Busy!

Hey everyone! These few days have been pretty busy and intense, and I honestly barely have time to write right now so I'm just going to quickly describe the orphanage I've been at the last two days.

The name of the orphanage is Hogar Madre Ana Vitiello, and it is in a small village 45 minutes by bus from Antigua.  There are around 50 kids in the orphanage ranging from a few months old to a little older than 12.  The orphange itself is a small complex surrounded by high walls; and it is fairly new so all of the buildings are bright and colorful.  There are dormitorios where the kids sleep, and separate rooms for the nuns who run the orphanage.  There is a small cafeteria, a kitchen, a classroom/school which kids from the village also can attend, and a playground.  There is also a small church where the kids have Mass every day at 6, right when they wake up.  The one thing that makes this orphanage different than the others in the area is that all of the kids here are HIV positive. This isn't a problem for us, as long as the kids aren't bleeding anywhere or anything and just in case we carry gloves with us.  The one advantage of this orphanage is that because all of the children are HIV positive, they get a decent amount of international support.  There are a bunch of flags hanging in the main office  representing the different countries.

It's funny because although I don't speak Spanish, it was obvious right away that regardless of the language they speak the kids are exactly like all of the kids I've ever babysat or worked with in the US.  The younger kids enjoy running around, incoherently yelling, and occasionally hitting each other with toys.  The older kids ride bikes, play with old toys, and run around the complex playing games.  I mostly hang out with the younger kids, the 2, 3 and 4 year olds. They're crazy! It's especially funny because one second they'll be talking rapidly in Spanish, and then turn to gibberish.  They're all adorable. Usually they'll run right over and grab my hand, or try to get me to pick them up.  Playing with the kids at the orphanage is essentially allowing myself to be turned into a jungle gym.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to begin to describe all of the kids that I've met or any of the funny stories right now, but TOMORROW I'm going to try to write a decent amount. Anyone reading, I highly suggest an experience like this, it's been eye opening.

Have to go though, going to hike Pakaya, an active volcano 45 minutes from Antigua :) Adiós!