6.17

San Vincente
This morning, we wake up and head to work, as usual. Tuesday's activity is arts & crafts, but it doesn't start until 9, so we have half an hour to kill. Emily and I head to Florencia's room to say good morning, but something is wrong. Her door is closed. I knock, and open it. She is still in bed, but awake. I go over to her and she's crying and shivering. I wrap my arms around the small woman as she cries into my hair, telling me she's so cold and her head hurts so bad that she can't get out of bed. She keeps saying she doesn't want to die. My heart is breaking. I run to get the doctor, who promises he will be in, in a moment. Emily and I sit with Florencia and talk to her, holding her hands. She starts asking me questions that she knows the answer to - something that really worries me, because she's usually so sharp. I try to convince her to drink some water, but she says she can't or she will throw up. She says she hasn't been eating either. The doctor eventually comes in to take her blood pressure. He spends only two minutes with her before giving her a pain pill for her head, and promising her more later. She drinks some water with the pill, so that's good. At this point, I'm somewhat outraged. Here is this poor, frail woman who is in so much pain that she can't get into her wheelchair and out into the hallway to call for help. Nobody even bothered to check on her, until Emily and I arrived. I tell the doctor that she isn't acting like herself and is forgetting things, but he blows me off and basically tells me "she's old." I convince Florencia to try to sleep and promise I will be back to check on her later. It's all I can do not to cry.

We leave her and go to help with the activity, both moods soured for the day. Two hours pass, and I go to check on her. She's already up in her wheelchair and chatting with a friend. She says her head still hurts a little, but no more than yesterday. I make her promise to eat something during lunch. I'm glad that the pills helped, but I am still worried about her. It's time to go.

Afternoon
Today, our activity is a history lesson about Guatemala. We watch a movie that chronicles the civil war, detailing some pretty gory avenues the soldiers took when killing off the Mayan people. The movie calls it "genocide," but I have heard from others here that it was not genocide, because the villagers were not being targeted for being Mayan, only for being potential or assumed allies of the geurillas. It's an interesting film, but I am miles away, today, and very exhausted. After the activity is over, we all decide to go see a movie in Zona 14 - I am not the only one feeling glum today. We split off into different groups, and I see Maleficent (or as it's called here, Malifica) with Hallie, Emily, Shatianna, Tyler, and Stephen. Stephen and Tyler are a father-son pair from Austin, TX. Shati lived in Dallas for the past year, and Emily is also from Austin. I feel at home with their accents, and the movie cheers me up. After we all return to the Home Base, the evening is spent reflecting on our volunteer positions and how we each are feeling. It's nice to have a support system.