I'm sitting in the kitchen right now at 9am wondering why I volunteered to help Paddy collect the donation bags at 8.... I had a long sleep deprived weekend with the kids group, but it was worth it! I had my most interesting member so far. But let me back up a bit...
Thursday afternoon was filled with group prep and cleaning. As soon as it was over we all began getting ready to party for May's last night. It began with a trip to Gibney's with everyone, including Federico and Gio, and excepting Kate and Lisa. Lennart and Lisa were preparing a German meal for May's last night, and Kate offered to stay to help Lisa so that Lennart could come with us. (They were fighting like a married couple, and the fact that it was all in German made it even more entertaining.) It was Arthur's Day, which is a made up holiday to celebrate the birth of Arthur Guinness, and was a countrywide party because it is also the 250th anniversary of the opening of the factory. Most people were out because of the promised free pint of Guinness at 17:59, which was the year it opened. (Really dorky, but fun!) Anyways, we went to have our free pint and stayed for a little bit. We could barely fit in the door! After we all had our delicious pints, we headed back for the dinner. They made meatballs, sauerkraut, and some potato bread ball type things. It was all very delicious, but we rushed to clean up so that we could go out to Dublin for the third part of our party.
Once we got to town, we went straight for Temple Bar. May wanted to hear traditional Irish music. We walked into a place I've never been to, and I can't remember the name. But we could hear the music from the street, so we settled there. The drinks were overprices, and the place was very crowded, but the music was fun and people were dancing. When May wasn't looking, I asked one of the musicians to play "Galway Girl" because it's May's favorite song and it was her last night in Dublin. He told me that he had already played it that night, but they might be able to fit it in once more. After a sufficient amount of music and dancing, we were off again! Jonny told us about a bar that was under the DART station. They had cheap pints and fun music to dance to. Poor Lisa got an entire pint of beer spilled on her by Peter, who she already was irritated with. They closed at half twelve so we had to leave, even though the party had just begun! We decided to go to the Q Bar, as always, but they were PACKED! I can't believe how many people were out for Arthur's Day...it was a Thursday after all... Anyways, they let me and Fed in, but not everyone else, so we all left. We wandered around Temple Bar for a while, but we had no success. After a bit of arguing, most of us decided to head back by taxi, while Lennart, Peter, and May went back to Fed's house with Gio. It was half one at that point, and we had a kid's group the next day. I was ready to sleep!
The next day, we all got the house prepared for the kids group. Most of our time was to be spent at the Swords house, but because of the big number and the regulations for over night stays with children, we split up the group between houses for bedtime. We said goodbye to May, and then went to Swords to wait for the kids to arrive. Danielle was the first to show up. She was mine! She is 11 years old, and I honestly can't remember the title of her disability. She has very limited speech. She has a big sense of anticipation, so most of the day she'll ask about when she's going to bed and when her mom was coming back. She also has a hyper metabolism, so she eats constantly and moves around constantly. My job was to basically walk around with her and give her bites of food. I also had to watch her at all times because she has been known to jump out of windows and break glasses. There's no telling her "no" because she doesn't understand the concept. Aside from all of that, she is simply lovely. I really enjoyed spending the weekend with her, even if it was a big challenge. Bedtime was the worst part I think... Most of the kids sleep in separate rooms, but Danielle needed to be watched. So in spite of the fact that she spoke of bed all day long, she sure didn't want to sleep! I ended up sitting next to her in bed while she sang her nursery rhymes to insure that she wouldn't get up and bang on the door. It was midnight before she actually slept. She woke up during the night several times and I got up to sit by her until she went back to sleep. I woke up at 6:30am to her opening and slamming the door. We had a volunteer come that stayed the night to check on the kids every hour (part of the stupid regulations). She was very nice and told me to get a little more sleep and she'd watch her. I slept for a half hour and then took a shower while I had the chance! The rest of the day with Danielle was really good. We all went to the park and had a magician come to the house. He was very entertaining, and all of the kids sat for the whole thing, including Danielle to my surprise! We had a quick dinner and then got set up for Mass. Danielle really loves Mass and she does this thing where she puts her arms above her head and links her hands and gives a little squeal of excitement. It is incredibly adorable. When Mass was over, all the kids resumed to their