Finally Here!

I’ve arrived and made it through my first day at the orphanage! I got in last night around midnight. My flights were really nice... on the long one to Bolivia I had a whole row to myself and slept a lot. When I got through customs in the Bolivian airport, waiting for me were Madre Rosario and two other volunteers who Jenna and I will be replacing, named Beth and Erica. I was so glad to see them, but then when I walked a little further I heard someone scream “LIZ!!!” and there were Carmen and Jenna hiding behind a door. They picked me up and hugged me, which was quite a wonderful welcome. I was soooo happy to have arrived. Everyone was so incredibly nice and welcoming!   When I got to the Hogar (the orphanage), all the girls were asleep, but Madre Fatima was in the kitchen making tons of food for me, french fries, fried eggs, and more. It was so sweet that she stayed up so late because she wanted to welcome me with a meal! There were signs saying “Bienvenidos Liz” and a bowl of treats. I just couldn’t believe how happy everyone seemed that I was there! I really must have needed a welcome like that, and I definitely was not expecting it!  My room (shared with Carmen) is separated from the young girls (6-10) by a thin wall and a curtained window. I didn’t get to bed till 2:30 and then I woke up at 5:45 (when the girls get up) and drew back the curtains to take a peak at them. Some of then saw me and waved. I got so excited to meet them later, but decided to sleep a bit more. When I finally got up at 10 I started meeting girls here and there. They are all so, so sweet. It will be hard to learn their names, but it shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks. It’s hard not being able to talk freely with them, but we could communicate simply and play games and even joke around. The girls are so cute when I walk around the Hogar because they’ll shout “Liz” when they see me. It’s just their way of greeting me or acknowledging me, but they don’t expect to talk to me. It’s nice to hear my name even if I can’t talk with them too much yet. The girls were mainly about 6 to 16 years that I met today. I haven’t gotten to play with the little ones yet!   

Carmen and Jenna then took me into the city for most of the day to do some shopping and take care of some business. It was an exhausting day! The city is so dirty and a lot of it poor, and everything is so cheap. We ate at a pretty nice restaurant and paid the equivalent of 5 dollars each. When we got back tonight, we went to mass down the street with the older girls. One 11-year-old, Sandra, held my hand all the way and we talked about how old we are when our birthdays are (haha, mainly because I knew the vocab for that conversation).   I had a nice dinner with Jenna, Carmen, Erica, and Beth in our kitchen, and now at 9:45 I’m about ready to pass out. I think I’ll call it a night. I really, really love it here and I can’t wait to learn more about everyone and everything!