esson One: You are not going to love all the kids you work with. Or at least I don't. Especially when they come from Machista families. The ones that threaten you/actually get violent with you, it's okay to not love that kid all the time. This being said I am learning that I too, do not always need to be loved. It's okay to get tough and make the kid through out his gross used Kleenex, even if all the moms are staring at you like you just broke the kids arm. Seriously, the number of kids I've made cry in the past week because I made them throw out their own trash is embarrassingly high.
Lesson Two: I am my parent's daughter. When I was little we were never allowed to have guns, something I didn't understand or really even think about. At the shelter, I tried to make the same stand. Since I am the one who sorts almost all the toys that come downstairs, I would send any guns away to the upstairs collection center. Since I have a few extremely violent kids, I did not want to put any more violence into their lives. However, I then had to take two days off due to my class schedule, and when I returned, all the boys had guns. Every. Single. One. All my hard work wasted as I stood there getting shot at by about 5 little boys at a time. I guess my thought process is that I understand guns and weapons exist in our society, but I do not want them to become playthings for these boys who will become men. Guns shouldn't be normalized as toy for our children. Guns have good uses, but these weapons should be treated with respect and care.
Lesson Three: Quality is so much better than quantity. A lot of people bring toys to the shelter and when groups come to do activities they often bring little toys with them. But many of them are purchased at the equivalent of Chile's dollar store (but worse), and break super easy. So yes, I know it's great to provide a toy to each child, but it's better to provide a few toys that they can use together that aren't going to break the first time they use them. We have hidden a few of the nice new unopened toys so as the families return home, they can take a new toy with them and leave some of the broken ones behind (hopefully).
Anyway, I am still enjoying working at the shelter. It's the right type of work for me, and I have gotten to learn so much more Spanish. I am expected to answer questions from outside people, see to children's needs, and find any materials we might need. I continue to meet lots of different people, and actually talk with them. It's a lot of work, and I'm coming to realize the value of a day off.
So... what have been up to besides the shelter? Um... not much. I did go to Santiago (the capital of Chile) on Friday with my tutoring class. I'm actually pretty glad I choose to do that. I was on the fence about taking the no-credit class before the semester started, but it's helped with vocab and also given me a chance to explore Chile a little bit more (for free!).
In Santiago, we went to a Museum of Contemporary Art (the MAC), saw the presidential house for about a hot second, and rode a funicular to get a great view of the city. Well... great is a relative term. See, the city is full of smog and pollution and all the good stuff, so it's hard to see far. And we ate at a restaurant where the server actually knew/understood what Celiac's is. Overall, not a bad trip. I also bought plane tickets for a trip north in exactly a month. Super excited for that!
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