The week in review and preview
Another long-ish post on life here
Busy busy week. I'm still getting settled into my apartment, so I've been putzing around the house a bit. Been trying to get things straightened up, because I have friends coming to visit in less than a week, YAY!!!! I can hardly believe it. I am so excited to see them! I really need a stove before they get here though.
Tuesday and Wednesday I got to spend with one of my godsons who lives in Quito but was in town for a visit. He's doing really well, he's got a pretty well-paying job and is putting himself through school, living with his brother. I am always so proud of him, and it was great to just hang out and catch up.
Last Thursday, I was at shelter #3, for the kids who've been in the program the longest. There was a newer kid there (wasn't here the last time that I was), an older adolescent who I'd talked to a bit at the beach. He seemed pretty quiet and kind of melancholy. I was trying to get a chance to talk to him to see what was up, so Thursday afternoon we went for a walk, and out of the blue he starts asking me all about HIV/AIDS. So we had a long talk and he told me he wanted to get tested, and asked me to go with him. We were supposed to meet Sunday to talk more about it, and then on Monday for the testing - and he has disappeared. Didn't show on Sunday, wasn't at the shelter Monday and no one knows where he's gone. That isn't that uncommon for the shelter kids, espedcially newer ones, but I'm worried about him.
Saturday I was at the Patio (shelter #1, crisis intake center). There's this kid who I'll call Leo. He has been on the streets for years and years. I'm sure I've written about him before but I'm writing this offline so I can't find the link. I've known him since he was 9 or 10, and he's now 15. I got pretty close to him while I was here for my Master's research a few years ago. His home situation is just heartbreaking. On the streets he tends to be with the really tough guys, hard drugs and all that, but he still has this sweetness to him. It's hard to explain. A lot of the kids on the street, they're 15 going on 25, they want to be older, bigger, tougher than their age, but this kid is like 15 going on 8. And a very hyperactive 8 at that, he's into everything, bouncing off the walls, has the attention span of...well I'd usually say of a flea on crack, but with the amount of drugs that are usually in his system that's not funny. Still, even when he's clean, he just can't focus on much of anything for more than 5 minutes. Leo lives on the streets, and though he periodically pops into the shelter, he never ever stays. In the past 4 years, he's been in and out a couple of times each year, but never for more than a few days. I've tried just about everything I could think of, short of taking him home with me (and I even seriously considered that option), but nothing seemed to work. A year ago we tried to get him into rehab but no place would take him because he was a minor.
Well, when I got back from the beach, I heard Leo was at the Patio. No big deal -he pops in and out of there a lot. Two days later, I heard he was still at the Patio, and kept asking when I was coming to visit. This Saturday, he'd been there for over a week, and I finally got to see him. We had a good talk, in 3 minute spurts over the course of the day, because - no attention span. He's now been clean for almost 10 days - a minor miracle - and really wants a change. We're still trying to find a rehab clinic that will take him and the $ to pay for it, but just the fact that he has been at the shelter for 10 days without leaving is pretty amazing. I don't want to get my hopes up, but just living in the moment, it is great to see him being ok, in a safe place, and off of the drugs, even if it's just for now.
Sunday was not what I expected, I was supposed to meet with 4 different kids and none of them showed up, so I ended up taking another kid to the doctor and then coming home for a nap. A good friend was dealing with some tough stuff, so I was up very late Sunday night. Very glad that I could be here.
Monday I spent most of the day at shelter #3. Mostly I was just playing around with the kids, nothing too exciting. My smart but moody godson is making my life rather difficult right now, he's once again decided to stop speaking to me without letting me know why, and he's so obvious about it that all the other kids pick up on it. I love that boy to death but he's probably the most challenging of my 7. He's had a lot of loss and lack of stable relationships in his life, and his primary coping mechanism when things are unpleasant is to shut down and shut people out. Plus, he's a 16 year old boy doing some of the normal teenage rebellion stuff. I just can never tell when to give him his space and try not to be intrusive, and when he really needs to know that I am not giving up on him, no matter what crap he pulls. So, that situation is a bit emotionally exhausting, but I'm just trying to keep my perspective and not let it drive me nuts.
Today's a work day, it looks like with one last minor tweak the IRB is finally going to give me the go ahead. Strike up the Hallelujah chorus. So I'm staying in to work on the final tweaks and get caught up on writing. If all goes well, I should be able to start my interviews next week. Tonight is a meeting with former project kids, all now married with children, we work on job stuff, life skills, parenting, all that good stuff.
Upcoming events: tomorrow I'm meeting with former project kids and working at the shelter, tomorrow night two of my friends get back to Ecuador after a trip to Argentina, Thursday morning I get to see a good friend who just got back from a year in the rainforest, Thursday night is my night with the lovely CARLOS VIVES, Friday is a birthday celebration and on Sunday there's a visit from Illinois!
