My First Group

Hullo all!

Today is going to very relaxing. After the week I had, I deserve it! :) There is so much to write about, so this will be very long. And I probably will forget a lot of it!

On Wednesday afternoon, one by one, the members entered the CASA Breakhouse. We greated them all with tea and biscuits (which are just really delicious cookies). It turns out that if there is ever a time that we are not eating a meal, we're drinking tea and eating biscuits. I've had to swear them off already! I will be the first person in CASA to not gain weight! I have to stay strong! It's just that all they do here is eat...it's insane. Sorry for that tangent...back to Wednesday. All of my fellow volunteers are paired up each week with one member with a disability. My member's name is Margaret. She is probably the sweetest woman I've ever met! She only has a mild intellectual disability, so she is very independant. She didn't need me to help her shower, use the bathroom, or get dressed. I really enjoyed my time with her. She was extremely easy going, and enjoyed all of the activites that we did with them. After we had tea, we had dinner together. It was a tight fit around the table with 15 people, but we seemed to manage. I guess it's abnormal to have seven volunteers in the house at one time, so it's a larger group than they are used to. But it seemed fine to me because I don't know any different. After dinner we all went bowling! It was so much fun! And it was great because they had a metal frame that was used by the members in wheelchairs so they were able to play as well. We got back for more tea and biscuits before bed.

The next morning we all had breakfast together. After that, we went straight to the mall. We had time for some shopping and lunch before we went to see a movie. I got to help Margaret pick out a nice pair of shoes. She was so excited! And then we met Kyle, Ken, and Khadija for lunch at a burger place in the mall. We weren't very hungry because we had a big breakfast, but the burgers were HUGE! And they came with lots of chips! (They aren't called fries here, of course. And the chips are called crisps! I'll get the hang of it soon...) And we were expected to have a large dinner as well. But anyways, we went to a movie after that called Monsters Vs. Aliens. Margaret slept through most of it! It was a little too noisy for her. :) The movie was ok. I think most of the members enjoyed it. After that we came back to change for dinner. Margaret wore a red dress that she bought the last time she was in the CASA house. She looked so great! She was worried that it was too short, but we assured her it wasn't. She is very concervative. She said she didn't want to attract boys! She said that she could handle them, but they couldn't handle her! haha It was funny when she said things like that because she's so quiet and reserved most of the time. I have some pictures, and I'll put them on facebook soon. Dinner was great! We went to a restaurant on the marina called Cruzzos. It was very fancy! The members loved it! And then we came back for some tea of course.

Friday morning was very busy. We had breakfast early, because the priest was coming over at 11 for Mass at the house. It was very lovely because we all got to particpate in the Mass with the readings and singing. After Mass, we all had lunch (which was only about 2 hours after breakfast!) and more tea. We then got everyone ready to go back to their homes. I think that they all had a great time.

It was a good introduction for me into how things work around here. I am scared because Margaret was so fun and easy to work with, that I think next week I might not be so lucky! I am not prepared for someone who might be a little more difficult to work with. But there was a big variety of disabilites and abilites in this last group, so I was able to learn by watching the other volunteers. I think that I will really love doing this work. :)

After the members left, Kyle, Johnny, Erin, and I went to a birthday party for one of the members. I had never met John before, but he greeted me with open arms and a kiss on the cheek! It was a very fancy party in a conference room at a nice hotel with food and drinks and a dance floor! We had a really nice time. I look forward to seeing John again when he comes to CASA next.

When we got back to Malahide, we went straight to Gibley's for drinks. We met the rest of the volunteers there. It was very crowded but we managed to find a table with some locals. They were all very nice. I had a lot of beer! But not too much of course. No need to embarrass myself yet. Gabriele had quite a few however, and he was very funny! He started calling me Chiara, which is Italian for Claire. He tried to teach me a bit of Italian too, but it was hard to understand, I'm afraid. :P

Now I am just hanging out here. I think I'll head to the Malahide village again today and walk around. I'll go to Mass tonight, because we are leaving very early tomorrow to go to the Cliffs of Moor, which is where they filmed The Princess Bride! How cool is that? I'll take plenty of pictures, so don't worry about it. :)

I miss you guy so much! You should email me if you have a chance. It would be good to hear about what's going on over there.

Love,
Claire