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I passed my russian tests! :) and I'm all qualified (at a basic level anyway ;) ).
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RussianHope
29 May 2007 @ 11:40 pm
So, it's been two months since I was in Russia. I long to go back and wish I could have stayed longer. I'm hoping to return next year for a 2 week stay. CCS offer a small discount and I have £200 left over from my fundraising so I'm a little way there...
In the meantime I've had a few (Russian) exams - which I've hopefully passed and continue to share my story and pictures with all my friends and family...hopefully I've inspired a few people to give volunteering a go whether abroad or at home.
Thank you for reading my blog and taking part in my experience.
Век живи - век учись.
Love, Emma
x
In the meantime I've had a few (Russian) exams - which I've hopefully passed and continue to share my story and pictures with all my friends and family...hopefully I've inspired a few people to give volunteering a go whether abroad or at home.
Thank you for reading my blog and taking part in my experience.
Век живи - век учись.
Love, Emma
x
06 May 2007 @ 10:58 pm
Fri - Last Day at Hospital
Woke up very early. Wanted to make the most of my last full day here. Went out with J and B to get a coffee – first morning I’ve got up and gone out with them! Took some pictures out of my bedroom window.
Yaroslavl at 6.30am!
Very cold walking through the streets at this time!
Back to the hotel and then off to the Children’s Hospital. We arrive to be told that it’s wash day! Hurray! Actually we could tell as there were sheets on the washing line for the first time that week! The downside is they won’t let us take the children out to play so we have to stay in the ‘school’ room with them the whole time. They’re about as happy as us with this arrangement.
The kids are queuing up to take their turn in the bath – the queues are long and I’m sure that the water isn’t emptied between each child. I feel sorry for the ones at the back. I also don’t get to see all the children to say goodbye. Lyuba isn’t around, but I see Shosha and Svetlana.
Here they are all clean(ish) from the bath. They had clean clothes on, but I noticed some of the children had been put back into their dirty clothes. Perhaps there aren’t enough clean ones to go round.
We make squirrels and snails to finish off our wall picture. It looks really good.
Some of the boys are really into the craft today and make several snails each! I played lots of card games and also did lots of colouring with various children. I spent a while with a little boy, Roma. I wrote my name (in Russian) on a piece of paper and he was watching – as I was decorating it he spelt out my name. I asked him his name and got him to write it on the reverse side and then we decorated it together. I noticed that he took it after we had finished and ran off somewhere with it. It was nice – one of those moments where I felt like I made a small but personal connection with one of the children.
Some of the boys are really into the craft today and make several snails each! I played lots of card games and also did lots of colouring with various children. I spent a while with a little boy, Roma. I wrote my name (in Russian) on a piece of paper and he was watching – as I was decorating it he spelt out my name. I asked him his name and got him to write it on the reverse side and then we decorated it together. I noticed that he took it after we had finished and ran off somewhere with it. It was nice – one of those moments where I felt like I made a small but personal connection with one of the children.
It felt sad to leave. Sad because I won’t see these children again.
Friday lunchtime is spent in the CCS offices having pizza and a feedback session - followed by a session deciding on what activities to do the following week at each placement. All the volunteers and CCS staff members attend. There were 6 of us leaving this weekend which brings them down to 6 volunteers – that makes it a lot harder to visit all the places. Most days they are doing two visits a day. Wish I could stay and help! We have all filled in our evaluation forms and Nadia speaks to us all individually about the programme and our placements. Our experiences. As there are 6 of us this takes quite a while! I thank Nadia and tell her I’ve had a wonderful time and can’t wait to come back. There is not one thing I would change about my time here. Nadia then reads out some interesting things that have been going on in local and world news and discusses weekend plans (sometimes volunteers go off travelling) – everyone who is not leaving is staying in Yaroslavl this weekend.
Off to the craft room to come up with ideas for next week. Say goodbye to Nadia – I won’t see her tomorrow. Come up with lots of Easter and spring based ideas. Make a spring flower sample out of lolly-sticks!
