Hermanitas de los Pobres

Today was my first day at my volunteer job. I chose to work at an elderly residence called Hermanitas de los Pobres (it is run by nuns). So far it's not exactly what it was advertised as--which was going on walks with old people and doing arts and crafts with them--but that's okay. Hopefully there will be some arts and crafts in my future there, because I love arts and crafts so, so much, but if there aren't, I'll live. I mean, the promise of arts and crafts was definitely really appealing to me when I chose where I would volunteer, but it wasn't what sealed the deal. The real reason I liked the idea of Hermanitas so much was I thought it would be a great place to develop meaningful friendships--because a lot of the elderly are eager for these--and practice my Spanish. I was a little depressed by the mental capacity of some of the people I met today. I know that when you get older, you lose your memory and some people get Alzheimer's, but I wasn't prepared for what I saw today. I watched a 91-year-old woman named Carmen try to identify the first four letters of the alphabet and distinguish between the colors red, orange, yellow and green. It's scary thinking about that happening to my parents, people my age, me. My mind, my capacity for thought--even about stupid things like television and which cookies to buy--mean so much to me. I had the most fun I've ever had working on my high school newspaper because it was fast-paced, it required thinking things through from start to finish, and it required the ability to articulate one's thoughts. I don't ever want to lose those abilities. I don't want anybody to ever have to lose those abilities.

Well, I feel I must end my musings on a happier note, so here are two lists.

Funny things that have happened recently:

1. Jorge, the 3-year-old in my host family, has taken to calling me "culo gordito" (fat ass) and "fea" (ugly). "Buenas noches, fea!" Ouch.

2. I saw a little boy (not that little though. Probably like four or five years old) peeing in the street while his mother encouraged him. I was surprised by this because Sevilla is very clean and not in the third world.

Things I have learned from Juande:

Juande, my Communication teacher (the aforementioned Mercedes teaches Grammar) is a very colorful character. Highlights from his classes include

1. The time when he announced definitively that monogamy is unnatural. I tried to prove him wrong with the examples of lobsters and penguins (which I learned mate for life through "Friends" and Never Been Kissed, respectively), and he said, "no somos ni langostas ni penguinos," meaning, "when you grow up, you either won't get married or your husband will cheat on you." Sweet, Juande.

2. The time he tried to explain "playing doctor" to the class and we weren't sure if he was talking about little kids taking each others' temperatures with Fisher Price equipment or slightly older kids doing slightly naughtier things.

3. The time he told us to be careful where we announce how much we like churros because apparently the name of this delicious dessert is a euphemism for penis.

4. The time he kicked me out of class because I said Lady GaGa was the next Madonna.

I love Juande.