Frank

Getting to know some of the older kids in the Hogar has presented somewhat of a challenge to me because they all seem to have their cliques and aren’t really at the age where you can play with them to become their friend.  The older kids, especially the teenagers, come with an array of physical ailments, but can also present with psychological or social problems that keep them in the Hogar.  Because of the difference in demeanor between the younger and older kids, I find it can be easier to become friends with the older kids by spending one on one time with them by practicing Spanish with them.
 To understand Frank, I needed to tap into my teenage years and remember what it was like to be 17 again.  Despite his congenital heart disease, Frank lives life fairly normally around the house.  Like many families, Frank’s family lives in the mountains of Peru and along with the fact that he has easier access to hospitals, he is unable to live with his family due to the effect the high altitude and low levels of oxygen have on his cardiac capacity.
 Today, I accompanied Frank to his cardiology appointment.  I was introduced to yet another way to travel in this quite fast paced country where we took two buses.  As it turns out, Saturdays in Lima tend to be much busier than the rest of the week and we spent many hours on the bus going to and coming from the hospital.  During the bus ride to the hospital, I couldn’t tell how Frank felt about me coming with him.  In some ways, 17-year old has been an adult for the past few years of his life but in reality, he still is young.  At first, he seemed not to enjoy spending his Saturday with me and a hospital full of screaming children.   I hoped that he wouldn’t be offended by my being his chaperone for this trip, after all, I still have no idea how the bus system works in Peru and it was really Frank who ended up dragging me around town to get back from his appointment.
 Waiting at the doctor’s office took up so much of our time, that Frank and I ended up having lots of fun together.  I got a chance to practice some of my Spanish and hang out with him, and I’m sure he appreciated it because usually the kids are stuck talking to the older women that work at the Hogar and take them to all their appointments.  When time came to catch the buses home, we begrudgingly boarded the first minimally crowded bus we could find that would take us half the way back home.  As we waited for the second bus to arrive, Frank trotted off in the direction of a street vendor to get a snack and ended up coming back with two lollipops, one for him and one for me.
 Although we didn’t speak much during the trip, I’m thankful that I got to hang out with Frank and from the peace offering he gave me, I think he’s thankful that I came with him.

- Nicole