Pop over to the supermarket (opposite hotel) to buy some snacks for P and A’s party tonight. They are having a going away/silly glasses party for the volunteers that are leaving. We all ahve to design and make our own pair of silly glasses or there's no entry!
Me and one of the other UK volunteers.
Me and one of the other UK volunteers.
Skip dinner at the hotel as P and A are ordering pizza (yes, more of it...!). Walk up to their room wearing my glasses and Russian man standing by lift gives me a very strange look. Have a very nice night with the other volunteers, plus 2 of the interpreters come. Pass on the vodka but make a great discovery - choco-pies! Play some silly games and generally chat to the others. Exchange email address. Say goodbye to everyone at about 10.30 ish as I have to be ready to leave by 5.30am! I’ve booked a late return flight, but some of the others have much earlier flights which is why we have to leave the hotel at such an awful time!
One of the interpreters says some lovely things to me about how much I’ve accomplished in such a short time. Was very sweet of her. Feels very sad to leave people that I’ve only known for a week - feels like much longer!
One of the interpreters says some lovely things to me about how much I’ve accomplished in such a short time. Was very sweet of her. Feels very sad to leave people that I’ve only known for a week - feels like much longer!
Back to my room – didn’t have much left to pack but finish that off. In to bed for my last night in Yaroslavl and of course I can’t sleep! Finally drift off about midnight.
Sat - Home Again
Was up and ready to leave by 5.30am! Meet one of the interpreters downstairs. All pile into the van. Leave Yaroslavl as I arrived – in the dark! So tired I fall asleep after about 30 mins. When I wake up it’s 7ish and the world is much lighter. Stop for breakfast after about another hour. I have pancakes with honey. Lovely.
Back into the bus and I fall asleep again as do the other volunteers. Wake up on and off. The traffic going into Moscow is terrible. We have to drop J and B off at SVO and then me and V off at DME. The airports are about an hour away from each other.
We arrive at SVO with not much time to spare. J and B rush off. Me and V fall asleep again on the way to DME. Finally arrive about 1ish. Have to wait 4 hours until my flight. V’s flight isn’t until much later. Say a quick goodbye to our interpreter and then spend 20 mins trying to find the BA check in. Fail and decide on going to the toilets and having a sit down before trying again. Chat to V until it’s time for my check in. Finally locate BA and return to V to collect my rucksack and say goodbye.
Flight isn’t the best – but I survive. Spend 45 mins at Heathrow waiting for my baggage. Finally get it and get out! Paul and kids waiting for me. Good to see them.
Home again.
Thanks to J & B for some of the pics! :)
Thanks to J & B for some of the pics! :)
27 April 2007 @ 11:53 am
Not a written update I'm afraid (hope to do one over the weekend), but some fellow volunteers were kind enough to send me their pictures. Here are a few - you can see the rest at my online photo-album - http://s155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/V
Me and some of the girls at the hosp for kids.
Some of the boys
Me and J (one of the other one week volunteers). We worked at the hosp together.
Russian market
Entrance to hosp for kids.
Me and B - lost in Yaroslavl! Can't remember why it was so amusing!
Yaroslavl
One of my favourite pics - me and Shosha.
Me and some of the girls at the hosp for kids.
Some of the boys
Me and J (one of the other one week volunteers). We worked at the hosp together.
Russian market
Entrance to hosp for kids.
Me and B - lost in Yaroslavl! Can't remember why it was so amusing!
Yaroslavl
One of my favourite pics - me and Shosha.
21 April 2007 @ 10:45 pm
the good and the bad
Weds -
Feel tired today. Off to the hospital to make butterflies and snakes to add to the growing forest! We get driven there every morning in the CCS mini-bus (they now have two having purchased one the week I was there). Everyone is always kind of quiet...reflective on the way there. Just waking up and getting ready for our placements.
Loved going into the hosp today and seeing the kids. The children enjoyed the craft – I found out that a few of the children I thought were boys are actually girls! Because they have shaved heads or very short hair and all wear similar clothing it’s hard to tell! Not being familiar with Russian names doesn’t help either. Anyway, now I know!
