Today, ten of us took the day off of work and instead went with one of the projects abroad supervisors to work the day at a mental hospital. We brought peaches, bananas, wafer cookies, and cigarettes for the 150 people who live there. And without sounding corny, today was probably one of the most meaningful days I've had here.
First off, let me explain the institution since I wasn't allowed to take photos. 150 people live there, between the ages of 18 and 80. Some are bed ridden, some are not. A doctor comes twice a week. There are 2 nurses and 3 caretakers. They live 8 to 10 in a room. Some rooms have very few windows. The bathrooms are flooded. Since there is so little staff, the tenents are kept heavily sedated so that they are not violent. Family and visitors never come, and the people who live here are never let out. Basically once you're in the hospital, you die there. Romania believes these people can not function or work in society, so they are left here. And you can imagine, I'm sure the living conditions make these mental illnesses even worse.
Some of the volunteers cut hair or gave the ladies eye makeup. The people at the institution were so friendly. All they wanted to do was shake your hand and see someone from the outside world. It broke my heart. We first handed out fruit and snacks, and then were brought outside. You could tell a lot of the volunteers felt very out of place, which I totally understood. There was a mad sitting on the far side of the lawn trying to open a banana and stimming crazily, so, after making sure it was ok, I left my group and went over to sit with him. He didn't speak to me, I'm not sure if he could or not, but I could tell he heard me. I told him my name, talked to him, and tried to calm him down. I could tell he was nervous. At first, I went to open his wafers and he swatted my hand away, but slowly I gained his trust and he let me help him sit up, and even walked with me around the outside.
There was another man who I became buddies with that I somehow managed to communicate quite well with. I taught him that 2 thumbs up was "super good" (because in romanian, they say super bine) and he asked me if I had a baby, and I guess thought my reaction was funny because he kept asking. As I was leaving, he gave me the two thumbs up and said super good!
Otherwise, I was just trying to talk to as many people as possible and smile a lot. There was another girl who came with us that works for Project abroad in the netherlands. She used to volunteer here last year and did the same kind of day trip to the institution and loved it, so PA here waited for her to visit on holiday to take our day trip so she could go. She was super sweet, and kept telling me she could tell I was enjoying myself there. But on the other hand, half of the volunteers there with me, on separate occasions, asked me if I was ok.
I'm not sure what kind of vibe I was giving, but it seems to have been similar to what I was feeling. Part of me was completely broken hearted. I didn't want to believe that a place like this existed, that a culture thought this little of people who have illnesses that they have no control of. It kept making me think people I know, and how they could have been like this if they were just born into this community. But on the complete otherhand, I was so at home there, and all I wanted to do was make these people smile. I was just feeding off their energy and enthusiasm and I couldn't help but smile. One man told me that my smile was beautiful. That was probably one of the most sincere and nicest compliments I have ever gotten.
So yes, that was my mixed emotional day. Thank goodness my friends here are willing to give me hugs and tell me I'm awesome. That does seem to make things like this better. It's weird, these moments where I am so unhappy with how Romania handles something are the moments where I don't ever want to leave, where I know I'm going to be crying when I leave. There's something so pure and special about it here, and so many things that I want to help, which in turn are helping me.
te iubesc,
Alyssa
No comments:
Post a Comment