Post #2

Over the past two weeks at Escuela Vieau I still haven’t really seen a change in my relationship with the staff but I feel like I have really started to connect with the kids. A lot of them like to approach me and talk to me as much as possible. For example, they like when I teach them common French words and phrases and they teach me some Spanish. However the woman I work with never allows them to talk but rather makes them do their work in silence and when she does speak it is always in Spanish even though she knows I can’t speak any and does not ever tell me what she is doing or what she needs help with. The kids have actually told me that they don’t like her and really like when I come. It makes me feel good that they like when I am there but I don’t feel comfortable working with someone who won’t talk to me. My goal is to still try and get her to talk and be more open with me.

Journal Entry #1

On my first day at Escuela Vieau I was very nervous because I was worried that most of the kids would speak mainly Spanish and not want to speak to me at all; however they surprised me right away when they all started talking to me and telling me about themselves and asking questions about me as well. I really enjoyed getting to know them and learn about their school lives as well as their personal ones. At the school, I work with students who are in sixth through eighth grade and help them learn about their health and help them make good life choices as well as work on healthy character development. The one thing that I am hoping to improve on during my time at Escuela Vieau though is my relationship with the staff. I felt that I did not have a very good connection with the volunteer I work with and I cannot even recall her name. I was very surprised when she left me alone with the kids on my first day for a significant amount of time even though I had no idea what I was doing or what the kids were working on. I hope that by the end of my experience the volunteers will be more open with me and I will be able to communicate better with the staff. Overall, my first experience was very positive and I feel like I made a good first impression on the kids and they all were all sad that I wasn’t going to be there every day, and truthfully, I am sad too. I am really looking forward to next week and to the surprises that await me.