First real, real day of work...

So today, Matt and I were actually able to go out into the field and see some of the properties.  We only got to visit two senior centers, but we were able to get all of the information we needed from them, which is far more awesome than I think anyone reading this will understand.  Getting to this point, and then being able to get everything we needed is beyond what we expected to be able to do on our first visit.  I realize that other sites may not be this easy to document, but it's a great feeling knowing that some are.

It's really sad to see the things that take place at these centers.  The areas they are in are very poor, and as such, there is an extremely high crime rate.  Both of the two centers have been broken into, one having been broken into even this week.  The first one we visited is an "insulated tin" building (we'll post some pictures later) where some one had actually taken some industrial scissors and gone and cut an opening in the wall to enter in and see what there was to steal.  The manager of the building told us that they stole many of the gardeners tools, as well as some of the tools and items that the seniors use while at the center.

The other center was a center that we visited on Friday, June 5th.  It wasn't in perfect shape then, but sometime between then and today, someone broke into the building and ransacked it.  They destroyed the kitchen, for apparently nothing more than vandalism.  No appliances or cookware was missing, but the cabinet doors had all been beaten and ripped off, while it looked like they took a sledgehammer to the counter top in some places.  We also so that they had ripped a sink off the wall in one of the children's restrooms.  It is really disheartening to know that these centers are built for the community to use at no charge to the community, yet someone from there is driven to do these kinds of acts.  I can understand the citizens who break into the gardens and steal the food (this centre had all of its carrots stolen, for instance), but the destruction for destruction's sake simply baffles me.

On a happier note, I made friends with the gardener at the first site.  He was very proud of his gardens, and he should be.  They were amazing, and full of so much produce.  He gave Matt and I a few peanuts that he grew.  In a rather amusing event, he gave me two large carrots.  I know he was trying to tell me thank you as he realized that Matt and I are trying to help him and the center, as well as being very proud of his produce.  He was a very nice man, and it's great to know that the majority of the civilians in the townships are good people like him.  That alone makes this job worth it, despite the vandalism we'd seen throughout the day.  Matt got some pictures of the man giving me the carrots so I'll be sure to post those once he gives them to me.

The man had also made some small mounds in the shapes of hearts.  That is a terrible description of them, haha.  They function as a part of the landscape, and the curves of the hearts border the trees and flowers in the gardens of the center.  We got a few pictures of him showing us these hearts, and they will be posted as well.  

Lastly, it looks like we are officially on the ground running.  We sat down with Helen and set up a schedule for the remainder of our days here, and scheduled drivers and workers to go out and help us.  We will be in the field everyday from here on out, and we are ecstatic.  I'm too young and "angsty" for an office job, and sitting cooped up in here everyday has been rough.  Being out in the field really got my anthropological blood going, and I'm pumped to know that the rest of my time here will be spent out there working.  Woohooo!!