playing and Danielle started to show signs of what was to come. She knew that a woman named Mary would be by the house later, and so she fixated on this until Mary came. She sat and waited by the window and started to freak out a little. When she gets upset she punches the couch and bites her hands to have some small kind of control. It's really sad because there was no way of explaining to her that Mary was coming soon. She has no concept of time, only that the person she wants is not there. The weirdest part is that when Mary did come, she had little interest in her. At that point she was just exhausted and ready for sleep. Unfortunately, she slept worse than the night before. Going to bed was easier however. We sang "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and after I sang that He has Danielle in His hands, she pointed to me and said "Claire?" So we sang a verse about me too. :) I was woken up quite a bit that night, and she got up at 6am. I had no time for a shower, and I was lucky to simply brush my teeth! She had a mini meltdown that morning and I knew the rest of the day was not going to be easy. I had to leave her for the morning because I had a meeting for Lourdes that I couldn't miss. Apparently while I was gone, she had several more meltdowns and continued to bite her hands. Kate was with her during that time, and she definitely got the hardest part. When I came back she gave me a smile and Kate told me she asked for me, which was really sweet. After that, we walked around the house and bounced on the bouncy castle a bit. I took her for a walk outside to calm her down because she was really starting to melt down. Three days is a long time for her to be away from home. Her mom came a little early, which was a very good thing for poor little Danielle. I talked to her while she put Danielle in the car and she told me she is with her all the time, apart from school. She said that the weekend was so nice, and thanked me. I told her that I had a lot of fun with Danielle and I'd be happy to babysit any time. I hope she takes me up on that, but I doubt she will. It's hard for parents to let someone watch their child even when they have regular needs. We'll see...
After the group, we cleaned up and came home to relax. I caught up on emails and then I watched Twilight....yikes...
I'm going to Dublin today to do some shopping. I need white clothing to go with my white uniform for Lourdes. I am SO excited!!!
Love to you,
Claire
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sick and Stuck in the House
Well, it's official. I'm sick. I woke up today with my nose running and my throat really sore. I was feeling crappy yesterday, but it was only my throat and lungs and exhaustian which I thought was due to too many late nights. Anyways, this is not exactly the way I want to spend my weekend. We start work again tomorrow and I don't know if I should go on the visit. But I'll just take it easy today and see how I feel.
Ok now that I'm done whining about being sick, I can back up and talk about the group. Aishling (one of my favorite Irish names) arrived a little after 4pm on Friday. She is 19 years old, and she has such a big personality! She is so expressive with her face, and although she cannot speak, she can say what she wants to say either by her expressions or by her computer that she types into and it speaks for her. She is also able to drive her electric wheelchair which was great for her independance, but not so great for my shins. Needless to say, she liked to drive fast. But I learned quickly to watch where she was going, because she certaintly didn't! It took a few minutes for her to warm up to me because there were others here that she knew well. But once she did we had so much fun! We had dinner here that night, and then went to bowling soon after. We haven't been bowling in a while so I was excited to go. Aishling was the best in our lane and that was really exciting for her. When we got home, we had a karaoke night and it was a big success! Aishling had no interest in singing with me, but when it was over I took my laptop and she loved looking at my pictures. She developed a crush on Jose, my fellow volunteer from Spain. She wanted to see every picture I had of him. The crush was cute at first, and Jose was so good about it. But by the end of the weekend she would shut down when he wasn't in the room and by Sunday she refused to eat breakfast unless he would sit by her! A mondern-day Ghandhi... Anyways, besides that little annoyance, I had a really fun weekend with her. She is really funny and such a sweetheart. We went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D on Saturday afternoon. I made the mistake of saying that I couldn't see 3D and she was concerned that I didn't enjoy it the whole time! But actually, I used the 3D glasses and it helped the screen to look normal to me, even though I couldn't see things popping out. The movie was pretty cute. After that we had a nice meal back home, provided by two volunteer chefs from Hong Kong. It was delicious! We played bingo later that night, and went to bed. The next day was a little long for us all. I like the groups better when they go from 2pm Friday until 2pm Sunday. Everyone in the house is always tired on the last day.
