The taxi brought us home early this evening....It was a long weekend. We had a teen group this time, and we stayed at the break house in Swords. It was Jessica's first time to CASA and I could tell she was a little nervous to be left to a group of strangers. She warmed up quickly though. Jessica is a normal 16 year old girl, who was born with spina bifida. Being in a wheelchair has unfortunately kept her from being able to do normal teenager activities, which I believe has more to do with her situation at home than the wheelchair itself. Regardless, it was really good for her to be able to come to the break house and spend time with young people her age. She also was so grateful for being able to go out to the movies, to dinner, and to the farm. She told me that she is never able to go out to eat or go to the cinema. It was great to see how much she enjoyed herself, even though she tried to conceal it behind her teenage attitude. I was, of course, very uncool. I didn't know her Irish boy bands or movie stars. But I think that when you're a teenager, unless you are the equivalent of Miley Cyrus or "the cute" Jonas brother, you're absolutely uncool. So I didn't take it personally. :) I hope that she is able to come again soon.
The weekend was an overall success, with more sleep than we all expected. I really loved riding on the bus with the kids. I especially enjoyed singing "The Wheels on the Bus" with Connor. He has cerebral palsey and isn't able to speak clearly. But he is able to join in on the singing in a limited way and it is adorable! His face lights up with the beginning of each song and it was so much fun! We went to dinner at an "All American" restaurant and it was filled with pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Manroe. It was a nice feeling of home. And Jessica was having fun making fun of me, and told me she was stuck with an American helper and then surrounded by American culture as well! I deserved it though, because I kept teasing her and her people for all of their silly words like "jumper" for "sweater" and "craic" (pronounced "crack") for "fun."
We are all very tired, but we only have two short days until our next group that starts Wednesday afternoon. It will be a very exhausting week, but we have five days off following the next group, so I am very excited. Friday night, Kate and I are going out with a couple guys we met last week, so that should be good. We are the only volunteers who are interested in meeting people outside of CASA, and we make a good team. :) We'll see how it works out. The next morning five of us are headed to the west coast to spend time in Donegal and Sligo. I can't wait to see more of this amazing country!! And I'm the tester for Katie and my parents who will be coming out here later this year. I'll take lots of pictures, don't worry!!
Until next time,
Claire
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Lucky Strikes
Another new challenge was in store for me as the members arrived at the CASA break house on Friday afternoon. Anna Cloak came a little after 4pm with another member, Anne accompanied by their helper Grace. Anna is about 65 years old. I was told before the weekend that she enjoys joking around, but that is hardly a helpful hint with her because I had no idea what that meant. How do you joke around with someone you've just met? So as we all sat in the sitting room and got acquainted with our members, I was asking Anna the normal questions. Where are you from? Do you have family in town? Have you been to CASA before? But to my surprise, Anna didn't even look at me. She had no interest in answering any of my questions. So after about 15 minutes of that I started to panic. I was thinking, what the hell am I gonna do for three days with a woman who doesn't want to talk to me?? But I calmed myself down and decided to observe her behavior with the people she already knew. Even though she didn't talk much to anyone else, she had a particular way of connecting with them. And as soon as I felt that she was comfortable with me, I started to mimic her behavior with them to test it out. You see, Anna likes to play a game with people. She will tickle someone when they aren't looking. And then when you look at her and say, "WHO did that??" she says, "It wasn't me!" And that is literally what I did with Anna the entire weekend! You would think that a game like that would get old after about, oh I don't know, 20 times? However, I was so thrilled to have some way to connect with her, that I didn't care that I used the phrase, "Who tickled me?" over a hundred times. It was great! All I had to do was make a silly face and she would laugh and laugh. If I didn't play that game with her, she would sort of retreat into her own world, so I would often make sure we were teasing each other in some way at each moment.