Busy busy week. I'm still getting settled into my apartment, so I've been putzing around the house a bit. Been trying to get things straightened up, because I have friends coming to visit in less than a week, YAY!!!! I can hardly believe it. I am so excited to see them! I really need a stove before they get here though.
Tuesday and Wednesday I got to spend with one of my godsons who lives in Quito but was in town for a visit. He's doing really well, he's got a pretty well-paying job and is putting himself through school, living with his brother. I am always so proud of him, and it was great to just hang out and catch up.
Last Thursday, I was at shelter #3, for the kids who've been in the program the longest. There was a newer kid there (wasn't here the last time that I was), an older adolescent who I'd talked to a bit at the beach. He seemed pretty quiet and kind of melancholy. I was trying to get a chance to talk to him to see what was up, so Thursday afternoon we went for a walk, and out of the blue he starts asking me all about HIV/AIDS. So we had a long talk and he told me he wanted to get tested, and asked me to go with him. We were supposed to meet Sunday to talk more about it, and then on Monday for the testing - and he has disappeared. Didn't show on Sunday, wasn't at the shelter Monday and no one knows where he's gone. That isn't that uncommon for the shelter kids, espedcially newer ones, but I'm worried about him.
Saturday I was at the Patio (shelter #1, crisis intake center). There's this kid who I'll call Leo. He has been on the streets for years and years. I'm sure I've written about him before but I'm writing this offline so I can't find the link. I've known him since he was 9 or 10, and he's now 15. I got pretty close to him while I was here for my Master's research a few years ago. His home situation is just heartbreaking. On the streets he tends to be with the really tough guys, hard drugs and all that, but he still has this sweetness to him. It's hard to explain. A lot of the kids on the street, they're 15 going on 25, they want to be older, bigger, tougher than their age, but this kid is like 15 going on 8. And a very hyperactive 8 at that, he's into everything, bouncing off the walls, has the attention span of...well I'd usually say of a flea on crack, but with the amount of drugs that are usually in his system that's not funny. Still, even when he's clean, he just can't focus on much of anything for more than 5 minutes. Leo lives on the streets, and though he periodically pops into the shelter, he never ever stays. In the past 4 years, he's been in and out a couple of times each year, but never for more than a few days. I've tried just about everything I could think of, short of taking him home with me (and I even seriously considered that option), but nothing seemed to work. A year ago we tried to get him into rehab but no place would take him because he was a minor.
Well, when I got back from the beach, I heard Leo was at the Patio. No big deal -he pops in and out of there a lot. Two days later, I heard he was still at the Patio, and kept asking when I was coming to visit. This Saturday, he'd been there for over a week, and I finally got to see him. We had a good talk, in 3 minute spurts over the course of the day, because - no attention span. He's now been clean for almost 10 days - a minor miracle - and really wants a change. We're still trying to find a rehab clinic that will take him and the $ to pay for it, but just the fact that he has been at the shelter for 10 days without leaving is pretty amazing. I don't want to get my hopes up, but just living in the moment, it is great to see him being ok, in a safe place, and off of the drugs, even if it's just for now.
Sunday was not what I expected, I was supposed to meet with 4 different kids and none of them showed up, so I ended up taking another kid to the doctor and then coming home for a nap. A good friend was dealing with some tough stuff, so I was up very late Sunday night. Very glad that I could be here.
Monday I spent most of the day at shelter #3. Mostly I was just playing around with the kids, nothing too exciting. My smart but moody godson is making my life rather difficult right now, he's once again decided to stop speaking to me without letting me know why, and he's so obvious about it that all the other kids pick up on it. I love that boy to death but he's probably the most challenging of my 7. He's had a lot of loss and lack of stable relationships in his life, and his primary coping mechanism when things are unpleasant is to shut down and shut people out. Plus, he's a 16 year old boy doing some of the normal teenage rebellion stuff. I just can never tell when to give him his space and try not to be intrusive, and when he really needs to know that I am not giving up on him, no matter what crap he pulls. So, that situation is a bit emotionally exhausting, but I'm just trying to keep my perspective and not let it drive me nuts.
Today's a work day, it looks like with one last minor tweak the IRB is finally going to give me the go ahead. Strike up the Hallelujah chorus. So I'm staying in to work on the final tweaks and get caught up on writing. If all goes well, I should be able to start my interviews next week. Tonight is a meeting with former project kids, all now married with children, we work on job stuff, life skills, parenting, all that good stuff.
Upcoming events: tomorrow I'm meeting with former project kids and working at the shelter, tomorrow night two of my friends get back to Ecuador after a trip to Argentina, Thursday morning I get to see a good friend who just got back from a year in the rainforest, Thursday night is my night with the lovely CARLOS VIVES, Friday is a birthday celebration and on Sunday there's a visit from Illinois!