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