I will admit that having an activity to do was a good relief occasionally. Friday night, we all headed out to the bowling alley. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I really love going bowling with the members. It's a great way for them to have fun and to boost their confidence because they are all able to play, and to do well. And all of us volunteers are there cheering them on. Most of the members were doing very well that night. But in spite of the bumpers, Anna wasn't doing so great. I don't think that it hindered her fun, but I do think she was a little disappointed each time it went down and only hit a few pins. So halfway through the game, after seeing her only get maybe 3 or 4 pins per turn (two shots each turn), I said a prayer that she would have a really good turn and get most of the pins down. Right after I said that prayer, Anna got a strike!!! I couldn't believe it. You may say that's coincidence, but there's no doubt in my mind that God was looking out for us. You should have seen the look on her face. It was so great!! From then on out, she was back to her previous game playing standard, but it didn't matter. It was a really good night for her.
The next day was filled with shopping, a viewing of Night at the Museum 2 (an encore presentation for us volunteers), and dinner at the Grand Hotel. The first part of the day moved very slowly because Anna wasn't interested in shopping whatsoever. But she did like the movie. All of the members were so excited for dinner. That was a really good time for everyone. After dinner, we all came home and spent some time in the sitting room. We played bingo, chatted, had tea, and some of the members sang songs. By 12am I was really ready for bed! Anna got slightly confused at night about what room she was staying in and where the bathroom was. At 1am I woke up to find the door open and Anna wandering around the halls! But I was half asleep myself so it was a very confusing moment for the both of us!
Sunday morning we all gathered for breakfast and games before Mass. After Mass we had a quick lunch and prepared for the members to go home.
I think that the weekend was a success. I really feel like I'm getting better at this job and it's easier for me to put all of my needs aside for those three days. Even though I was tired by the end of each night, I still tried to give Anna as much attention as I could. And I think she had a really good weekend with us.
All of the members interacted with each other nicely. Sometimes the groups don't really come together very well and the members are in their own world with their volunteer. Which is also great. The point of CASA is to give one-to-one attention for the members. But it's really nice when it feels like a whole family together for the weekend. Another member I really loved this weekend is Paul. It's really hard to describe how wonderful Paul is, but I can try. He's probably in his 50s and he is in a wheelchair. He is one of the sweetest and most gentle people I've ever met. And he loves to arm wrestle! He was always having fun no matter what we were doing and it was easy to interact with him. Whenever he asked me my name, he would say, "Claire, from the moment I met you I swear..." :) I really look forward to visiting him again soon.
Other than working, life is the same. Kate and I have been trying to make it out of Malahide and explore Dublin more. We're headed out there tonight, in fact, to see what we can find. Although I am a little afraid there won't be much to see on a Monday night! But it's summer now, so I'm sure people will be out doing things every day here.
Now I'm off to the park. The cleaners are coming and I'm lucky that the weather is nice enough to go out for a walk.
As always, I miss you people. Emails are always welcome. :)
Love,
Claire
I will admit that having an activity to do was a good relief occasionally. Friday night, we all headed out to the bowling alley. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I really love going bowling with the members. It's a great way for them to have fun and to boost their confidence because they are all able to play, and to do well. And all of us volunteers are there cheering them on. Most of the members were doing very well that night. But in spite of the bumpers, Anna wasn't doing so great. I don't think that it hindered her fun, but I do think she was a little disappointed each time it went down and only hit a few pins. So halfway through the game, after seeing her only get maybe 3 or 4 pins per turn (two shots each turn), I said a prayer that she would have a really good turn and get most of the pins down. Right after I said that prayer, Anna got a strike!!! I couldn't believe it. You may say that's coincidence, but there's no doubt in my mind that God was looking out for us. You should have seen the look on her face. It was so great!! From then on out, she was back to her previous game playing standard, but it didn't matter. It was a really good night for her.
The next day was filled with shopping, a viewing of Night at the Museum 2 (an encore presentation for us volunteers), and dinner at the Grand Hotel. The first part of the day moved very slowly because Anna wasn't interested in shopping whatsoever. But she did like the movie. All of the members were so excited for dinner. That was a really good time for everyone. After dinner, we all came home and spent some time in the sitting room. We played bingo, chatted, had tea, and some of the members sang songs. By 12am I was really ready for bed! Anna got slightly confused at night about what room she was staying in and where the bathroom was. At 1am I woke up to find the door open and Anna wandering around the halls! But I was half asleep myself so it was a very confusing moment for the both of us!
