First day at the orphanages
So I will actually be working in three different orphanages, two of which I went to today. The first one I am there to teach two teenage girls who are behind at school because the English they are taught there is too advanced, and they have not yet mastered the basics. But today there was only one girl there because the other had gone home to her parents (many of the children have one or two living parents, but they cannot afford to look after them. The kids will see their parents for a few days every few months). So I met one girl, whose name sounds like "new" said with an American accent, who is fifteen, but she is quite petite and only looks about 12 - kids look a lot younger than they are here! She was very shy. The two girls actually have the same name, the other is 16. So then Rose, my coordinator, said I'd come back on Wednesday and so we went off to the big orphanage.
Austin was already there and had been since about 9, I arrived at about 11 and not long after that we all ate lunch. We met another volunteer who has Vietnamese heritage but lives in California. Her name is Karen and she speaks Vietnamese, which makes it very easy for her. She has been there for about a week and a half and leaves on June 11th.
So the kids have lunch (and we eat with them) and then they are meant to nap until 2pm. Lunch was ok - rice, cabbage and morning glory - it's amazing that some of the kids are chubby. But at least it was vegetarian and so there was no miscalanious meat! Lunch was pretty drawn out, they had a sort of equivalent of saying Grace before a meal. The nuns spoke for a while, then everyone would say something, then the nuns, then everyone, it went on and on (just to make sure your food really is cold!), and then your not supposed to talk while your eating (but as long as there isn't a nun glaring at you its ok!), and then more of the talking.
The orphanage is in a sort of horse shoe shape around a courtyard - the girls and boys dorms are on opposite sides. The bunks have bamboo mats, but no mattress, some have pillows or cushions. The girls rooms have lockers, but the boys don't. They are arranged according to age, with the oldest on the top floor.
A few of the older girls were keen to talk to me - asking me my name, age, where I'm from and practicing a little bit of English. I was in one of the dorms and one girl brought up one of the baby's. Poor little thing was really tired and aggitated, one of the girls was being quite rough with the baby so I scooped her up and then eventually took her downstairs and gave her a bottle of water, she had a bit of that and then feel asleep as I was carrying her. When I saw her later on I'm sure she recognised me and was putting her arms out to me, I think I made a friend :)
Quite a contrast to two little girls who are maybe two or three who burst into hysterical tears at just the sight of me! I'm sure though that as the day went on, each time they saw me it'd be slightly longer between seeing me and crying, and one of them even waved and smiled as I left (probably glad to see the back of me!).
Towards the end of nap time Austin and I met a girl whose name is pronounced Gin who is 17, her English was very good. We agreed that we would help her practice English and she can help us learn Vietnamese.
After nap time some of the older kids work - there are smaill pieces of printed paper which some fold, then others seal on two sides with machines, and then others put one toothpick in each. It wasn't particuarly enforced, but quite a lot were doing it anyway.
I kicked a ball around with one boy (was 14, looked about 9), he asked me where I was from, and then listed off loads of English football clubs, he was a Chelsea supporter.
There are a few babies under a year old, and they all seem well looked after by the women. They sleep in the dorms on the ground floor wih the other small children After lunch I could hear crying, and noticed there was a room with two babies who were obviously handicapped, and no one seemed to be around. One baby stopped crying when I was near, but his breathing became weird and I was worried I was making him worse, the other was inconsolable. It was not nice to see. But we have been told that the culture is different and so things are likely to be how we would not expect or approve of, but that if is not our place to interfere. Though saying something wouldn't work as the women speak very little English, probably less than the kids do.
Well that was today, tomorrow I'm going to orphanage number 3, and then the big one agin in the afternoon.