Getting settled

I realize I just posted something, but what I've been doing is writing blog entries on my computer, saving them onto a flash drive and then copying them onto this blog when I get a chance to get on the internet. So I'll be sure to label them with what date I've actually written them.

Feel free to post comments or send me an e-mail at kvanbeve@gmail.com. Miss you all!

Written on Saturday, June 19^th, 2010 –

On Friday, I was finally given my very first assignment on my own. And let me tell you, it was quite the doozy. I was to take 10 of the children (mostly 4-5 year olds) into the playroom and have them work on various puzzles and activities for 50 minutes. Now that may sound easy, but when the kids think you’re a) a jungle gym, b) they’re playmate, and c) think that it’s ok to cry and scream if they don’t get their way…it becomes much more difficult.

However, in the spirit of staying positive – I will suffice it to say that though at the end of the session I looked around the terrorized remains of what used to be a playroom and thought to myself “wow, I really am the worst teacher ever,” I refuse to give up. Things will get better. I will find a way for the kids to respect me and most of all, I will make this worthwhile for them and for me. (Now, if I could only figure out how…).

Regardless, tomorrow morning (for most of you), it will have been a week since I’ve left the United States. And yes, I miss a lot about the States. I miss being able to drive myself places, or hop in the car with friends and blast Backer music out the windows (several songs still bring me to tears when I listen to them…); I miss seeing my friends and family regularly; I miss eating what I want when I want; I miss knowing that if I have a hard day I can count on a hug from a friend.

But all that said, here, I find myself coping with being so far from home by constantly trying to look at all the positives. I have come to love the short and long drives I’ve been taken on by the Open Arms driver (whose name I would butcher if I tried to spell it…) – drives where I can appreciate the beauty of another country, drives where it is not uncommon to be blocked by herds of bulls, where the sunrises remind you what a beautiful thing nature is, and where you can see another culture unfold right before your eyes as “boys” covered from head to toe in paint wait to become men in makeshift shelters on the side of the road. I have come to love the singing (mostly out of key) of the kids here every night just before they go to bed. I have come to look at missing my friends as a sign of what friendship truly means, knowing that the people that truly want to stay in touch will find the little (and big) ways – it’s amazing how much more appreciative I am of a single phone call or e-mail nowadays. I have come to love the mamas food, especially the mac & cheese (a favorite from home) and the pizza with homemade dough. But most of all, I love knowing that even when the days are long and hard and I’m frustrated by some of the kids, another will give me a kiss on the cheek (and sometimes a lick if it’s Asekoh…) or fall asleep on my lap during a movie – and ultimately, I know it’ll be alright.

Signing off for my second blog entry,

--Auntie Key-ton (I’m trying to get them to focus on the “key” part, although I was recently informed by one of the mamas that a former volunteer named Brett was called “Uncle Bread” for his stay at Open Arms, so I feel slightly better now!)