Sunday morning we all gathered for breakfast and games before Mass. After Mass we had a quick lunch and prepared for the members to go home.
I think that the weekend was a success. I really feel like I'm getting better at this job and it's easier for me to put all of my needs aside for those three days. Even though I was tired by the end of each night, I still tried to give Anna as much attention as I could. And I think she had a really good weekend with us.
All of the members interacted with each other nicely. Sometimes the groups don't really come together very well and the members are in their own world with their volunteer. Which is also great. The point of CASA is to give one-to-one attention for the members. But it's really nice when it feels like a whole family together for the weekend. Another member I really loved this weekend is Paul. It's really hard to describe how wonderful Paul is, but I can try. He's probably in his 50s and he is in a wheelchair. He is one of the sweetest and most gentle people I've ever met. And he loves to arm wrestle! He was always having fun no matter what we were doing and it was easy to interact with him. Whenever he asked me my name, he would say, "Claire, from the moment I met you I swear..." :) I really look forward to visiting him again soon.
Other than working, life is the same. Kate and I have been trying to make it out of Malahide and explore Dublin more. We're headed out there tonight, in fact, to see what we can find. Although I am a little afraid there won't be much to see on a Monday night! But it's summer now, so I'm sure people will be out doing things every day here.
Now I'm off to the park. The cleaners are coming and I'm lucky that the weather is nice enough to go out for a walk.
As always, I miss you people. Emails are always welcome. :)
Love,
Claire
Friday, June 12, 2009
New Volunteers and Irish Boys
Kate and Jose arrived very early Wednesday morning. We were all slightly groggy, but awake and ready to meet our new housemates. Kate was first, and I knew right away that we would get along great. She wants to travel as well as spend a lot of time in Dublin, and that is something I've really wanted to do. I haven't been able to do it much due to the lack of interest from the other housemates who've been here for a while. I am so happy to have a travel buddy! She also expressed interest in meeting local people our age, so I was thrilled to hear that.
Jose came shortly after Kate. He is from Spain, and is still learning English but he is doing well! I think that living in this house will help him. We all spent some time together in the kitchen as we waited for Khadija to arrive. She had the plans for what we were to do for the day. She also needed to meet with the newbies and do paperwork with them. After that we all walked to the village to show them around. It was fun to be able to show them things because it made me feel like I'm not so new anymore. We all separated for a while, and I took Jose and Kate to the Malahide Castle. Kate was impressed, but I think Jose has seen many bigger and more beautiful ones in his life. We spent time in the house after that, and watched a movie. They were pretty tired from the long day, so we decided not to take them to Gibney's that night.
Yesterday morning was another early day for us sleepy volunteers. We all met in the kitchen and waited yet again for Khadija to come with instructions for the day. We split in to two groups. May and Bohye went to a home to visit a few of the members. Erin, Kate, Jose, and I went to a home called the Cara Cheshire. There, we met up with seven members who live in the home, among about 20 others. The only member I was familiar with was Michalina. It was so good to see her! And I got to meet a man named Sean Maloney, who is very popular at the CASA house. I've heard so many stories about him and it was good to meet him. Sean suffered a brain hemorrhage about 20 years ago. He is very friendly and vocal about his story. He had to relearn how to walk, talk, move his arms, eat, etc. His memory is very poor, so he'll often say the same things over and over again. When I mentioned something about his sister who lives in the states, he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "HOW do you KNOW that??" haha It was adorable! He has an amazing attitude regarding his memory problem and never gets upset if we remind him that he already told us something. He took Kate and I on the tour of the hospital. When we were finished he said, "Would you like a tour?" I enjoyed spending time with him very much and I look forward to seeing him again when he comes to the breakhouse.
