This week was the beginning of working at our internship sites. As for me, my normal internship would not begin until Wednesday afternoon, so on Monday and Tuesday I would start the week at the San Rafael Hospital. In the morning, I would be down in the old hospital helping other volunteers sort out clothes that everyone around the city donates. Now this is when others would wonder, why would you even do this if it isn’t your actual internship? For me, it’s never easy to see people or families who are homeless or can’t afford clothes anymore. So, finding good clothes, such as ones without stains or rips, is a good feeling because you realize one thing, you’re helping a person in need. I’ve grown up to be a gentleman and help others first before myself because it’s simply the right thing to do and you feel good afterwards. Sorting clothes out is never fun for many, but it’s the difference you make in the end that matters most.
By about noon or so, I can get a little downtime before the next area I head to: the soup kitchen. As most know, a soup kitchen is a place where volunteers come together and serve the registered homeless a nice meal. At the soup kitchen, it was Meg, Cassie, and I helping with serving the food. We put on our best smiles for them so they would feel welcomed and happy to have this nice meal. Many times, both days, you hear them say thank you, in Spanish of course, and potentially even a smile back from them. That’s when you know just volunteering to be there and serve the food is making an impact. I know on Tuesday, many were beginning to leave and we got goodbyes and waves from them acknowledging the fact we were there to help them.
Now it’s the first days at my normal internship which is at the La Paz. Here we work with a man named Miguelo who runs an afternoon program where kids from around the neighborhood will come together and go exercise and play soccer for about 2 hours Wednesday thru Friday. When going to meet Miguelo and the kids, Meg and I go through a neighborhood that isn’t easy to see. You can tell it’s a rough neighborhood for these kids and that’s why Miguelo made this program so they could get away and just have fun playing soccer. I believe it’s great of Miguelo to do this program for the community because he wants to teach the kids the right values to have through exercising and sports. On the first day, Meg and I believe he told us to watch and see what he does, but we decided to participate with him and the kids instead. I will say it was a tough workout indeed from jogging around the gym, doing sit-ups, or jumping up and down on sideline before he says go and sprint to other side.
As for the places we visited, both the Cartuja Monastery of Granada and Los Cahorros were amazing places to see. With the Cartuja Monastery, there wasn’t a single part of it you could miss with all the detailed architecture they built and the detailed paintings on the walls or above on the ceiling. For me, I don’t see many buildings and architecture like the Cartuja or others from week 1, so it amazes me. When it came to Los Cahorros and hiking into the Sierra Nevada, that was a true hiking experience. Where I’m originally from, it’s a city so there isn’t many places for hiking except one which is hiking in the woods. When it came to hiking the Sierra Nevada, you go up and down hills or stairs, across hanging bridges, over and under tree branches, across narrow paths, and much more. As for the highlight of hiking there, it was finding a waterfall and going under to cool down, more like freeze for some, and enjoy the experience.
