Note: Posts are always better with photos, but I’ve yet to figure out the best way to upload them from my phone to a shared computer. When I do, though, I’ll be sure to share.
In the meantime, I can tell you that this experience has already exceeded my expectations – and we’ve only been here for a week and a half.
I volunteer in a house with 23 boys, all of whom are roughly between the ages of 10 and 20, and I’ve already begun to refer to them as mine.
And my boys are simply amazing.
They’ve been so welcoming and friendly and inclusive. For instance, even given my mediocre skills, I spent the better part of last Wednesday playing soccer (and trying to remember to call it football) with some of the boys. We didn’t win (my fault, not theirs), but it was the best workout I’ve had in a while.
They’ve also been patiently teaching me to hacky sack. I can honestly say that I’ve spent more time hacky sacking (is that the verb?) in the past few days, than I have in my entire life.
The one minor difficulty I’ve had with them, is getting them to understand my name. “Elizabeth” has proven a bit difficult for them to say, so usually they stick with calling me Sister. But the other day it clicked with them.
“Sister! Your name Elizabeth? Like Queen of England?“
And another boy chimed in:
“I will call you Sister Queen!“
Hey, if that’s what it takes for them to remember, who am I to stop the name association?
I’m just here to help.
Haha! That’s awesome! Glad you are doing well.