One of my favorites

I want you to meet Gladys. Gladys is an interno at the Casa Pasionista and the past two weeks I have visited the Casa, she has not been there. Instead, she has been in Tegucigalpa for surgery and then recovery, but her story does not start nor end here. And in all honesty I do not know her story, but I can tell what I have shared with her and what she has shared with me so far.

Gladys is a little lady. She is shorter than me, but seems to be even smaller in the way that she carries herself. The bottom half of her face and neck are badly scarred from a fire where she tried to take her life. She is quiet and shy and will only talk if spoken to. She is gentle and for many, I think, it would be easy to forget her presence.

The first day we visited the Casa, I don’t remember talking to her—I don’t remember talking to anyone because at that point my Spanish was, well, non-existent and my confidence at zero. But, as we were leaving, she took my hand and asked me when we were coming back, I didn’t know so I said that and then Amy told me the word for soon and I realized the potentiality of what could become of our relationships with the internos. In the next handful of visits, I may have spoken to her once or twice, but the easily more extroverted and dominant characters in the Casa overshadowed her. But, then Tyler and I went to the Casa a little over a month ago. After eating with them, Tyler went to the bridge to help the guys with some repair maintenance and I went into the TV room to watch the soap operas with the ladies. Well, one lady Danylla left after about 15 minutes to go see her children and then it was me and Gladys. We chatted a little about the soap and then another one started and she made it clear she didn’t like it. (It’s called The Clone—and its as cheesy as it sounds). I didn’t know what to do—I didn’t know what to talk about and I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t care. Thank God, I had decided to bring some photos of all of you guys and so I asked if she wanted to see them. This started a 45 minute conversation. Despite language barriers and lives full of very different experiences, we became friends in the conversation. I shared with her the stories of college friends and she shared with me photos of excursions to the local restaurant. She showed me pictures of her three children (two of who live at the orphanage) and I showed her pictures of my family. In that 45 minutes, though we came from different countries and with different lives, our lives came together and a friendship was formed.

Her father was very sick and had to go to the hospital for a stomach ulcer. He needed surgery, but had to wait because he didn’t have enough money. She was worried and didn’t have a way to get to Tegus apart from if Puri took her. Her father is still very sick and her family doesn’t have the money to help him. Gladys was in the hospital for reconstructive surgery for her face and neck, but the day of the surgery she had to leave because there were no beds available. This is in the main hospital in Tegucigalpa—one of the largest in the country.

I like her. I like that she is quiet and has a slightly Eeyore-like personality. I like that when I’m at the Casa and I see her, I feel a sense of calm, of companionship. She has been there for years and years and there is something intriguing and warming about her. I like her and I think she might like me and I look forward to what friendship will hopefully blossom between us.