Yesterday was incredible! If you read my other post [probably not...], then you know that we visited a hospital in the countryside! It used to be a hospital for people who have leprosy, but now it's a hospital that has a lot of clinics in rural areas and also house people that need long term care, palliative and hospice care.
-Woke up entirely too early
-tour
-my goof.
-incredible food!!!!
-play soccer with Argentine kids
-play more games
-go home
Our day started at 7:30 AM. As in, on a Saturday.... of my own free will... I had to wake up at 6:30AM and get ready. Oh my goodness. I was a zombie, hahaha. I really was not a happy camper. Blegh.
But I am SOOO incredibly happy I went to the hospital... It reminded me of working at the Reddix Center in SA. Everyone was so caring and happy! More on that later.
We got there and they gave us a nice overview of what the hospital's history and what they do there now [two very different aspects, haha], then they gave us a tour!
Side note: alright, so I get to the place, and I had eaten breakfast from burger king, so I had a bag of trash.... I ask the first person I see if they could point to the trashcan for me. Instead of pointing, he just said that he wouldn't mind disposing my garbage for me. I was so embarrassed already, because they were sooo hospitable! They gave us more breakfast and everything, and he was going to take my trash!? haha
So after the workers begin talking, I realize that I didn't hand my trash to just anyone... I handed it to the person who oversees the ENTIRE hospital. Oh. My. Gosh. I was so darn embarrassed! I mean, it was beyond amazing that he was that humble about his position, but still! That's incredible!
When I talked to my friend/someone who works for ECELA, she pointed out that a situation like this would never happen in the U.S., and I have to agree. As much as I enjoy the U.S., someone with a job as high up as his wouldn't even have the time of day to speak to us.
Also, the lady who spoke to us before [who is in charge of 5 different hospitals] also came with us. I felt incredibly honored that they would spend their Saturday with us. How amazing is that?!
After touring and seeing their really awesome hospital [alright, it's in the middle of nowhere and is very modern, with surgery rooms and monitors... everything! they've basically made their own community, with schools for children, therapy centers for patients... and everything is absoloutely free and patient based. How incredible.] we were treated to lunch.
So I was fully ready to just eat peanut butter and jellies for my lunch, but they brought the most wonderful food for us! There was cheese and meats, bruchetta, red wine, white wine, traditional northern Argentine soup, champagne and dessert! Everything was so wonderful! They actually made separate side dishes for vegetarians. It was so accommodating, I have no idea how they did it. Seriously, they made us feel like royalty. I hope we lived up to their expectation, especially considering how wonderful they treated us. :)
After they wined and dined us [for real. If you had a glass of wine, they wouldn't wait until you were finished to refill you, hahaha. I normally don't care for wine, but this was delish!] we were ready to tour the school. The children of the patients go to school together just a few feet away from all the hospital part.
As expected, I really liked the school! They teach them very practical and interesting skills like how to host a radio show, build houses, and promote values through futbol callejero and other sports.
Futbol Callejero is basically street soccer. The hospital made their own version of the game, where there are a lot less rules and you play short games that end with both teams discussing what went on during the game and how they felt about it. I really think this is a great teaching strategy for these kids. Not only can the kids let our their frustrations in a positive way, but it promotes exercise and being open about feelings. I was so happy to think about all the different strategies they are employing to help these kids be as positive as possible during a very stressful time in their lives. I wish I could come back and volunteer with them. That would be rad.
These kids were beasts at futbol! I mean, it's kind of a given, but wowwwww. They could headbutt, balance the ball on their faces and overall amazing motor skills. I was blown away. I hope our youth look that skilled while they play little league sports. These kids would have pulverized us in a game if it was just us vs. them!
Luckily, it was not! :D
We were split pretty evenly with the kids, thank goodness. The only downside was that we didn't really know who was on our team and stuff, haha. There was a bit of confusion, but overall it was a really good game! :DDD
Futbol was good, but there were more games to be played!!!!
We went over to a place called Pena La Alegria. This is basically where the patients go to work on fine motor skills in a creative way. They paint, draw, do origami and a lot of other fun things [like dancing!]. This place was a ton of fun! We danced with the doctors and patients, played a bunch of games that involve tossing things? I don't know what theyre called, but it was a blast!
Eventually it was time to calm down and have refreshments and reflect on the day. They served us a lot of hot chocolate and pastries and asked us how we liked their facility. I know it was super cheesy, [I even admitted it as I said it], but I said that you could really tell how hard they've worked to build a program like theirs that fosters a sense of community and has a lot of love. I really liked that about it, because it didn't feel like a hospital. Everyone seemed to know each other and genuinely care about one another. It was a beautiful thing to see. :)
It honestly reminded me of working at the Reddix Center, because it was easy to tell that the staff truly enjoyed their work and the residents enjoy living there as well. I would definitely go back if my allergies would chill out.
Side note: I thought I didn't have any allergies in the woods, so I was incredibly happy!!! Turns out I really did, but I didn't feel them until after a few hours. Then my throat/eyes/nose started hurting, and I haven't felt well ever since.... at least it didn't affect me while I was there. That would have been a bummer, hahaha.
I hope I'll get over it soon though, because I have things to do and places to see! :D :)
That was essentially my day yesterday.
It was, hands down, the best day of my trip thus far. I cannot believe how much fun I had! I felt like I smiled the entire day. What a great experience. :)
I hope I accurately described everything and how much I enjoyed it. :D
Peace out!
<33Regina
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