My summer at CDJ was a learning experience in every sense of the word. Every day I learned something new, whether it be a life lesson, general fact, and about the medical system or a new friend. One of my first lessons at Casa Juan Diego was solemn: not everyone can be helped, but you help all those you can. I learned this my first few weeks at Casa, when we were faced with a shortage of housing space. An influx of Cuban immigrants was arriving, which lead to overcrowding and full capacity while people waited outside. Even when spaces opened up, many faced challenges with filing out their paperwork and finding apartments and jobs. The Cuban immigrants were given certain government assistance, but only for a limited time. With so many, their
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I've had experiences when someone would disappointment me (for a number of different reason), and it came to a point where I was losing faith in those around me. Casa renewed my faith. One day during dinner, one of the guest, Linda, became upset because she was refused more desert in order to give everyone a piece. Another guest had taken half of the sweet bread because she couldn't eat the dinner meat. Linda wanted to take the rest for herself, but Helena, who cooked the meal, said no and explained to her why. Unfortunately, because of the language barrier Linda didn’t understand and felt attacked. She started shouting at Helena and then stormed out the room. I thought that she and Helena would have problems; but then two days later, Linda asked me if she could help Helena cook dinner to make amends. They were laughing and assisting one another and then sat next to each other at the dinner table. Another instance was when a guest, Bella, was rushed to the hospital because her sciatica nerves were pinched, causing her temporary leg paralysis. She was at the agency for her paperwork when she started falling ill, but she was with other Casa guest who quickly took action to help out their new friend. While Bella was recovering, she was looked after by some of the women of the house; some would even go out to do her paperwork so she wouldn’t feel stressed. There were many
I've had experiences when someone would disappointment me (for a number of different reason), and it came to a point where I was losing faith in those around me. Casa renewed my faith. One day during dinner, one of the guest, Linda, became upset because she was refused more desert in order to give everyone a piece. Another guest had taken half of the sweet bread because she couldn't eat the dinner meat. Linda wanted to take the rest for herself, but Helena, who cooked the meal, said no and explained to her why. Unfortunately, because of the language barrier Linda didn’t understand and felt attacked. She started shouting at Helena and then stormed out the room. I thought that she and Helena would have problems; but then two days later, Linda asked me if she could help Helena cook dinner to make amends. They were laughing and assisting one another and then sat next to each other at the dinner table. Another instance was when a guest, Bella, was rushed to the hospital because her sciatica nerves were pinched, causing her temporary leg paralysis. She was at the agency for her paperwork when she started falling ill, but she was with other Casa guest who quickly took action to help out their new friend. While Bella was recovering, she was looked after by some of the women of the house; some would even go out to do her paperwork so she wouldn’t feel stressed. There were many