Orientation, Week 1

The first half of orientation at NPHG is done-zo! Considering we have people from Spain, Germany, Austria, Holland, and the United States, it’s been quite an international melting pot. Orientation kicked off Sunday night with a delicious dinner with the old volunteers at a restaurant in nearby Parramos- I had the best carne asada of my life. After that, we were in high gear for the rest of the week, which was full of presentations, discussions, and visits. We met tons and tons of the staff. There is absolutely no way I’m going to remember all their names or what they do, but it was a good introduction. All I can say is that there are A LOT of people doing a million different things to keep this place running and make it so special.

So far, some highlights from orientation include:

• Hearing testimonials from some of the older pequeños about how important the volunteers are
• Finding out the national director of the home is a ND grad (YES!)
• Having the Montessori preschoolers sing songs to us and sound out our names that we wrote on the board- SO CUTE
• FINALLY seeing the inside of the clinic and meeting some of my coworkers
• Getting to love on a puppy named Jessie taken in from the streets
• Oh, and of course I can’t forget receiving this pretty flower from a little girl when we toured the school!

Thank you, sweet little girl! <3 Also, check out my awesome "pulcera" (bracelet) from Antigua!

Right now, it feels like a big limbo. We’ve only been allowed to shadow our jobs, we’re living in temporary housing until the old volunteers leave, and we really aren’t interacting with the kids yet. That will all change soon though! By the end of next week, I’ll know what section of kids I’ll have, where and with whom I’ll be living, and I’ll officially be starting my job the next Monday. I cannot wait to really begin with EVERYTHING here at NPHG once orientation ends. One week of orientation down, one more to go. BRING. IT ON.