When everyone was gone, we had a quick meeting to close the group. Siobhan (a volunteer who's been here for three weeks) left a few hours later to Cork. She started classes the next day. Oh I forgot to mention that we have a new voluteer. Peter from South Korea came on Saturday evening, during the group! It was very hectic for us and especially for him. But he adjusted to the chaos well, considering. So anyways, Sunday night we all went out to a new pub called Smyth's. Well it's new to us...we frequent Gibney's when we go to the village. It was a nice place to sit down with friends. We came home late and I stayed up even later. I was already feeling sick, so I'm really stupid for going out at all. The entire day yesterday was spent in my pajamas and watching movies. I couldn't sleep at all, even when the house was empty for the three hours the cleaners were here. I wasn't tired until about 11 last night while watching Heathers. (Have you seen that movie? It's so bad it's good! "What's your DAMAGE Heather?") Anyways, I practically ran for my bed as soon as the movie was over. I was hoping to sleep in a lot today, but I woke up around half eight. Since then I've had tea and toast and watched The Last of the Mohicans and Beauty and the Beast. Next up is 12 Angry Men, the old version. I've only seen the newer one, so I'm excited for that.
Sorry for this pathetic post. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting entries soon!
Love,Claire
Ok now that I'm done whining about being sick, I can back up and talk about the group. Aishling (one of my favorite Irish names) arrived a little after 4pm on Friday. She is 19 years old, and she has such a big personality! She is so expressive with her face, and although she cannot speak, she can say what she wants to say either by her expressions or by her computer that she types into and it speaks for her. She is also able to drive her electric wheelchair which was great for her independance, but not so great for my shins. Needless to say, she liked to drive fast. But I learned quickly to watch where she was going, because she certaintly didn't! It took a few minutes for her to warm up to me because there were others here that she knew well. But once she did we had so much fun! We had dinner here that night, and then went to bowling soon after. We haven't been bowling in a while so I was excited to go. Aishling was the best in our lane and that was really exciting for her. When we got home, we had a karaoke night and it was a big success! Aishling had no interest in singing with me, but when it was over I took my laptop and she loved looking at my pictures. She developed a crush on Jose, my fellow volunteer from Spain. She wanted to see every picture I had of him. The crush was cute at first, and Jose was so good about it. But by the end of the weekend she would shut down when he wasn't in the room and by Sunday she refused to eat breakfast unless he would sit by her! A mondern-day Ghandhi... Anyways, besides that little annoyance, I had a really fun weekend with her. She is really funny and such a sweetheart. We went to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D on Saturday afternoon. I made the mistake of saying that I couldn't see 3D and she was concerned that I didn't enjoy it the whole time! But actually, I used the 3D glasses and it helped the screen to look normal to me, even though I couldn't see things popping out. The movie was pretty cute. After that we had a nice meal back home, provided by two volunteer chefs from Hong Kong. It was delicious! We played bingo later that night, and went to bed. The next day was a little long for us all. I like the groups better when they go from 2pm Friday until 2pm Sunday. Everyone in the house is always tired on the last day.
