The Blind Leading the Blind

Well, here is my first installment of my Costa Rica experiences.  It's been a whirlwind so far but all is going quite well.  In the last two days, I have had an orientation, a tour of the town, a stretch class, a dance class, a cooking class, a private session learning a Costa Rican song on the guitar, and began my volunteer work.  All in all, they are keeping us very busy.  

The accomodations here are comfortable overall.  I did end up on a top bunk, however, which I was hoping to avoid.  I have two roommates in a room that is about 8' x 12'.  The overall house is nice though, with a beautiful view from the patio. I'll try to post some pics on Face Book soon.  

My volunteer placement, while not an assignment working with children as I had expected, was great today.  I am placed at a Nursing Home for the elderly which is run by the St. Vicientina Nuns.  The men and woman living there all have varying degrees of cognitive and physical ability.  They were very responsive to having people come in to help them.  Our focus is on leading them in exercises and games and then spending one on one time walking them in the garden and talking with them.  

One particular female resident was quite smitten with me.  She kept calling me over to help her with her exercises and would smile the biggest smile whenever she would catch my eye.  She is in late stages of dementia.  The staff told me that they were surprised to see her so happy because she is usually very cranky.  I felt very lucky to make the connection.  

The highlight of the day was when Sister Maria asked to take Cecelio for a walk.  He was using a cane so I took his arm to help stablize him.   As we walked, he kept pushing us more and more toward the wall.  I tried to guide him a little by pushing against his arm but he was persistent and I didn't want to be rude.  Finally, he pushed me so far over that I couldn't fit between him and the rail we were walking next to.  He kept walking and headed straight for a tree.  I decided that I had to take an action so I grabbed hold of him and steered him away from the tree while I held up the branches to keep them from scratching his head.  Moments later, we passed by Sister Maria who casually told me "El es ciego"  (He is blind).  Needless to say, I stopped worrying about being polite and guided him much more assertively, happily, with no further incident.  

Pura Vida!