Day 4

I can't believe it's Wednesday already! This week has gone by so fast. We have made a lot of progress and done some amazing things.

This morning I went on three home visits with Aleyda, our translator, Carmen Margherita, the physical therapist who leads the home visits in the morning, and Tyra, my friend and teammate. The first house we visited was home to a little boy named Earling. He was a month and a half old, and he lived with his sister (who was two years old), his mother, and one other person. Earling has one leg that was much shorter than the other. Because he has a disability, his father made Earling, his mother, and his sister leave their house and live somewhere farther away and much smaller. However, Earling was adorable and well cared for by his family, and I'll get to see him soon because his mother said that he's going to Escuela Especial on Friday!

The second family we visited is temporarily living in a house that they take care of for another family. Eight people live with them, including the precious little Rosita, who is the child we were there to see. Rosita is a three-year-old with cerebral paralysis, and since she is sick today, Carmen didn't do physical therapy with her. Instead, we asked questions and found out that she's had a fever for the past three or four days, and she had several missing teeth and wasn't eating. Later in the day, we told Lisa Marie about this, and hopefully we'll be able to get Rosita to a doctor soon.

Our final journey was to see a boy named Jose Manuel. He is currently two years old, and was born with his arms connected to his torso and his legs stuck together, without elbow joints. He had surgery, and now his limbs are separated. Carmen did exercises with him that helped him strengthen his arms. She had him use both of his hands to play on a toy piano (he was really excited about that), and throw a pencil across the room. My favorite part about this visit was when Tyra and I left and he called "Bye, honey!" after us in Spanish (which Aleyda translated, and then laughed at).

These home visits were really enlightening. Just like in Cambodia, the living conditions were much worse than any of us are accustomed to. I am so fortunate to be living in a two-story house with enough rooms and a loving family. Today I experienced the cruelty of some people, like Earling's father, and the kindness of those like Rosita's brother, who was holding her lovingly during our entire visit. As the day went on, I was more and more appreciative of my own family and the things they do for me.

In the later part of the morning, I worked with Zulema, who is very talkative, but doesn't say words that you can understand. At first, we worked on writing, and I held her hand and helped her practice writing the letters of the alphabet. Then, since Ava helped her say "boca" yesterday, I tried holding up flashcards and pronouncing each word with her. Though she didn't say any of the words I wanted her to, it made my day when I held up the card for "eyes" and she rubbed her own eyes and then clapped, knowing she'd gotten it right.

Each day here is different from the last. I learn something new from a student every time I work with them, and it is so great to feel like I'm giving them something by teaching them. I have seen how great these students are, and I look forward to doing more tomorrow!