As mentioned before, Ian, Finn and I spend our afternoons at Happy Home. Ian plays soccer with the older kids while Finn and I hang out with the younger kids. Technically, I am "teaching English." I would love to say that's the case, but it's not. There are about 100+ kids crammed into this cinderblock room, ages infant - 9yrs. old. (I'm embarrassed that I used to complain about my classes of 25 kids who were at different levels.) Anyhow, when I attempted to formally "teach", maybe 15 of those kids were engaged. After two sessions of feeling like a failure, I've taken a new approach. We play games; duck-duck-goose, elbow tag, on the bank/in the creek, and others I make up as we go along. The benefits - we are no longer trapped in that small, dark room, the kids are exerting their energy, they seem to be having fun....and we play the games in "English." Even Finn gets a thrill of being able to run around and play in the dirt and yell "duck."
Somehow the word is starting to spread about Happy Home. More people are suddenly interested in getting involved. For example, last weekend several diplomatic women hosted a "high tea" as a fundraiser for Happy Home. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about attending. I was happy to donate money - but I was anxious about the actual event. I'd never been to a high tea before. I wasn't going to know many of these women and wasn't sure if I'd be able to engage in genuine conversation. And of course....the wardrobe dilemna. It's winter here. The mornings and evenings are cold (about 40 degrees). The afternoons, however, reach the 70's. The tea was outdoors from 3-6, meaning half would be warm and the other half cold. I'm glad I didn't bail out! Even though I wasn't exactly in my comfort zone, I had a really nice time. It was really cool to see women from all over the world come together for this good cause. Each hostess sponsored a table and was responsible for selling tickets to women from her country. As I started to walk toward the "American" table, Esther grabbed me and said that I was sitting at her table. Talk about feeling relieved! Nothing against my fellow Americans, it was just nice to sit with Esther and some of her friends I've met by volunteering at Happy Home.
After tea was served, we were welcomed by the hostess and invited to help ourselves to the amazing food cooked by all the different nationalities. What a treat! But the best part of the event....the surprise visit / concert from the kids at Happy Home. Most of the women at the event, knew very little about Happy Home. Having the kids there was PERFECT! The women were so impressed.
I think they were taken back by their talent (playing the violin, recorder, xylophone, etc.) - and all thanks to the hard work and love of Esther and David! They've been running the home for 10 years now. And WOW! Wish you could have been there!
Somehow the word is starting to spread about Happy Home. More people are suddenly interested in getting involved. For example, last weekend several diplomatic women hosted a "high tea" as a fundraiser for Happy Home. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about attending. I was happy to donate money - but I was anxious about the actual event. I'd never been to a high tea before. I wasn't going to know many of these women and wasn't sure if I'd be able to engage in genuine conversation. And of course....the wardrobe dilemna. It's winter here. The mornings and evenings are cold (about 40 degrees). The afternoons, however, reach the 70's. The tea was outdoors from 3-6, meaning half would be warm and the other half cold. I'm glad I didn't bail out! Even though I wasn't exactly in my comfort zone, I had a really nice time. It was really cool to see women from all over the world come together for this good cause. Each hostess sponsored a table and was responsible for selling tickets to women from her country. As I started to walk toward the "American" table, Esther grabbed me and said that I was sitting at her table. Talk about feeling relieved! Nothing against my fellow Americans, it was just nice to sit with Esther and some of her friends I've met by volunteering at Happy Home. 
After tea was served, we were welcomed by the hostess and invited to help ourselves to the amazing food cooked by all the different nationalities. What a treat! But the best part of the event....the surprise visit / concert from the kids at Happy Home. Most of the women at the event, knew very little about Happy Home. Having the kids there was PERFECT! The women were so impressed.
I think they were taken back by their talent (playing the violin, recorder, xylophone, etc.) - and all thanks to the hard work and love of Esther and David! They've been running the home for 10 years now. And WOW! Wish you could have been there!
2 comments:
That looks so nice. Those kids sure will miss you and vice versa I am sure!
Speaking of missing you...are you guys planning on coming home soon?
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