3/14

So.. this week hasnt been too exciting, but I cant believe how quickly the week has passed by! I cant believe how quickly this whole experience has gone by!! Only 6 weeks left, I think? Wow! It is crazy to think about! Nothing out of the normal really happened this week. I had my usual days filled with children at the Kindergarten, and afternoons filled with special needs club, parent meetings, meetings with Dorothy, and of course... homework! Haha.. .cant forget that one!

I guess there was one really cool thing that happened this week... I assume that most of you reading this blog have seen children cry- and if you know me at all, you have probably witnessed me crying a million times! ;) But have you ever seen a 6 year old cry out of pure joy, and exasperation? I have seen adults, and teenagers cry out of pure joy... but never a child. WEll, at the end of the day in the Kindergarten we give the children different colored "dots" to put on their shirts to show how well they behaved during the day. A red dot is for good behavior,, and a black dot is for bad behavior, and after 7 red dots the child receives a gold star! Well, anyways... there is one child in the Kindergarten that is almost always bad during the day... he tends to talk back, distract the other children, gets violent, and just misbehaves all around. He kind of has been labeled the "bad kid" in the Kindergarten. WEll, the other day he just had this amazing change in behavior ( partially because there was a college age male helping in the room for the day- which works WONDERS on these little boys) and he was fairly good all day. This is a child who doesnt let us give him pats on the back, rarely responds well to even positive feedback- he truly feels like he has to live out his "label." Well, he was good and the teacher had given him a black dot ( i think it may have been out of habit) and i told her that he was good- so she called him over and gave him a red dot! He was sooo excited, and shocked! Tears filled this childs eyes, and he didnt know what to do with himself. He was so excited that we had noticed that he was trying, and was actually behaving for a change... This made his day, even his week! When I saw his face, I couldnt help but cry. I have never seen a child react like this to something that seems soo meaningless to the other kids in the class. Most of the time everyone else gets red dots- so its just "normal" to them, but to this child it meant EVERYTHING. It kind of reminded me of teh Max Lucado book that my Mom really likes- I forget what it is called.. but yeah... It was great to witness such an awesome moment with this child.

Another thing that particularly struck me ( i sort of mentioned above) is the importance of having a positive male influence. It is so rare for these children to have positive male role mdels in their lives. Within this particular group of kids, Most of the men they encounter (fathers, grandfathers) have a tendency to mistreat women and the child as well. It is just so important for men to be present. But that is a discussion for another day :) Im much better at verbalizing my feelings, than actually writing them down...

Yeah... so I guess that was the highlight of my week :) I am also going on a pretty intense hike tomorrow, and I am really excited about it! I have seen pictures, and it is going to be beautiful!!!!! I am looking forward to taking pics and posting them!! :)

I am at the point where I really miss everyone, and everything from home... Dont get me wrong, I love it here! It has just been two months, and it is just getting harder to not think about home. I try as hard as possible not to think about it because I want to make my time here the best it can possibly be- so I am continuing to put 100% effort into everything I am doing here, but its not easy keeping my feelings of longing for home hidden... I am so glad that I am here, and I wouldnt want it any other way, honestly. I feel like I am learning so much, and am doing so much more than I would be doing back in the states if that is where I had decided to do my practicum. I have fallen in love with Romania, and the people here. It is just hard to know that in a little over a month that I will be leaving them. It is so hard to know how to balance my relationshiups with these people (both colleagues, clients, and friends) - and also be okay with leaving them.. It feels like just as these people are starting to love, and trust me... I will be leaving them. It is hard not to feel like I am abandoning them. Some of the people I work with in club see me as one of their friends.. .and some of the kids receive there "daily hugs" from me... instead of at home. It is just alot to think about and pray about.....

Sorry my thoughts are so random, and arent always clear... I do not write very well, unless it is a paper with a clear outline etc. hahaha.... thanks for bearing with me!

Until next time... la revedere!