The Rehab Center

Today we had a field trip to the rehab center in a small chilean town outside of Santiago. It was a group home we´re people recovering from drugs stayed. We ate lunch at the place, grilled chicken, potato salad, cauliflouwer salad, and oddly colored jello for desert. I´ll have to ask Mom if that´s standard at rehab centers. ( The jello was like bright green and bright purple--I didn`t touch it).

We were split up into two groups afterwards. One group went to the women´s center, my group to the men´s. We entered a room and sat down in a large circle with 30 other Chilean patients. The social worker introduced us and then everyone went around the room introducing themselves. After that they gave each of us a patient as a tour guide. I started with four tour guides but it slowly whittled away down to one. I forget the guys name, although the guy looked like he had his face punched in. He told me he was in their for a cocain habit. He showed me their rooms, the kitchen, the pool etc... Interestingly, they made their own honey there. They had a bee farm that the patients managed.

My tour guide eventually disappeared and I tagged along with another group in order to keep myself occupied. Other than the patients showing me around, the other patients seemed to enjoy the experience. After seeing their rooms and the way they acted though, nervous habits, joking etc...they kind of seemed like unruly high schoolers.

But anyway we left and I was left wondering if these are the guys getting help, how many people are out there not getting help at all?