I also have two other jobs...

I have yet to elaborate upon my jobs at 1000 Hills or St. Theresa's as much as I know I should...so lets give it a whirl

1000 Hills

Website

1000 Hills has provided me with an opportunity to do just about everything. I have worked in the Creche (Nursery) taking care of babies (infant to four years old). Becca and I have done a little of everything in the Creche...given baths, given hugs, played soccer a.k.a gotten tackled and had 50 soccer balls thrown at us. We have helped with meals, read stories, dried tears, had our hair pulled out. As wonderful as the Creche is it is hard seeing the differences between daycare here and that in America.

The standards of work done by the staff just isn't up to par. They stick the children in front of a Barney dvd and let them watch it 3 times in a row. Meanwhile they text, they call people, they look at magazines they gossip. The kids, being kids start to get antsy after about three minutes and start fighting and crying. More often then not they are ignored for a while until the workers decide they can go and play. They pack 40 of them on a mat on the floor and make them sleep like sardines during rest time. And the rest must sleep on tables because there isn't enough room. It is cute how they know they are supposed to just go laid down, but I hate how there isn't any comfort; no pillows, no mats of their own, no blankies. I'm a sucker for teddys (Froggies) and blankies.

Any interactive projects with the children are unheard of. I asked if they did art work or read to the kids and they were shocked that I was even mentioning it. Becca and I are going to try to come up with some art projects and songs and games we can play, which is actually quite hard due to lack of supplies.

Becca and I have each taken turns reading to the kids (picture below) and although they can not understand English all 71 of them sit quietly and are extremely attentive.

We started singing a song to four of them and within minutes all 71 of them were gathered around us. We put them in a circle and ended up singing every single call and repeat song we could think of (THANK YOU CAMP DAYBREAK!) Again, they don't understand much of what we are saying, but they would repeat our words and do the motions... An adorable smashing success!

Songs:

The Moose Song

You are my Sunshine

The Princess Pat

The Banana Song

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

I'm a little hunk of tin

....any other suggestions would be delightful!

I have also worked in the pharmacy, counting pills, filling prescriptions, mixing elixirs... who would have ever thought I would be in charge of someones medicinal regimen. They also have us in the Baby clinic a few days a week...weighing the children, getting peed on, taking their temps, and the blood pressure of the parents. Between being here and at Hillcrest I am getting a real taste of nursing. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I am falling in love with patient care.

Most of all and certainly most importantly...at 1000 Hills I get to cuddle, snuggle, love and be loved by the babies. They all want to touch me. They want to feel my hair and give me high-fives and they do this adorable little thing where they stick out their thumb and when you do it too they press them together and twist. It apparently means they like you. They want to give you slobbery wet kisses, and poke and prod me. They poke my skin and show others how it gets even whiter than it already is. I can't get enough of their boogy fingers, toothless smiles, crusty noses and adorable voices.

St. Theresa's Home

I have cottage two, 12 boys ages 12-13. They are so cute. We are at the home for homework help for an hour and a half three times a week and it is chaos. Boys running, screaming, dancing, singing, picking on each other and on me, but I think I have a good way of dealing with the boys in my cottage. I help each one individually and when I'm doing so I told them I expect silence. I'm pretty stern during those times and have built enough rapport with them that they follow my directions (most of the time..)

and then when homework is done we all relax. We've had some dance parties, we made 'cootie pickers' out of paper, we play American soccer and they taught me how to play cricket which I am awful at. The other day they braided my hair and gave me a back massage because "1. my hair is aooOoOooooooO silky and 2. I looked like I needed it "haha. It is obvious that all the kids look up to the four of us as their cool big role models, but they also respect us and trust us which is huge!

My boys adore the fact that I rap with and to them. They love how I say Sup boo and Hey Homie whenever they enter the room. They nick named me Zinhle (zink-lay) which in Zulu means beautiful, but when I called them out for telling me I was beautiful they got all red and started calling me Mag (yes mAg) again!

Life here is just life. There is no way to really fully describe what I do, smell, hear or see here. The days are so full and blend together that I need to remind myself constantly how fast this is all going to go. I think we have each begun to learn the importance of living in the moment. Taking everything in and focusing on one thing at a time.

I miss you all dearly, the days although they run together give me time to think about each of you, its comforting how each day really reminds me of some group. You are each, always in my thoughts and prayers!

Monday-The start of the week, I miss the beginnings - Mom, Dad, Colin, Jordan, My family, Fitch Ave, Becky and the cheddar bacon turkey sammy, my Midd boys

Tuesday-Heather, Rice, Ms. Beatty, M&M and Gummy Bears

Wednesday -St. John Vianney Crew and Bode, Ania, Kate and Matt

Thursday-Mack Biddies, Summer time crowd, OcO8, RAs, Rolfs and Claddagh

Friday-all the AV08-09, Da BRONXXX, Andrews Ave homies, kt, kendoll, dre, the priests, the army man, the subway

Saturday -My 5 Hometown Heros, drinks at BG's, Georgie the cab driver, Ales, RJs and bootsie

Sunday -Nana and Gramp