Kate expressed that she wanted to go to Gibney's later that night. We convinced Erin to go with us. It was our goal to meet some Irish people, boys in particular. ;) We went inside, but soon realized that most everyone was outside. So we went out there and scoped it all out. We made small attempts at conversation, but with no success. There was one group of guys that sort of talked to us, but then quickly went back to their own group. I assumed they had no interest in us American girls. We were about to leave, when I accidentally bumped into someone and he thought that I thought he was pushing me out of the way. So he was like, "No, no I'm so sorry!" That was the beginning of the rest of the night. We talked to him and his friend David for a while. They bought us all drinks, which of course made us love them even more. David spent a lot of time convincing me that their town is much better than Malahide and that we must come sometime. Apparently it's only 10 km. He's the captain of a rugby team (I think he wanted me to be super impressed, but to his disappointment, I wasn't going to praise him for that) and he told me that they were playing the next day. He insisted that we should come, and that he'd come pick us up to see the match and go to the party afterwards. I was pretty skeptical of him, and I teased him that we don't know him and he could be crazy. But he and his friend seem very cool and I really don't suspect anything from them. So the other girls seem interested in going to the match tonight. It could be fun...we'll see though. He asked for my number, and told me he'd call me today. I made a joke that he probably wouldn't call, and so he called me last night and this morning just to prove that he would. I think he took me a little too seriously. :P A little later a guy from that group I mentioned before, the one that snubbed us, came over and started talking to me. I wasn't having any of it. He asked how we like Malahide and I explained to him that it was lovely, but the people weren't very nice! When he looked playfully offended, Kate and I explained our attempts at conversation. He looked embarrassed at this point and told me he just needed a few drinks for courage before talking to us. He tried to get us to come to a party in a town a few minutes away, but of course we weren't going to go with some guys we just met. But they are from Malahide, and so I think we'll bump into them again soon. He got my number as well, so we'll see.
We left there around half one feeling very successful of our night out. I really hope that we can make friends with some of those guys because they are local and probably know a lot more people and a lot of cool places to go.
Today is another working day. We did a little office work this morning and soon we'll head out to do another visit. I am familiar with two of the members, but I don't know the others. We're taking them to a pub, so that should be very fun.
I suppose that's all for now. I miss you, Oregon!
Love,
Claire
Jose came shortly after Kate. He is from Spain, and is still learning English but he is doing well! I think that living in this house will help him. We all spent some time together in the kitchen as we waited for Khadija to arrive. She had the plans for what we were to do for the day. She also needed to meet with the newbies and do paperwork with them. After that we all walked to the village to show them around. It was fun to be able to show them things because it made me feel like I'm not so new anymore. We all separated for a while, and I took Jose and Kate to the Malahide Castle. Kate was impressed, but I think Jose has seen many bigger and more beautiful ones in his life. We spent time in the house after that, and watched a movie. They were pretty tired from the long day, so we decided not to take them to Gibney's that night.
Yesterday morning was another early day for us sleepy volunteers. We all met in the kitchen and waited yet again for Khadija to come with instructions for the day. We split in to two groups. May and Bohye went to a home to visit a few of the members. Erin, Kate, Jose, and I went to a home called the Cara Cheshire. There, we met up with seven members who live in the home, among about 20 others. The only member I was familiar with was Michalina. It was so good to see her! And I got to meet a man named Sean Maloney, who is very popular at the CASA house. I've heard so many stories about him and it was good to meet him. Sean suffered a brain hemorrhage about 20 years ago. He is very friendly and vocal about his story. He had to relearn how to walk, talk, move his arms, eat, etc. His memory is very poor, so he'll often say the same things over and over again. When I mentioned something about his sister who lives in the states, he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "HOW do you KNOW that??" haha It was adorable! He has an amazing attitude regarding his memory problem and never gets upset if we remind him that he already told us something. He took Kate and I on the tour of the hospital. When we were finished he said, "Would you like a tour?" I enjoyed spending time with him very much and I look forward to seeing him again when he comes to the breakhouse.
