First Day of Volunteering

I had such a great evening, despite initial awkwardness! After all, what would a study-abroad experience be without awkwardness? If you aren't uncomfortable, you are doing something wrong. 

So I went to the Children's Center for the first time today, which was extremely nerve-wracking. When I called my contact to ask how to get into the building (which is conveniently located 5 minutes away from my University!), she told me she wasn't going to be there. And when I went into the building, it was completely dark and when I introduced myself to the three people in the building, no one else introduced themselves and then the only girl whose name I knew started talking on the phone, giving someone directions. Some other people started coming in, presumably volunteers, but no one was telling me where to go, I wasn't sure who to ask, people were headed in different directions, and none of this was helped by the fact that the electricity wasn't working!

I ended up standing in the hallway with two other girls. No one was speaking, we were just sitting on a bench waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Finally, I broke the ice and asked for their names. I introduced myself and said that I was an American student. This further broke the ice and I found out that one of the girls was Czech and the other girl was from Dagestan (a republic of Russia). The fact that both of them were also outsiders (in a way) set me at ease and we chatted for a while, which was quite enjoyable, they were easy to talk to. Then, the children arrived and we all sat in a room lit with candles and a single flashlight pointed at the ceiling. All things considered, it was a surprisingly effective arrangement.

Then walked in...a pirate! It was one of the volunteers dressed up as Jack Sparrow and the kids loved it! He was a real showman, he played all sorts of tricks and jokes on them and got them all to play some games. There were maybe 7 kids, most from Afghanistan, I think. A few of them were having a hard time understanding his Russian, so their older siblings would whisper the translation from the side. 

This went on for maybe an hour and a half, but it was so much fun to watch! The pirate made them all balloon flowers, swords, and animals, while one of the girls painted their faces. After all that, we all went into the kitchen and had some tea and snacks. I was finally able to talk to one of the coordinators and reconfirmed that I'll be teaching English, a couple evenings a week. Although it was elementary children today, they also have teenagers who come in for school help and to prepare for entry exams into college. I gave my contact information to the coordinator, who will be arranging the schedule. Can't wait to hear back from her and get started!