The Babies
I spent this week at the baby hosptial with Vince, Krista and Cara. It is a lot different than other placement that I have been to for several reasons. The main differences is we do not prepare projects since the kids are mostly babies. The other big differenceis that instead of us all being together for the palcements we each go to a seperate room. Monday I spent in a room with about 10 kids but most of my time was with Aloosha. Aloosha has Cerabal Palsy and it really helps out the staff for a volunteer to take him outside for a stroll. So 10 minutes after I arrived I was outside with Aloosha in a stoller. We took a couple of trips around the building before spending the rest of our time on a swing. He is so precious. I could only think of one song to sing to him so Aloosha got to hear a poorly sung version of Rock a Bye Baby about 100 times. The first thing I did when we left is starting asking people for songs and I know have a whole list...old Mcdonald, twinlkle twinkle, etc. I really had a great time and we laughed a lot. I was looking forward to Tuesday but instead I got switched to another group.
The group I am in now (starting Tuesday) has twelve kids ranging from 9 mothes to 4.5 years old. The reason the staff wanted me to change is because two of the older kids are boys(Soma and Dania) and they want them to spend time with men since all of the staff is female. So typically I take Soma and Dania outside or to another room to play for the first half of my visit. And then the second half I join them in the room with the other 10 smaller kids. Then we usually end our day by helping feed the smaller ones lunch. The boys are a real treat. The first time we went outside they each took one of my hands and lead me downstairs and out side. They then held my hands as we cicled the building a couple of times. I started thinking , "Man, this is a piece of cake. I have never seen boys this age be this calm." And then Dania spotted a dog and everything changed. Off he went quickly followed by Soma. For the next hour or so they ran me ragged. I kept trying to remember how to say my prepracticed Russian phrases. But by the time I remebered to how say wait up, or stop or dont do that....they were either gone or had already done it. When it was time to go in I could not get both of them together to save my life. The more I tried to tell them that it was time to go in the more they ran away laughing. And then when I finally got both of them hand in hand and started towards the building they both just collapased and went limp and started laughing profoundly. Boys are Boys are boys...what a fantastic day. And the week has only gotten better. On Wednesday I found out that Dania has gotten adopted by a couple from Spain and that another kid in my group is being adopted by an Italian couple. Great stuff. If all goes according to plan I will be with this group for the rest of my stay in Yaroslalv. What a great way to start each morning.
We took a great field trip this week to a salt muesmem and to Nicoli's dacha.What a great trip especially to the dacha. Nicoli is one of the drivers that takes us to our placements and he is a great person to be around even though we do not speak the same langague. He is always laughing, making jokes and picking at people.We pass his school (he graduated in 1954) everyday on the way to our placements and him and his wife have been married for 45 years. Our other driver, Vladimer, has a Dacha right behind Nicoli's. They call the little bidge that connects them Customs.
So when we got to Nicoli's dacha his wife had fixed us pancakes ( a lot of pancakes--56) and we ate them with her jams, jellies and salsa's while drinking some homemade hot tea. What a treat to be able to see and feel the real Russia. The hospitality among the Russian people is incredible. Even with the langague I feel so welcome and at home.
The group I am in now (starting Tuesday) has twelve kids ranging from 9 mothes to 4.5 years old. The reason the staff wanted me to change is because two of the older kids are boys(Soma and Dania) and they want them to spend time with men since all of the staff is female. So typically I take Soma and Dania outside or to another room to play for the first half of my visit. And then the second half I join them in the room with the other 10 smaller kids. Then we usually end our day by helping feed the smaller ones lunch. The boys are a real treat. The first time we went outside they each took one of my hands and lead me downstairs and out side. They then held my hands as we cicled the building a couple of times. I started thinking , "Man, this is a piece of cake. I have never seen boys this age be this calm." And then Dania spotted a dog and everything changed. Off he went quickly followed by Soma. For the next hour or so they ran me ragged. I kept trying to remember how to say my prepracticed Russian phrases. But by the time I remebered to how say wait up, or stop or dont do that....they were either gone or had already done it. When it was time to go in I could not get both of them together to save my life. The more I tried to tell them that it was time to go in the more they ran away laughing. And then when I finally got both of them hand in hand and started towards the building they both just collapased and went limp and started laughing profoundly. Boys are Boys are boys...what a fantastic day. And the week has only gotten better. On Wednesday I found out that Dania has gotten adopted by a couple from Spain and that another kid in my group is being adopted by an Italian couple. Great stuff. If all goes according to plan I will be with this group for the rest of my stay in Yaroslalv. What a great way to start each morning.
We took a great field trip this week to a salt muesmem and to Nicoli's dacha.What a great trip especially to the dacha. Nicoli is one of the drivers that takes us to our placements and he is a great person to be around even though we do not speak the same langague. He is always laughing, making jokes and picking at people.We pass his school (he graduated in 1954) everyday on the way to our placements and him and his wife have been married for 45 years. Our other driver, Vladimer, has a Dacha right behind Nicoli's. They call the little bidge that connects them Customs.
So when we got to Nicoli's dacha his wife had fixed us pancakes ( a lot of pancakes--56) and we ate them with her jams, jellies and salsa's while drinking some homemade hot tea. What a treat to be able to see and feel the real Russia. The hospitality among the Russian people is incredible. Even with the langague I feel so welcome and at home.
posted by Bryan at 4:26 AM
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