2009 Day12

Fun Friday English Class

This morning we attended a couple of the girls’ classes. First we went to English class where Jacqui (the fabulous teacher) was running “Fun Friday”. It lived up to the name! Jacqui and the girls were listening to music, looking at photos, painting nails, doing hair and eating sweets. 🙂 It was great fun. One of the girls painted Niamh’s nails but it ended up more being Niamh’s hands as the nail varnish went everywhere.

After English class we went down to the sports room. Victor and Andrea are the sports teachers here. We played a game of darts and Victor wooped our asses. It wasn’t really a sports class as none of the girls were there yet – another Fun Friday. 🙂 Rosa came along towards the end so I guess we can call it a proper class!

After our classes we had another team meeting to see how everyone enjoyed the two weeks. Iurie (pronounced Your-ee, or at least that’s how we’ve been pronouncing it!) drove us down to the local pub which is called the Neptun. There is a lovely thatched balcony overlooking the lake. So we all sat here for an hour or so and chatted about the experience. It was really nice. Mercy (our wonderfully fantastic manager) bought us all a soft drink and asked us only nice questions! :p

At the Neptun

Everyone had great things to say about the time that they have spent here. The first timers all found it tough but still loved every minute and the returnees agreed that they found it easier this time around and loved it even more. When you’re not used to working with people who have disabilities, it can be tough seeing past the disability. As time goes by and you get to know the girls, you do start seeing their abilities and personalities rather than seeing their disability. It comes on so slowly that you don’t even notice it. I still find it tough with some of the more severely disabled girls but I’m getting there.

Everyone around the table said that they would like to come back to Moldova again. If you’re interested in volunteer work but are apprehensive about going somewhere abroad then this is the place to come. We’ve been so well looked after by ORM that it feels like a home away from home. And we’ve been given the opportunity to do some amazing work. Before I came I wasn’t really sure what would be involved. I was nervous about what my reaction might be so I kind of shied away from learning about it. I just signed on the dotted line and hoped for the best! I needn’t have been so worried though. All we’re really doing here is loving the girls and trying to put a smile on their faces.

The girls have a comfortable living and ORM do a fantastic job of rehabilitating them and preparing them for the outside world where possible. They are getting to do loads of things now that we take for granted at home. I’m talking about simple things here – cooking, sewing, reading, writing, art, sport, etc. It’s really great. The seasoned volunteers loved seeing the difference in the girls from last year to this year. Some of them have learned so much and are walking when they didn’t before and talking when they didn’t before. Without ORM this just would not be happening and the girls would still be lying in their beds.

After our feedback session/chat we headed to the market to buy some fruit. I also wanted to pick up a birthday present for Maria. She had asked me earlier in the day to get her a watch on Sunday so she wasn’t expecting to receive anything today. She was thrilled and she has been wearing the watch ever since.

Disco

After lunch we had planned to spend some time with one of the groups but a disco had started up on the green so we went to that instead. I had brought some bracelets and necklaces for the girls but I got completely mobbed when I started taking them out. I lasted a couple of minutes before I had to run for cover in the volunteer quarters! I went back out a few minutes later (minus the jewellery) and the girls were much calmer then. We danced around to the music and had a great time. One girl, however, was still a bit excited and yanked out a handful of my hair – not nice!

And so there is another end to another great day. It’s really hit me now that on Wednesday I’m going to have to put on a shirt and trousers, put on makeup, blow dry my hair and go into work… it’s gonna suck. I just want to play with the girls all day! Tomorrow is our last full day with the girls and I think I’ll be a bit teary at the end. Better get to sleep so that I have the energy to make the most of it! Night night.