Kate expressed that she wanted to go to Gibney's later that night. We convinced Erin to go with us. It was our goal to meet some Irish people, boys in particular. ;) We went inside, but soon realized that most everyone was outside. So we went out there and scoped it all out. We made small attempts at conversation, but with no success. There was one group of guys that sort of talked to us, but then quickly went back to their own group. I assumed they had no interest in us American girls. We were about to leave, when I accidentally bumped into someone and he thought that I thought he was pushing me out of the way. So he was like, "No, no I'm so sorry!" That was the beginning of the rest of the night. We talked to him and his friend David for a while. They bought us all drinks, which of course made us love them even more. David spent a lot of time convincing me that their town is much better than Malahide and that we must come sometime. Apparently it's only 10 km. He's the captain of a rugby team (I think he wanted me to be super impressed, but to his disappointment, I wasn't going to praise him for that) and he told me that they were playing the next day. He insisted that we should come, and that he'd come pick us up to see the match and go to the party afterwards. I was pretty skeptical of him, and I teased him that we don't know him and he could be crazy. But he and his friend seem very cool and I really don't suspect anything from them. So the other girls seem interested in going to the match tonight. It could be fun...we'll see though. He asked for my number, and told me he'd call me today. I made a joke that he probably wouldn't call, and so he called me last night and this morning just to prove that he would. I think he took me a little too seriously. :P A little later a guy from that group I mentioned before, the one that snubbed us, came over and started talking to me. I wasn't having any of it. He asked how we like Malahide and I explained to him that it was lovely, but the people weren't very nice! When he looked playfully offended, Kate and I explained our attempts at conversation. He looked embarrassed at this point and told me he just needed a few drinks for courage before talking to us. He tried to get us to come to a party in a town a few minutes away, but of course we weren't going to go with some guys we just met. But they are from Malahide, and so I think we'll bump into them again soon. He got my number as well, so we'll see.
We left there around half one feeling very successful of our night out. I really hope that we can make friends with some of those guys because they are local and probably know a lot more people and a lot of cool places to go.
Today is another working day. We did a little office work this morning and soon we'll head out to do another visit. I am familiar with two of the members, but I don't know the others. We're taking them to a pub, so that should be very fun.
I suppose that's all for now. I miss you, Oregon!
Love,
Claire
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
I almost went to see the Book of Kells today...
So why am I writing in here if I didn't actually get to see it? Well I'm bored right now, that's why!
The last few days have been quiet around the house. May, Bohye and I were stuck here, while the others were out on trips they had the sense to plan weeks ago. Planning trips last minute is too pricey for me! So I just took it easy and hung out in Malahide for the past few days. I really didn't mind because I know that things will pick up again very soon. Although, when one of my supervisors saw me here on my four-day weekend, she sat me down and told me, "Claire, you HAVE to go out and do stuff while you're here!" I had to explain to her that I'd love to be out doing stuff every single moment that I'm here, but it's not very sensible. So now I'm planning a trip to the west side of Ireland for our next long weekend. :)
Last night, Johnny was supposed to get back from his trip to Italy in the evening so that we could all go out on his last night. He wasn't able to get here until 11:50, however, and the pub closes at 12! (Can you believe that?) So we ended up hanging out here. Johnny wanted to wake up early and head into Dublin to see the Book of Kells before he had to rush back here and then head to the airport to go back to Milwakee. I joined in because it would mean me actually doing something this weekend, and who wouldn't want to go see the Book of Kells? So Johnny, May, Bohye, and I got up early and headed out to the bus that would take us to Dublin. When we got there, we walked to get to Trinity College. The campus is beautiful! I took a few pictures, but not as many as I'd have liked. I have to go back! We got to the building where the Book was and Johnny says, "I don't want to pay the 8 euro to see it." To be honest I was a little irritated. I mean, yes it's his last day here, but seriously? 8 euro? It's not exactly a lot of money, you know? So we ended up turning right around and headed back to Malahide. I consoled myself by remembering that I have 11 more months to go see the damn thing, and I got over it very quickly. Truth be told, I think I was more upset about the loss of sleep than anything else. :P
So the girls took Johnny to the airport, and Erin is also there with her parents saying goodbye. Gabriele is still in Italy for a few days. That leaves me here and slightly bored. But I'll suggest something fun for tonight. We have a new girl Kate coming from Maine tomorrow, and a guy, Jose, from Spain. That will be really fun. It's a "working" day, but all we have to do is hang out with the newbies and take them to the village. Not a bad days work if you ask me. The next few days will be filled with visits. On the working days that we don't have groups, we go out in pairs and visit the members. It's a really great way to stay connected to them, because otherwise we'd only see them three or four times a year. I haven't been on one yet, so I'm really excited to go.