When everyone was gone, we had a quick meeting to close the group. Siobhan (a volunteer who's been here for three weeks) left a few hours later to Cork. She started classes the next day. Oh I forgot to mention that we have a new voluteer. Peter from South Korea came on Saturday evening, during the group! It was very hectic for us and especially for him. But he adjusted to the chaos well, considering. So anyways, Sunday night we all went out to a new pub called Smyth's. Well it's new to us...we frequent Gibney's when we go to the village. It was a nice place to sit down with friends. We came home late and I stayed up even later. I was already feeling sick, so I'm really stupid for going out at all. The entire day yesterday was spent in my pajamas and watching movies. I couldn't sleep at all, even when the house was empty for the three hours the cleaners were here. I wasn't tired until about 11 last night while watching Heathers. (Have you seen that movie? It's so bad it's good! "What's your DAMAGE Heather?") Anyways, I practically ran for my bed as soon as the movie was over. I was hoping to sleep in a lot today, but I woke up around half eight. Since then I've had tea and toast and watched The Last of the Mohicans and Beauty and the Beast. Next up is 12 Angry Men, the old version. I've only seen the newer one, so I'm excited for that.
Sorry for this pathetic post. Hopefully I'll have some more exciting entries soon!
Love,Claire
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Replacement Italians
That week of training was almost painful. I realize that most of you have real jobs with real training that is actually painful, and I'm just being whiny, but oh well. After that long week of cleaning and meetings, we had a few days off. I was a little sad because I was going to be missing out on the Vandecoevering Labor Day camp out that has been going on since I was a little girl. I've never missed one before! So I decided that I should have my own American-style BBQ here. The most important part was the s'mores! I couldn't find graham crackers but I found some cookies that worked ok. We invited Federico and Gio over, and we all had so much fun! We've been hanging out with them quite a bit lately, and we decided they are our replacement "Gabriele." (Although, no one could really replace Lele!)
On Sunday we all went to meet up with our Italians in Dublin. We had a pint at Murray's Pub and then got some food before heading to The George. That is the gay bar that we go to for gay bingo! I was really excited to go again, but Federico and Lennart were less than thrilled. Federico has three gay roommates, so he wasn't a stranger to The George. Poor Lennart got hit on by a 45 year old gay man from Dublin named Patrick. I really loved him though and we were chatting for a while. After a few performances, bingo began. There were 8 of us there and none of us got even close! Lennart and I were on the edge of our seats because we decided that if either of us won the 1400 euro jackpot we would share it. So after the bingo we relaxed and watched a few more performances. My favorite drag queen wasn't there, but Shirley Temple Bar was and she was hilarious!
On Tuesday, Federico and Gio came over again to make us asparagus risotto, caprese salad, and tiramisu. It was so much fun to have them in our kitchen, and the food was delicious! We were very spoiled. Afterward we played a round of Pictionary. It was Kate, Gio, and Lisa against Federico, Lennart, and me. The language barrier was only an issue a few times. At one point Lisa was like, "Oh I know this word but it's really hard to draw!" Lennart replied with, "Well that's the game!" It was so funny. Another one of my favorite moments was when Lennart had accidentally picked up a "Category" card and for "action" he actually drew "action." We laughed so hard! It had nothing to do with the fact that he is German and English is his second language. That is just purely a blond moment. So funny...
Our group began Wednesday at 2pm. My girl was here about an hour early, but I was prepared for that ahead of time. Her name is Martina Kane. She has an intellectual disability. Mostly, all she required was patience. She is very anxious all the time, and repeats things that she worries about over and over, as well as her name. "My name is MARtina Kane. Not MarTINA. MARtina." I had met her once before, and I knew that I might struggle with my patience. But I was surprised at how easy we got on. I was able to help her with her anxiety, without invalidating her worried impulses. Sometimes others would try to tease her, and she would start to stress out, and that always added more work for me. But other than that, the group went smoothly. The new people did great with their members, and I think they all feel more comfortable now that they know what to expect.
