palms

So far the trip has been amazing. The food, the people, the culture, and everything else is great. Today however was pretty hard. We visited the folks at the Palms which is the government run geriatric home in Georgetown. With 218 patients and only 25 nurses per shift it was hard to even fathom how this could even work. We broke up to meet and chat with the people, all the time seeing one heart breaking scenario after another. While it was hard to see the conditions and listen to some of the stories I met some great people. One man told me about his life on the east coast diving for jewels while another shared my love for pancakes. The final guy I talked with was named Michael Lambert and was an intense and amazing guy. He wanted to teach me about spirituality and the need for self understanding. While it was hard to understand him at times we both swapped addresses to write letters. While we all left with a feeling of sadness the experience showed us some of the hardships of our trip and that while it may be a tough pill to swallow at times just talking with these people may make a big difference for both us and them. I can't wait to go back and continue with our trip and see all it has to offer. While the trip has had some tough situations we have had so much fun. From Anthony dooping us all in my new favorite game "Mafia" to Chubby the bus drivers gift of falling asleep at any time we have all shared great memories. We have all become fast friends both within the SMC group and our friends here in Georgetown. I got to experience fresh mango today and might be addicted. To all those back home I miss and love you and can't wait to share my experience.

Cheers, Andrew