7/6/12
Today we went to Mi Cometa and it took around an
hour. On the way Martin showed me the buses we would be taking and we passed by
Flor De Bastion. When we arrived to Mi Cometa I wasn’t sure what to expect, but
our hosts were always looking out for us. I was a little surprised to see it looked very similar to some
of the places I have visited in Mexico. We went inside the establishment and
found Janet. Our mom went with us and they made small talk while we got a tour
of the building. My mom was quick to make friends with the workers there and
they seemed to like my mom. We finally got into the meeting with the parents
and a couple of students. The room was bare with no chairs and no air
conditioning but I don’t mind the change much because I can adapt to my
surroundings very well. Starting the meeting Janet introduced who we are and
what we were going to be doing with the organization. I believe they had
already met Martin, but I wasn’t sure. Janet introduced me as Martin’s little
brother, then my name. It was really funny to see all the reactions of the
parents because they immediately lifted their hands motioning how much taller I
am then him. Janet had us grab some chairs to sit down while she began
presenting the agenda for the meeting. We started off with an ice breaker which
was introducing our names, naming our favorite animals, and having to move like
the animals we said. I chose a tiger so got down on all fours and growled,
embarrassing myself in front of the parents. I remember Maria was a turtle, my
mom was a tortoise, Martin was a lion, Fernando was a horse, but was reluctant
to get on all fours so he pretended to ride the horse. We then broke off into
couples where we had to describe each of our parents and tell how that has
affected the person we are today. I was paired with a woman named Maria. She
only spoke Spanish so I had to explain to her I didn’t speak much, but was able
to understand most of it, so I thought. I found out later that the woman I was
speaking to husband died around 2 years ago; she had two children in the
program now and 5 children in all. The oldest is 20 years old, but she
described him as not being her son anymore. Another man, Fernando, just lost
his job and is taking care of one boy in the program that isn’t his biological
son, but he considers the young man to be his son. One of the most heartfelt
stories came from a grandmother of the child; I couldn’t understand her but my
mom translated it after the meeting. She is an older woman taking care of her
grandchild because the parents forgot about the child. She has to go out and
find work every day just to provide food on the table; she described the
situation as just trying to survive day by day putting bread on the table.
These stories touched my heart because I was able to see all the excess I live
in. I don’t really ask for much from my parents anymore, but still go out with
friends and use more money then I should. I wish I could take back all that I
have asked for in my life and put the money to help people in these situations.
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