go to the Conani Orphanage in Santiago. It is always interesting to see how people will react when they first visit the orphanage. A lot of people are really uncomfortable with it and are scared of picking up the children or playing with them, as they are often very tiny and look fragile. I was really impressed with my team today and they did an awesome job loving on the kids. I went to check on Josecito when I got there, the teenager who was crying last time I visited, and was glad to see him hanging upside down in his crib with a huge smile on his face.
As always, little miss Hakova was a huge hit. She is the 1-year old with Downs Syndrome and is the first child in the orphanage that will be sent to school and educated, which is very exciting. She is a little girl with a HUGE personality and definitely keeps us entertained! Feeding them lunch was a challenge, as it often is. Most of the kids have a plateful of chicken, rice, beans, and sometimes some pasta. Those who are younger or those who are sick have some kind of mushed up more liquid type of food. Many of the kids have very few muscles in their necks and can’t hold themselves up, so it takes the perfect balancing position and a lot of luck to get them to finish their plate. Alex was feeding little Ricardo, whose legs are smaller than my wrists. He was sad all morning and we kept wondering what was wrong, but he brightened up right after Alex fed him, so I guess he was just hungry. I had a little boy who was able to walk and talk and move himself around (which many of them can’t), but he was one stubborn little thing and didn’t like the lunch, so refused to open his mouth! The nurse came over and showed me how I had to hold his head still with one hand and shove a ginormous spoonful in with the other to make him eat. I don’t know how they do it!
We just got back an hour ago (3:30) and my roommates and I are hosting a grilled cheese party in our room for dinner as we are all more than a little hungry from our day! Then we will go to debriefing; last night’s debriefing was pretty exciting with the sightings of a crab and a ginormous (and scary) rat. Last night was the pool party (our team didn’t win- boo) and tonight is the Latin Dance party where the translators and hotel workers teach us some dance moves! Tomorrow we are heading to Arroyo Seco- I can’t wait to see Fran- my little girl there again

Nikki- Student Leader

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