Bridgie

is my name here, haha. "Bridget" is too difficult for Guatemalans to pronounce, which doesn't bother me at all; for awhile, I was introducing myself as "Brigida", but then someone said that was too long and they liked saying "Bridgie" better. So, Bridgie it is. (It was funny because before they said that, my roomate and all of the tios, who are caregivers, in my section had already started calling me Bridgie.) I like it.

Funny story: Yesterday I was working on the computer in my office. All of a sudden, I looked up and saw a HUGE BLACK THING flying around. (My un-screened windows were wide open because it was warm in there.) I ran out of my office into the adjoining library, screaming (in English): “I THINK THERE’S A BAT OR A BUTTERFLY IN MY OFFICE!!” (Of course there was a group of kids watching a movie with their teacher in the library.)

Luckily, my volunteer friends Katie and Jess (Katie is the librarian, Jess is my roommate here) were there and they came to investigate. “Bridget, it’s a butterfly,” they said; but it was the size of a bat, and they at first thought it was a bat too.

When I left my office yesterday, it was still in there; hopefully it flies out sometime over the weekend.

On another note, I’m starting to realize that the work here is not only about my job. Obviously, my job is important – but being with the kids from my section is so rewarding too. They’re always so happy when I come!

I can’t remember if I mentioned that their caregivers are not educated/trained to take care of kids with special needs. (They aren’t.) This is difficult for me to see. (My friend Cassie, the Special Ed coordinator, is trying to get someone to come train the caregivers.) For instance, the first day that I went to my section, I was the only person trying to interact with the kids. (It isn’t always like this, but sometimes it is.)

And on the weekends, they only have 2 caregivers with this section – some high schoolers come to volunteer so that the caregivers have a break. But of course the high schoolers know even less about caring for these kids. So, today when I ate lunch with them, one of the boys needed help eating – and no one was helping him! (He has epilepsy and is in a wheelchair; it’s difficult for him to eat because of decreased mobility in his hands and problems with his mouth.) I was happy to help him, but it is hard to see that his caregivers were not.

But, I still love going to my section. The kids are SO adorable and I love to work with them!

Tomorrow we have something called Kermes (I don’t know why it’s called that). It’s a few hours of games that the volunteers put together for the kids. It should be really fun! The theme is Water because it’s the rainy season (it rains every day here), and I’m in charge of the sponge bucket game with 2 other volunteers. Yay!