Placement Days 2 and 3

Volunteer placement yesterday and today: It's so fun! We are trying to bring in crafts that the kids can do so we can decorate the room with their art work, and so we can keep them busy and occupied (their minds off their illness). Yesterday, they made paper chains that we hung around the room, and some made "gods eyes" (popsicle sticks with string wrapped around them). They still really love coloring. Someone told us that coloring is something "new" to many of the children. Today, we had an even better day! We made masks out of paper plates in the shapes of animals or super heroes, so the kids were running around with lion, bear, spiderman, or batman faces (zorro, tigers, et cetera). One thing we did today that was a huge hit was so simple, but it was a hit, not just with the kids, but also with the moms (and one dad). We drew the kids' names in bubble letters on pieces of paper that they colored and we then cut out and hung up. They loved it!

We aren't just helping the kids, of course (and their parents), but also learning about the culture. One very simple lesson is that kids are kids everywhere you go. This isn't necessarily something "new" that I'm learning, but it is something that is reinforced when I am interacting with the kids in the asthma ward. I love interacting with the parents, too, trying to understand what they are dealing with and learning ways to communicate in French and Arabic.

We had an Arabic lesson after placement and lunch today and learned (or re-learned) useful phrases, like "what is your name?" and "how are you?" and "let's go." There are sounds in Arabic that are very tricky or challenging for me because we don't really have equivalents in American English. In placement today, there was a dad who helped out a lot by helping us communicate more in French (his son was "Picasso," he said), and there is a mom whose son (5 years old) speaks French, Arabic, and English, and can read in each language; this mother is also very helpful because she knows a little bit of English.

So, to sum up: very rewarding experience so far.

We also had a birthday celebration today for one of our staff members, Khadija, after lunch. There is a patisserie in the market near here that makes the most delicious desserts--this cake was a chocolate mousse concoction covered in chocolate syrup and caramel. Yum!

Tomorrow after placement, we will be taking a cooking lesson and then an Arabic script lesson (so I will learn how to write my name). Then, on Friday, a lot of us are going on an excursion to ride camels in the desert.