Ok, I'll go do something more productive with my time. Until next time...
Love,
Claire
The last few days have been quiet around the house. May, Bohye and I were stuck here, while the others were out on trips they had the sense to plan weeks ago. Planning trips last minute is too pricey for me! So I just took it easy and hung out in Malahide for the past few days. I really didn't mind because I know that things will pick up again very soon. Although, when one of my supervisors saw me here on my four-day weekend, she sat me down and told me, "Claire, you HAVE to go out and do stuff while you're here!" I had to explain to her that I'd love to be out doing stuff every single moment that I'm here, but it's not very sensible. So now I'm planning a trip to the west side of Ireland for our next long weekend. :)
Last night, Johnny was supposed to get back from his trip to Italy in the evening so that we could all go out on his last night. He wasn't able to get here until 11:50, however, and the pub closes at 12! (Can you believe that?) So we ended up hanging out here. Johnny wanted to wake up early and head into Dublin to see the Book of Kells before he had to rush back here and then head to the airport to go back to Milwakee. I joined in because it would mean me actually doing something this weekend, and who wouldn't want to go see the Book of Kells? So Johnny, May, Bohye, and I got up early and headed out to the bus that would take us to Dublin. When we got there, we walked to get to Trinity College. The campus is beautiful! I took a few pictures, but not as many as I'd have liked. I have to go back! We got to the building where the Book was and Johnny says, "I don't want to pay the 8 euro to see it." To be honest I was a little irritated. I mean, yes it's his last day here, but seriously? 8 euro? It's not exactly a lot of money, you know? So we ended up turning right around and headed back to Malahide. I consoled myself by remembering that I have 11 more months to go see the damn thing, and I got over it very quickly. Truth be told, I think I was more upset about the loss of sleep than anything else. :P
So the girls took Johnny to the airport, and Erin is also there with her parents saying goodbye. Gabriele is still in Italy for a few days. That leaves me here and slightly bored. But I'll suggest something fun for tonight. We have a new girl Kate coming from Maine tomorrow, and a guy, Jose, from Spain. That will be really fun. It's a "working" day, but all we have to do is hang out with the newbies and take them to the village. Not a bad days work if you ask me. The next few days will be filled with visits. On the working days that we don't have groups, we go out in pairs and visit the members. It's a really great way to stay connected to them, because otherwise we'd only see them three or four times a year. I haven't been on one yet, so I'm really excited to go.
Ok, I'll go do something more productive with my time. Until next time...
Love,
Claire
Friday, June 5, 2009
My Fourth Group
I have to start this blog off with a big "HA HA" to everyone stuck in Oregon. You are getting thunderstorms from what I've heard, and I'm working on my tan! Ireland has taken a break from it's constant rain and cloudy skies. It's been almost a week now, and everyone has definitely been taking advantage of the nice weather while it lasts. I went to the beach on Monday. It was so beautiful! It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the beach from my house, so I went there with a book and spent the afternoon relaxing. It was very lovely. I must say that I think I got there faster by walking than the cars next to me! There was a huge traffic jam because it was a Bank Holiday (still not sure what that is but they have a lot of them here!) and everyone was headed through the small village in Malahide to get to the water.
