Monday was the first day of internship. It felt so great to be back working in the hospital. I was fortunate enough to be placed in the same classroom as last year. I made sure to keep an open mind going into the week as I knew the children wouldn’t remember me. I spent most of the first day observing, but I was so overjoyed by what I saw. Everyone of the students had made great progress in the last year. The child I worked most with last year appeared to have learned how to better tame his anger. He used to continuously scream and hit himself. Monday, he presented as much more calm. He still hit himself but not as often or as violently. He has also gained some strength in his leg muscles. He is able to stand with help, whereas before he never left his wheelchair unless he was in someone else’s arms. Another child was unable to hold her head up for more than five minutes. It was clear today that she has gained so much muscle strength. She was very alert and aware while I was engaging with her. She didn’t try to put her head down to rest her muscles. It was empowering to see how much a disabled child’s life can improve in a year with help from trained individuals.
Tuesday was a very relaxed day. I fed a child and then took all my students outside to get some sun and fresh air. A couple volunteers I had meet last year were there helping. It felt great because all of them remembered me from last year. It was awesome to see how many of the volunteers stay consistent and are always there to help. There were also students from Troy University in Alabama visiting the school. They were all studying bio-chemistry and touring different hospitals and pharmacies around Spain. It was a group of about twenty students in total. They only stayed for the day. It was interesting because my Spanish is absolutely terrible and the teachers at the school asked me to translate what they were saying to a couple of the university students. Of course, it didn’t really end well. It was fun to talk to the other about how different everything here operates than the United States.
Wednesday at internship was not what I was expecting it to be at all. I had fed one of the little boys his apple sauce for the breakfast as normal. After I had finished I noticed a volunteer setting up musical instruments in the classroom next door. I asked about it since I remembered her from last year. Next thing I knew Aly and I were laying down in a dark classroom having music played to us while we relaxed. They made all the children in the class comfortable in beds, gave them blankets, and comforted them with pillows. We thought we were only going to be observing, but the teacher did the same for us two students as well. She had us close our eyes and then walked around with a towel that had orange scented natural oils on it. She held it in the air above each individual just long enough for the sent to linger for a minute. The volunteer then began playing chimes. They also used a large copper bowl, called a Tibetan singing bowl, that you hit. It echoed sounds from inside and it created a soothing sound. Before I knew it, Aly and I were both sound asleep along with the other students in the classroom. It was really fun to experience it the way the children do. It was so calming, especially for the children that normally can’t handle themselves.
Thursday was routine and smooth going until lunch time. We worked with two of the boys in the classroom on strengthening their leg muscles. I also played a little bit of soccer with the oldest boy. It was fun and easy. When lunch came around I felt very stressed out. The girl I was feeding refused to eat. I tried holding her head still so I could encourage her to open her mouth, but she refused. I spent a good twenty minutes trying to feed her and she only took maybe two bites of food. The nurse eventually had to come over and force feed her the meal. It was rough but I was thankful to trade places with the nurse.
Friday was the most fun I had this week despite having to get up extra early. We took a group trip, including Father Ildefonso, to Los Cahorros to hike some of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. I went last year, but this year we went even further into the mountains. There were a couple beautiful waterfalls. The currents from them were so strong that Mike’s water bottle fell into the river to never be found again. Last year we were able to wade into the pool of water at the bottom of the falls. This year, the current and sheer force of the water falls would have injured us if we even tried. It was really beautiful the higher and higher we hiked into the mountains. It also got a little more terrifying because the path was so narrow it was almost impossible to pass any other hikers. One wrong move of your footing and you would be plummeting down a cliff. The view of the mountain range was more than worth the risk.
This week was full of adventures. It felt so great to be back at internship and fall back into the routine of Spanish life. I forgot how much I missed the multitude of meals a day, staying up until midnight, and waking up after the sun. I can’t wait to see what is in store for next week with Corpus Christi starting on Sunday.
