El Asilo

I have been wanting to do some volunteer work on this trip, but do to illness it was postponed. My new school director thought working in a home for older people (an asilo) would be a better fit for me than an orphanage. She said the orphanages were all about an hour trek out of town and the asilo was a fifteen minute walk from my house. I have been going for a couple of weeks and is had been a good experience. It is run by the nuns and is mostly for people who have no family here or no family at all. The Asilo is celebrating their 100 year anniversary on Wednesday so they have been doing this for a long time.

I work with the women who are sick and cannot do much for themselves. The nun that runs it is so nice and I think she might be a nurse. I need to ask the next time I am there. There are twenty or so women and not much help. Half are in wheel chairs and a lot suffer from dementia. It is hard for me to tell who does not want to talk, who cannot talk, or comprehend. They are all so sweet. Well actually, not all but being pinched and swatted at I think is just part of the gig. I help feed them and then help put them to bed. A few of them really like to talk to me so I hear the same stories over and over and they ask the same questions. Very good for my spanish. The nun in charge is really friendly and young. There are a couple of nurses that are there off and on. They are nice to me and my slow spanish. One of the volunteers is a young university student who is learning English and I sometimes help her with her homework. It is nice to feel somewhat helpful and I enjoy the interactions. I am glad God brought this into my life.