The rest of my weekend was pretty mellow as well. Tuesday night, all the volunteers hung out and had a BBQ. It was Johnny's last night to hang out with us. He's leaving next week to go back home to the US. We had a group for the past few days, and right now he's headed to Italy with Gabriele for our four day weekend. So when he comes back from that he'll have to pack so he won't have much time to hang out with the rest of us. He ended up teaching us a pretty funny card game. It's kind of hard to explain, so I'll just leave it at that. :P
We had an early start Wednesday as we prepared for our group. The members started coming at 2pm. I was with Yvonne. She is 25 years old and she has cerebral palsey. She is a very quiet and shy girl, so at first I was nervous that she would take a while to warm up to me. We sat in the living room with everyone else for a while, and there was a lot of quiet moments. She's a very private person, so I didn't want to ask too many questions in case they would offend her. When everyone arrived, we all went for a walk to the castle. It was so nice out and everyone seemed to enjoy the walk. By the time we got back, dinner was ready and we all piled in to our small kitchen. I felt a little clumsy as I helped her eat her dinner. But she was extremely patient with me, and she knew exactly what she wanted, so that helped. Her speech wasn't always great, and when you paired that with her accent, it definitely made it a challenge for me. But she was happy to repeat herself, which was very much appreciated! I think by the time we left for bowling, she was more comfortable with me, and even laughed at my dumb jokes! She really loved bowling, and I can understand why. She got the highest score! We all got home late and headed to bed shortly after.
The next day we got up and did the same routine. Got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and of course, had tea and biscuits. Because the weather was nice, we were able to go to the zoo. Yvonne liked some of it, but she didn't like a lot of the animals because they stink! So we spent some time in the gift shop towards the end of the trip. I didn't mind too much, because I was at the zoo a few weeks ago anyways. :P We got back just in time to get changed for dinner. We all hopped back on the bus (an event that takes at least 15 minutes) and made our way to The Grand Hotel. Everyone seemed to really enjoy their dinner, and the staff there was very welcoming and helpful. I can understand that it might not be easy seating 16 people, with many in wheelchairs. It wasn't a very large space, but we did great.
After dinner, we had an hour or so to spend in the living room together. All the members did their own thing. Yvonne really wanted to play her Nintendo, so I just mingled with the other members, and occasionally teased her when I heard the familiar sound that Mario makes when he dies. She always gave me a look that said, "Oh jeez. Leave me alone and let me play!" :)
Another member that I really loved this weekend was Michelina. She is such a sweetheart! And she's also the star of CASA. Everyone knows and loves her. She is the twin sister of a woman who works here, so she knows everyone here very well. She loves to color, and is always drawing pictures for everyone, especially the boys! Yvonne and Michelina had a special bond and were often looking out for each other. It was really nice. I had a lot of fun with her.
This morning went by very quickly. We had breakfast and then Mass here at the house. I got to pick the songs, so that was really fun. I picked "Open My Eyes" because it's a really simple one that I figured that most people would know, and if they didn't they could learn it easily. Well apparently that one isn't as popular in the Catholic churches here as it is in Oregon because no one knew it! But Yvonne said she had heard it once or twice so she was very helpful. I appreciated that a lot. As soon as Mass was over, we had a quick lunch and then everyone started leaving around 2pm.
I think it was a pretty successful group. It wasn't as chatty as the last one, so there were lots of quiet moments. I think that most of the members were pretty independant and wanted to do their own thing, as opposed to really enjoying the group activities. But as long as they are all having a good time, I don't see a problem in that. The main focus of this program is to give each person a break from their normal routine and a chance to be social and have fun. And I think that everyone who comes here gets just that.
