Most Unfortunate Visit

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The morning began with me feeling a bit funny in the stomach and having um... how should I put this... bladder issues. For the first time this trip, I had to use pepto-bismols; hopefully it helps. I had a nice cold shower, as apparently they don't have hot water running all the time so we have to ask for it. After me, my housemate went in for his shower, and after he came out, I asked him how was his "nice cold shower". He said it was "refreshing" and then... *WHAM!* his foot went out from under him as he was exiting and he wiped out, one arm hitting against the door of the room to my left slamming it into the wall (because it wasn't fully closed), his other arm scraping on the footstep of the bathroom. Poor girl who was in the room to the side... though she did seem at ease as she was grinning and said something in Spanish (which I didn't understand).

In the aftermath, my housemate took a look at his arm and said something along the lines of, "Oh, it's just a scratch..." Well, it wasn't 'just a scratch'. Later on I see him wearing a big bandaid and that was all, but later on, he had another one and you could pretty much see how bloody it was underneath these bandaids. Ewwww...

He likes to blame me for distracting him. I did no such thing! All I did was gre.... er... ask a question BEFORE he stepped took a step out.

After we met at the HQ, we had a check-in to see how everyone was, had a little discussion on what's coming up (we apparently get two days off this coming week. Sunday and Monday) and then we proceeded to go to an 'orphanage'. Now while they're called orphanages, how many of the kids there are really orphans?

On arrival, there was a line of kids sitting outside on the curb and a few indigenous adults/teens hovering around on their feet (I only know this because they were in indigenous outfits). We crowded into the little office (which apparently is also the classroom) where we proceeded to have a Q & A session. As this was going on, I took a good look around (my classmates sometimes describe me as an observer though mom'd probably argue otherwise. She thinks I'm not observant enough) taking in the details of the room, and the people.

The two guys that were in charge of the orphanage looked, to me, intimidating but at the same time comedic (looked like two strongmen from a circus, moustache and all). One of the two had given one of the observing kids a phone (like a really nice phone) to use to get some footage of us being there as, someone later pointed out, they were probably going to use to promote themselves without our permission. Now I have no idea whether they'd really use it, and if they do, where? One thing's for sure, I don't want to be connected in any way to this place. Just have this bad feeling about this place...

Not only were the two very dodgy when it came to answers (such as saying that we could ask anything when someone just did), but the setting is terrible (small classroom for so many students, they were 'kicked out' for us, and the backyard is quite hazardous ) AND... hanging off the side of the curtain bar was a belt. Yes, a belt. Few of the group noticed it (how convenient for the owners).

After leaving (I wanted to leave from the near beginning. One of my classmates finally brought things to a close ) we headed back to base where we had quite the emotional debrief. A few of my classmates had previous (unpleasant) experiences with orphanages in Mexico (of course in a different location) so they had it hardest having to almost relive those experiences.

One thing that everyone had the most trouble with was that no matter how horrible an organization treats the people they're 'helping', they're still serving a need.

We broke for lunch and since our (my housemate and I) neighbouring classmates' housemom wasn't going to be around, they came over to our place for lunch. Yay!

Sadly only one of the two (K1) came, the other (H) had something to take care of. While K was visiting, I found out by accident from her that we had a convenience store attached to our place. I feel a bit pathetic since it is quite obvious when you look at the place from the front but I was completely ignorant of it.

Some time after lunch we reconvened at the HQ before we headed off to a coffee cooperative where one section is the cafe itself and then there's a small coffee museum in side sections. The only thing I found interesting was that coffee was 'discovered' when a goat ate a coffee bean and got hyper off of it.

As for my final words tonight.... YAY I GET TO GO TO THE MUSEUM TOMORROW! Guess it was a good thing I didn't randomly decided to go in myself a few days ago... otherwise I would have had to pay for it :P Wonder if I'll see a certain someone there again.. Hmm... . . .

~Kedi~

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