Friday night was quiet...we all did our own thing. Kate, Kaitlyn and I went to Gibney's for a pint. The crowd was very strange...a mix between older people and 18 year olds. We only stayed for one drink. We were all tired after the group. Yesterday was also a lazy day. I stayed in for the entire day and finished my book "Scarlett" and watched the movie "Taxi Driver". "You talking to me? Are you talking to ME?" It was ok... the cinematography was impressive. And Jodi Foster as a 13 year old prostitute was crazy! I feel like Robert Deniro is always a crazy person in all of his films... Anyways, later last night, Kate and I escaped this zoo without zebras and went to Dublin. While waiting for the bus, a lady ran out of petrol and the guy in the car behind her got out and offered to move her car to the side. The guy at the bus stop also went over to help. When he came back we started chatting with him. His name is Johnny and he lives here in Malahide. He's a journalism major and he will be going to grad school soon. We talked with him all the way into city center and he invited us to hang out with his friends. It was kind of freaky how much they reminded me of a Portland crowd. Very Left-Wing and sort of self righteous, but fun and chill at the same time. We went to a bar and then to a club for dancing. I have to admit that I wasn't really interested in going to The Button Factory for dancing, but after a while I ignored the terrible music and people elbowing me in the face and just had fun dancing with Kate. We made it to the late bus at 3am to head back home.
Now I'm about to head out with everyone for my first CASA social. Every month from September to May, they host a social at a hotel for 200 volunteers and members. There will be a Mass, followed by lunch and dancing. I'm excited. It should be fun, even though it will be work as well. Later tonight we have plans to meet up with Federico and Gio for drinks and music at O'Neill's.
I hope all is well at home.
Love,
Claire
On Sunday we all went to meet up with our Italians in Dublin. We had a pint at Murray's Pub and then got some food before heading to The George. That is the gay bar that we go to for gay bingo! I was really excited to go again, but Federico and Lennart were less than thrilled. Federico has three gay roommates, so he wasn't a stranger to The George. Poor Lennart got hit on by a 45 year old gay man from Dublin named Patrick. I really loved him though and we were chatting for a while. After a few performances, bingo began. There were 8 of us there and none of us got even close! Lennart and I were on the edge of our seats because we decided that if either of us won the 1400 euro jackpot we would share it. So after the bingo we relaxed and watched a few more performances. My favorite drag queen wasn't there, but Shirley Temple Bar was and she was hilarious!
On Tuesday, Federico and Gio came over again to make us asparagus risotto, caprese salad, and tiramisu. It was so much fun to have them in our kitchen, and the food was delicious! We were very spoiled. Afterward we played a round of Pictionary. It was Kate, Gio, and Lisa against Federico, Lennart, and me. The language barrier was only an issue a few times. At one point Lisa was like, "Oh I know this word but it's really hard to draw!" Lennart replied with, "Well that's the game!" It was so funny. Another one of my favorite moments was when Lennart had accidentally picked up a "Category" card and for "action" he actually drew "action." We laughed so hard! It had nothing to do with the fact that he is German and English is his second language. That is just purely a blond moment. So funny...
Our group began Wednesday at 2pm. My girl was here about an hour early, but I was prepared for that ahead of time. Her name is Martina Kane. She has an intellectual disability. Mostly, all she required was patience. She is very anxious all the time, and repeats things that she worries about over and over, as well as her name. "My name is MARtina Kane. Not MarTINA. MARtina." I had met her once before, and I knew that I might struggle with my patience. But I was surprised at how easy we got on. I was able to help her with her anxiety, without invalidating her worried impulses. Sometimes others would try to tease her, and she would start to stress out, and that always added more work for me. But other than that, the group went smoothly. The new people did great with their members, and I think they all feel more comfortable now that they know what to expect.
