Last day today, we went to the park and Mitzu bought some spray foam cans which the kids loved and because it was my last day, they covered me in foam and Andrew and Mitzu too. The children kept asking me this morning to take them to the cinema again but its out of my hands now and I reminded them its my 'ultimo dia' ( last day). There have been occasions during my four week period when Ive felt that the kids have been extremely ungrateful. On occasions I ve bought them a big bottle of Coke and then they want it every day and get pissed off when you dont buy it. I wasnt intending to and I guess I shouldnt have started it but Im easily manipulated by a begging child. I guess its normal children's behaviour on their part and who can blame them for trying. I have been able to say no, most days though and I think its important that they hear that, as much as one likes to please.

Mitzu and Andrew, volunteers who are here for another two months were talking about how they might get the children to understand that they might not have a lot but they are better off than some children. Sone children, particulalry Paraguayan who come across the bridge spend most of the day in the city endlessly begging and trying to sell souvenirs. At least the children at the refuge have plenty to eat, a roof over their head and lots of volunteer love.

We noticed that none of the older children said thank you after we took them to the cinema and I think if I was here for longer I would like to work on that. The language barrier is difficult and if I did this again I would want to do it with a much better Spanish vocabulary than I have currently. I would love to be able to converse particularly with the younger ones. Sometimes, they talk to me over and over and I just cant understand so my goal for the future is to keep going with the Spanish and return again to do something similar, but probably in a different location in another South American country. Its also much easier to keep discipline when you can speak the lingo.

Im going back to the orphanage this afternoon to do some art work but with such a wide age range, and a low attention span its difficult to keep interest for long before everything that gets created is destroyed. Ive taken in photos and postcards and they've been wrecked before long so you just have to accept that its going to happen. It would be nice if there was a separate room for the kids to study or do some creative things in, but there is limited space so you have to work with what you,ve got and when you've got tiny babies no more than a few months old as well theres quite a mix here.

The girls stay here until about 18 , but the boys generally leave at 14 for obvious reasons. Although, they try to keep girls and boys in separate bedrooms, its not always possible due to the number of kids (58 currently) or the fact that a child can arrive overnight either through the justice system or someone just turning up with a child they cant afford to keep anymore. Sometimes, a child stays during the week and goes home at weekends if the parents can afford it. The orphanage rarely turns a child away.

I leave here with tremendous admiration for what happens here. Although, the environmental elements of the orphanage are challenging, ( I'll never see a void in quite the same light again), as well as the heat and the dirt, the children it appears to me are well cared for by a handful of Argentinians who give up their free time to look after these kids, without whom they would be living on the streets. The girls here do a tremendous amount of work, caring for the babies, younger kids and doing household chores, although the boys too have their responsibiltilies once they are old enough. The fact that volunteers from all over the world come here to assist and give the Argentinians help with and a break from the children, Im sure is welcome, and Im sure that the children are grateful for that too.

Im pleased that Ive had the opportunity to see the conditions here first hand and to make a contribution. I hope that Ive made a small difference and I believe that anything positive that we do will always have ramifications even if they are not tangible at the time.

I didnt quite fathom that 'basic conditions', really meant basic conditions, possibly because we are tremendously spoiled in the UK and one takes for granted our comfortable existence. I hope to be more grateful for the good things in my life and to be aware of them more often.

Im still looking forward to a bath which I hope to have next week, if not when I get home and I'll enjoy every single minute of it.

Stay tuned and I'll keep going with the blog until I return. I' ll be back in Buenos Aires at lunchtime tommorow and I'll update every few days on the delights of what I think is one of the best cities in the world.

Ciao for now