Tell it like it is.

This is an excerpt from an email I wrote toward the beginning of my trip: 

"...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MY JOB IS LIKE. I AM WORKING IN A GOVERNMENT RUN ORPHANAGE FOR GIRLS WHOSE PARENTS ARE IN PRISON OR INCAPABLE OF TAKING CARE OF THEM. THERE IS ROUGHLY 64 GIRLS THERE. MY HEART IS BROKEN. IT IS LIKE A NAZI PRISON CAMP FOR GIRLS. WE ARE LOCKED IN-- ALL DAY. I WATCHED THEM BATHE THE GIRLS, AND THEY STRIPPED THEM ALL NAKED (AGE 5-18) OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD, DUMPED WATER ON THEM, GAVE THEM A BAR OF SOAP, AND THEN DUMPED MORE WATER ON THEM. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. THERE ARE SOME KIDS WITH DISABILITIES, SUCH AS CEREBAL PALSY, DOWN SYNDROME, ETC. WHO ARE LEFT UNATTENDED... SITTING IN A CHAIR OR LAYING ON THE CEMENT GROUND. DURING LUNCH, WE WERE LOCKED INSIDE OF THE LUNCHROOM FOR PROBABLY AN HOUR AND A HALF. THERE ARE ABOUT 5 ADULTS THAT RUN THE PLACE. THEY ATE IN ANOTHER ROOM. THE GIRLS AND I JUST LAYED ON THE FLOOR, ABOUT 6 OF THEM USING ME AS THEIR PILLOW. THEY ABSOLUTELY LOVE ME. MY HEART IS BROKEN FOR THESE CHILDREN. SOME OF THEM, MOSTLY THE YOUNGEST, ARE SO JOYFUL, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT KNOW THEIR SITUATION. BUT YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE FACES OF THE ONES WHO DO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE AND WHY. THE GIRLS FIGHT, AND PULL EACH OTHER'S HAIR. THE ADULTS DO NOT CARE. THERE IS A POLICEMAN THAT GAURDS THE DOOR. EVERYTHING HAS LOCKS ON IT IN THAT PLACE. IT IS LITERALLY A PRISON. I DON´T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THERE ARE SO MANY LITTLE THINGS THAT THEY NEED. THEY DIDN´T EVEN HAVE HAIR TIES OR BRUSHES FOR THE GIRLS! NOT EVEN SUITABLE UNDERWEAR AND CLOTHING FOR MOST. IT IS UNREAL.

MY SPANISH IS IMPROVING DRAMATICALLY. LAST NIGHT MY BROTHERS AND I FROM MY HOST FAMILY DRANK BEER AND TAUGHT ENGLISH AND SPANISH TO ONE ANOTHER. IT WAS QUITE HILARIOUS, BUT I LEARNED SO MUCH. EVERY OTHER NORTH AMERICAN HERE HAS OTHERS LIVING WITH THEM, ARE CLOSER TOGETHER. I AM ISOLATED, AND ALONE. AND I AM LOVING IT, BECAUSE THIS IS THE EXPERIENCE I WAS LOOKING FOR. AS FOR THE ORPHANAGE, I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT IT. IT IS VERY HARD ON ME EMOTIONALLY. I TAUGHT THEM THE 2 CHRISTIAN SONGS I KNEW IN SPANISH, AND THEY WANTED TO SING THEM OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

GUAYAQUIL IS A GREAT PLACE, THIS ORPHANAGE IS NOT. THE OTHERS ARE ENJOYING THEIR ORPHANAGES, BUT THERE IS BETTER CARE, SUPERVISION, AND FACILITIES THERE DUE TO PRIVATE FUNDING.

RIDING THE BUS AND TAKING TAXIS ARE NERVE RACKING. THE ONLY PLACE I KNOW OF TO GET TO AND FROM IS THE MALL. HAHA.

WE JUST HAD OUR FIRST SPANISH LESSON. I AM BAD AT SPANISH. I CAN SPEAK IT, BUT MY GRAMMAR IS HORRIBLE!! HAHA, SO MUCH FOR TAKING SO MUCH IN SCHOOL. IT DOES NOT MATTER NOW, BUT I HAVE TO TAKE 3 CLASSES FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF A WEEK! UUUGGGHHH!