Things at the Hogar have been a little rough lately. The girls are great, my counterpart is great…it´s the director, Sor Edith, that’s the problem. I should explain first that Sor Edith started at the Hogar in August. The previous director who everyone loved (and who requested a volunteer) was abruptly switched two days before my site visit. And Sor Edith unfortunately, is exactly the opposite…She is demeaning and cruel to the girls in every way.

Yesterday one of the girls was hugging me, and Sor Edith lost it. She screamed at the girl saying, ¨Why are you touching her like that! Don´t you dare touch her! You need to show her respect!¨ Then she said to me with her evil eye…¨Don´t let them touch you, its disrespectful and they need to learn to respect you!¨ Needless to say I was a little uncomfortable, so I just smiled said ok and walked away. Also, whenever any of the girls misbehaves, she tells them she´s going to throw them out of the Hogar. You can imagine how threatening this is to a young girl who considers this place her home. Later I went to talk to my counterpart (the Social Worker at the Hogar) to get advice. On one hand, I don´t want the director to think I´m ignoring her. On the other, these girls need affection, and there is no way I´m going to deprive them of that. My counterpart agreed that her attitude is absurd. But unfortunately, she´s the boss. It´s a difficult situation to be in when you have little authority, and the one person who does is damaging the wellbeing of the girls you´re there to help. Nevertheless, she advised me to explain, in the most respectful way possible, that I enjoy showing and receiving affection and it doesn’t bother me at all. I´d like to think it will make a difference. Then again, I´m a gringa in my early 20´s trying to change the mindset of an old crotchety nun. We´ll see how that goes down.

On a lighter and perhaps insensitive note…yesterday we got cable. Last night, after the lights came back on at 10, I turned on my TV and there was the NBA. A few channels after that…Miami Ink. And a few channels after that….MTV!!!!!!!!!!! It was an exhilarating feeling. It´s only been five months…but I´ve felt so very cut off from the world and current events without my sleezy reality shows. I imagine I will go through a period of readjustment…a few days locked in my room with True Life and The Hills. Then I´ll get over it. But at this point I feel like I could fly. It´s the little things.