Friday night was quiet...we all did our own thing. Kate, Kaitlyn and I went to Gibney's for a pint. The crowd was very strange...a mix between older people and 18 year olds. We only stayed for one drink. We were all tired after the group. Yesterday was also a lazy day. I stayed in for the entire day and finished my book "Scarlett" and watched the movie "Taxi Driver". "You talking to me? Are you talking to ME?" It was ok... the cinematography was impressive. And Jodi Foster as a 13 year old prostitute was crazy! I feel like Robert Deniro is always a crazy person in all of his films... Anyways, later last night, Kate and I escaped this zoo without zebras and went to Dublin. While waiting for the bus, a lady ran out of petrol and the guy in the car behind her got out and offered to move her car to the side. The guy at the bus stop also went over to help. When he came back we started chatting with him. His name is Johnny and he lives here in Malahide. He's a journalism major and he will be going to grad school soon. We talked with him all the way into city center and he invited us to hang out with his friends. It was kind of freaky how much they reminded me of a Portland crowd. Very Left-Wing and sort of self righteous, but fun and chill at the same time. We went to a bar and then to a club for dancing. I have to admit that I wasn't really interested in going to The Button Factory for dancing, but after a while I ignored the terrible music and people elbowing me in the face and just had fun dancing with Kate. We made it to the late bus at 3am to head back home.
Now I'm about to head out with everyone for my first CASA social. Every month from September to May, they host a social at a hotel for 200 volunteers and members. There will be a Mass, followed by lunch and dancing. I'm excited. It should be fun, even though it will be work as well. Later tonight we have plans to meet up with Federico and Gio for drinks and music at O'Neill's.
I hope all is well at home.
Love,
Claire
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Dancing the Night Away
I'm sitting in the kitchen right now. This house filled with nine people is quiet except for the moments of Kate and Lisa making their breakfast. I'm trying not to be too bummed out today because we all said goodbye to Gabriele last night. He has been here for almost a year, and he was offered a job in the best hospital in Italy, so staying here wasn't really an option for him. We took him out for his last night, and it was so much fun! But before I talk about that I should back up a little.
The last few days have been pretty boring. Everyone came home on Sunday, and we were supposed to have the house somewhat in order for the new people who were arriving Monday and Tuesday. Kaitlyn called Sunday morning and informed us that she had the date wrong on her flight and would be here in a few minutes! Erin and I were hoping she wouldn't mind the mess because we had no time to clean! But she arrived and was very understanding and even offered to help clean. She is from LA and was previously working with children with autism. She'll find this job much easier I think. Later that day, she helped me dye my hair, which I told her was her hazing! (Unfortunately the "deep burgandy" which looked brown with a tiny bit of red on the box turned out to be brown with a lot of purple.) We watched two movies that day, so I think I was feeling especially lazy and not ready to start working again! Pan's Laberinth and Hannah and Her Sisters. Two very different movies! I liked both of them, though. I am a big Woody Allen fan, and I think Hannah and Her Sisters has made it to my top 3 favorites of his.
Anyways, the next day, we all had to start getting the house in order, and we had the bosses here. The cleaners never came while we were gone, so we had our work cut out for us. We were also responsible for clearing out a lot of junk that has accumulated for what looked like two or three years! But I LOVE throwing stuff away, so it was kind of fun for me.
Yesterday started out the same as Monday. We all got up and began to finish our cleaning duties. We also went grocery shopping which was MUCH needed and now we are all happy because there is lots of food. Lisa was the first to show up yesterday afternoon. She is from Germany and she is my new roommate. She just finished seconday school and is taking a year off before college. I like her. Siobhan (pronounced "Sha-VON" because Gaelic is crazy) was next to arrive after lunch. She is from Ireland, and she will be here for three weeks before she begins her last year at college in Cork. She is as cute as a button! I really love Irish accents! Anyways, the last to come here was Lennart, who is also from Germany. He is taking a year off before college as well, because apparently he had a choice between doing that or going into the German army for nine months. He was almost silent for the first two hours he was here, but he answered questions asked him, and we figured he would open up in time.