I really love doing this kind of work. It's a completely new challenge for me. And what I'm starting to realize is that each week is going to be different because each person is different. Even though we do similar things in each group, the activities seem so different to me because my focus is on the member and not the activity. I like caregiving. I think that if after a year I still love this kind of work, I might consider what job opportunities are out there. But I won't get ahead of myself yet. I still have 11 months to decide if I still like it! But I'm really excited about the new opportunties that might come out of it. I like having my options open. :) But this year is really going to help me grow and I am really open to learning as much as I can while I'm here. And that is a positive thing for me to focus on, even when I get a little homesick. I do love hearing from you guys! If you get a chance, send me a quick email me and update me on your lives. :)
Love,
Claire
The rest of my weekend was pretty mellow as well. Tuesday night, all the volunteers hung out and had a BBQ. It was Johnny's last night to hang out with us. He's leaving next week to go back home to the US. We had a group for the past few days, and right now he's headed to Italy with Gabriele for our four day weekend. So when he comes back from that he'll have to pack so he won't have much time to hang out with the rest of us. He ended up teaching us a pretty funny card game. It's kind of hard to explain, so I'll just leave it at that. :P
We had an early start Wednesday as we prepared for our group. The members started coming at 2pm. I was with Yvonne. She is 25 years old and she has cerebral palsey. She is a very quiet and shy girl, so at first I was nervous that she would take a while to warm up to me. We sat in the living room with everyone else for a while, and there was a lot of quiet moments. She's a very private person, so I didn't want to ask too many questions in case they would offend her. When everyone arrived, we all went for a walk to the castle. It was so nice out and everyone seemed to enjoy the walk. By the time we got back, dinner was ready and we all piled in to our small kitchen. I felt a little clumsy as I helped her eat her dinner. But she was extremely patient with me, and she knew exactly what she wanted, so that helped. Her speech wasn't always great, and when you paired that with her accent, it definitely made it a challenge for me. But she was happy to repeat herself, which was very much appreciated! I think by the time we left for bowling, she was more comfortable with me, and even laughed at my dumb jokes! She really loved bowling, and I can understand why. She got the highest score! We all got home late and headed to bed shortly after.
The next day we got up and did the same routine. Got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and of course, had tea and biscuits. Because the weather was nice, we were able to go to the zoo. Yvonne liked some of it, but she didn't like a lot of the animals because they stink! So we spent some time in the gift shop towards the end of the trip. I didn't mind too much, because I was at the zoo a few weeks ago anyways. :P We got back just in time to get changed for dinner. We all hopped back on the bus (an event that takes at least 15 minutes) and made our way to The Grand Hotel. Everyone seemed to really enjoy their dinner, and the staff there was very welcoming and helpful. I can understand that it might not be easy seating 16 people, with many in wheelchairs. It wasn't a very large space, but we did great.
After dinner, we had an hour or so to spend in the living room together. All the members did their own thing. Yvonne really wanted to play her Nintendo, so I just mingled with the other members, and occasionally teased her when I heard the familiar sound that Mario makes when he dies. She always gave me a look that said, "Oh jeez. Leave me alone and let me play!" :)
Another member that I really loved this weekend was Michelina. She is such a sweetheart! And she's also the star of CASA. Everyone knows and loves her. She is the twin sister of a woman who works here, so she knows everyone here very well. She loves to color, and is always drawing pictures for everyone, especially the boys! Yvonne and Michelina had a special bond and were often looking out for each other. It was really nice. I had a lot of fun with her.
This morning went by very quickly. We had breakfast and then Mass here at the house. I got to pick the songs, so that was really fun. I picked "Open My Eyes" because it's a really simple one that I figured that most people would know, and if they didn't they could learn it easily. Well apparently that one isn't as popular in the Catholic churches here as it is in Oregon because no one knew it! But Yvonne said she had heard it once or twice so she was very helpful. I appreciated that a lot. As soon as Mass was over, we had a quick lunch and then everyone started leaving around 2pm.
I think it was a pretty successful group. It wasn't as chatty as the last one, so there were lots of quiet moments. I think that most of the members were pretty independant and wanted to do their own thing, as opposed to really enjoying the group activities. But as long as they are all having a good time, I don't see a problem in that. The main focus of this program is to give each person a break from their normal routine and a chance to be social and have fun. And I think that everyone who comes here gets just that.
I really love doing this kind of work. It's a completely new challenge for me. And what I'm starting to realize is that each week is going to be different because each person is different. Even though we do similar things in each group, the activities seem so different to me because my focus is on the member and not the activity. I like caregiving. I think that if after a year I still love this kind of work, I might consider what job opportunities are out there. But I won't get ahead of myself yet. I still have 11 months to decide if I still like it! But I'm really excited about the new opportunties that might come out of it. I like having my options open. :) But this year is really going to help me grow and I am really open to learning as much as I can while I'm here. And that is a positive thing for me to focus on, even when I get a little homesick. I do love hearing from you guys! If you get a chance, send me a quick email me and update me on your lives. :)
Love,
Claire
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