I went to Lirio de las Valles early Friday morning and returned late in the afternoon on Saturday. When I came home I was EXHAUSTED and after showering immediately, I collapsed on my bed and slept for 2 hours quite solidly.
The orphanage was a big yellow, blue, and orange building out in the middle of real Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and miles and miles of orange dirt and scraggly, dried-up bushes, it is home to 120 kids from 3-18, 4 dogs, 4 goats, 5 gigantic pigs, and a cat. To my surprise, it was extremely clean, although in the evening (I slept on a bunk bed in a room with 40 of the youngest girls) I thought I'd never be able to get used to how rank it smelled. It seemed all the kids were extremely rough, which is understandable, but all extremely outgoing and loved me the second I stepped foot in the place. It felt a lot like camp to be honest, just a lot less structured, and with the kids doing all the work instead of the "counselors." There are 2 American girls working there for 6 months, Lauren and Mary Ellen. They're 24 and we got along really well. It was really nice to talk to someone my age in English. It was wonderful really. And I'm pretty sure I talked their ears off. During the afternoon on Saturday we spent about an hour trying to rid their closet of cockroaches. Yeah...it was pretty sick, but I had a lot of fun laughing and screaming with them. We got up at 6 on Saturday morning (which was "sleeping in"--normally they get up at 4:15) and I hung out with a lot of kids throughout my weekend there, had a few play with my hair, and after that I was pretty sure I had lice and would never be able to get a brush through my hair again. It was fun, and I fit right in. I was able to communicate with the kids perfectly and it was really encouraging. Right before I left on Saturday, a 15-year old girl randomly told me I have a Mexican accent. What a huge compliment! Seriously...
On Friday night, as I lay in the oldest, tiniest top bunk ever, I prayed real hard. The whole time I was there I felt such a feeling of right-ness. I don't know how to explain it. It's not like I had an amazing time or had tons of fun or anything, but I felt strangely drawn to that place. After a day, my heart was already breaking for those kids. It just felt like I was supposed to be there. And despite how rank it smelled and how many germs cover that place and how I couldn't ever stay clean, and how exhausted I was, I wanted to stay there.
I talked to Greg on the way out to the orphanage and apparently I'm at this awkward point in my semester where they don't really have anything left to teach me...and they don't really know what to do with me for the rest of the semester. As you can tell where this is heading...I'm thinking about going out to serve at the orphanage for the rest of the semester. My biggest goal/reason I wanted to come to Mexico was to serve in an orphanage. And spending my last 5 weeks out there would definitely satisfy that. I'm a little torn because I absolutely ADORE the family I'm with now. But let's face it...I'm real bored and REAL tired of being here at school and doing the same thing day in and day out. I'm more than ready to go home. But I can't for another 6 weeks. So...I'm praying for the orphanage--despite how breaking I know it will be.
My favorite little girl, Karely (half the girls have their heads shaved from a lice outbreak they had):
Their bus:
One of the girls rooms, getting ready in the morning:
Me and Ana, the most helpful, mature 10-year-old ever. Loved her.
Lauren and Jacqueline. The youngest girl, and quite possibly the cutest:
A bunch of the kids outside looking at pictures on Lauren's camera:
Andrea, the second youngest girl, the poster child for I-need-a-home:
Me and Ramon. Super super sweet challenged kid.
Me with a bunch of the kids.
The orphanage:
Hopefully you'll hear about more.
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