After everyone was settled we had dinner together. May made chicken curry. Mmmmm. Then we all got dressed up and went out for Lele's last night. We started at the Porterhouse for a few drinks. I'm still not drinking beer, but whiskey is better anyways! After a few hours there, we went to the Q Bar for dancing. The dance floor consisted of three couples and a small group of girls. But once all 10 of us went down there it really started to pick up!! I have never dancing that much in all of my life! I was on that dance floor for at least two and a half hours without a break! Even Lennert was out there dancing with us until the very end! I was so happy to see a little bit of personality break through. It was a perfect way for the new people to get to know us as a group and join in. It was so much fun, and they practically had to pull me out the door to come home. We lingered a bit in the kitchen, but eventually I had to say goodbye after two very big hugs.
Now I'm here and trying not to be sad. I'm planning on making it to Italy at some point this winter, so I know that the goodbye is temporary. I don't really feel like working today. We just have to do some meetings and training, and I've done it all before. we'll see if I learn something new.... :)
Until next time,
Claire
The last few days have been pretty boring. Everyone came home on Sunday, and we were supposed to have the house somewhat in order for the new people who were arriving Monday and Tuesday. Kaitlyn called Sunday morning and informed us that she had the date wrong on her flight and would be here in a few minutes! Erin and I were hoping she wouldn't mind the mess because we had no time to clean! But she arrived and was very understanding and even offered to help clean. She is from LA and was previously working with children with autism. She'll find this job much easier I think. Later that day, she helped me dye my hair, which I told her was her hazing! (Unfortunately the "deep burgandy" which looked brown with a tiny bit of red on the box turned out to be brown with a lot of purple.) We watched two movies that day, so I think I was feeling especially lazy and not ready to start working again! Pan's Laberinth and Hannah and Her Sisters. Two very different movies! I liked both of them, though. I am a big Woody Allen fan, and I think Hannah and Her Sisters has made it to my top 3 favorites of his.
Anyways, the next day, we all had to start getting the house in order, and we had the bosses here. The cleaners never came while we were gone, so we had our work cut out for us. We were also responsible for clearing out a lot of junk that has accumulated for what looked like two or three years! But I LOVE throwing stuff away, so it was kind of fun for me.
Yesterday started out the same as Monday. We all got up and began to finish our cleaning duties. We also went grocery shopping which was MUCH needed and now we are all happy because there is lots of food. Lisa was the first to show up yesterday afternoon. She is from Germany and she is my new roommate. She just finished seconday school and is taking a year off before college. I like her. Siobhan (pronounced "Sha-VON" because Gaelic is crazy) was next to arrive after lunch. She is from Ireland, and she will be here for three weeks before she begins her last year at college in Cork. She is as cute as a button! I really love Irish accents! Anyways, the last to come here was Lennart, who is also from Germany. He is taking a year off before college as well, because apparently he had a choice between doing that or going into the German army for nine months. He was almost silent for the first two hours he was here, but he answered questions asked him, and we figured he would open up in time.
After everyone was settled we had dinner together. May made chicken curry. Mmmmm. Then we all got dressed up and went out for Lele's last night. We started at the Porterhouse for a few drinks. I'm still not drinking beer, but whiskey is better anyways! After a few hours there, we went to the Q Bar for dancing. The dance floor consisted of three couples and a small group of girls. But once all 10 of us went down there it really started to pick up!! I have never dancing that much in all of my life! I was on that dance floor for at least two and a half hours without a break! Even Lennert was out there dancing with us until the very end! I was so happy to see a little bit of personality break through. It was a perfect way for the new people to get to know us as a group and join in. It was so much fun, and they practically had to pull me out the door to come home. We lingered a bit in the kitchen, but eventually I had to say goodbye after two very big hugs.
Now I'm here and trying not to be sad. I'm planning on making it to Italy at some point this winter, so I know that the goodbye is temporary. I don't really feel like working today. We just have to do some meetings and training, and I've done it all before. we'll see if I learn something new.... :)
Until next time,
Claire
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