I took my camera today and most of the children loved having their pics taken. The great thing with the digital camera is that I could show them their pictures straight away. Took lots of photos of our project as well. The nice doctor asked me to take pictures of them doing their exercises in the hall.
Took the children outside to play. Did lots of skipping today (actual skipping and not just holding the rope – nearly gave myself an asthma attack! ;) )...with R another volunteer while the children counted in Russian and commented on how rubbish we were! Played ball for a while. Have my ‘set’ of children now who want to play and chat with me which is nice, although one little boy just wants me to play football with him for hours. He screams if anyone comes near. A lot of the children seemed sleepy today – or heavily medicated. Did lots of playing catch sitting down. They were all in need of lots of hugs.
It feels good to be here now. I’m going to miss the children when I go as I’m getting used to them and they to me. I know how to interact - who will need help with the crafts and who enjoys working independently. Which children like to be left alone and which to chat and play with. Which ones enjoy playing with me outside and which just like to sit in the sun and watch. All of them need lots of hugs.
Back for lunch – chicken and potato or fish and rice. In the afternoon we (all the volunteers) had a talk on Russian fairytales organised by the CCS staff in one of the downstairs offices. It was really nice, we were told some traditional stories and a bit about the morals behind them. I had studied fairytales as part of my English degree and it brought back things I thought I’d forgotten! Lovely way to spend the afternoon.
Went to town later on and paid a visit to the internet café (60 roubles for 1 hour). We then (me, B and J) went out for dinner to a restaurant recommended to us by the other volunteers. The food was very nice, though it really is almost impossible to be a vegetarian here! I had chicken
Got back quite late and went to the office to help prepare the craft for tomorrow. Found that R had prepared all the rabbits so me and J did some flowers as well.
Went to bed and slept really well – nice and warm!
Thurs –
Didn’t want to get up today. Not feeling too well and as a couple of the volunteers have been sick I felt a bit worried.
Skipped breakfast and made a decision on whether to go to the hospital or not. Really didn’t want to be ill there! Decided to go as I thought it might take my mind off it.
After all that I had a really good morning at the hospital. Love that the children call me by my name now. Made the flowers and rabbits we had prepared, went well and I stuck them up on the wall. Usually A does it but he had swapped placements with B today so wasn’t with us. We all missed him (volunteers and children) as he’s the best Russian speaker and great with the kids. I had to stick them high up as some of the children had been ripping the low down pictures off the wall when they got cross. So we now have flying rabbits and flowers!
Went outside and played ‘pioneer ball’ – which is a variation of volley ball. I couldn’t follow the rules, but apparently we won! I had some competitive players on my team!
Felt better on way back to hotel, but after lunch I felt worse and went to bed for the afternoon. I was hoping to go on another placement to the children’s after-school club but slept for three hours instead!
Woke up about an hour before dinner feeling much better. Can’t remember what we had for supper but I ate some. Do remember that we had ice-cream for pudding! Yum.
We went to the office straight after dinner and designed the squirrels and snails for the hospital craft tomorrow. Sat in the craft room with the other volunteers for a while. Back to our rooms, sat writing random thoughts in my journal.
- The grass here is brown, not green. Covered in dust - so much pollution.
- The kids at the hospital have nothing really except what we bring. How sad it is when we have to pack it all up and take it away when we leave. Some of them take stuff (scraps from the craft, a toy car, some jigsaw pieces) which is always punished, but they just want something to call their own.
- We’re doing something that no one else does. If we didn’t go into the hospital these children wouldn’t do crafts or go outside. They wouldn’t have hugs. It’s been very hard for CCS to get into these places and so we have to tread very carefully and stick to the rules. Sometimes that’s hard, but it’s better than not going at all.
I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day. Being here has made me appreciate what I have. How luck plays a huge part of your life. How fortunate or unfortunate we are to be born into the countries we are.
I wonder what will happen to these kids. What they will grow up to be.
17 April 2007 @ 11:11 pm
A quick mention about my final total of raised money - altogther I raised just under £1,400. An unbelievable amount. It meant my fees, airfair and visa were all covered. I also spent some of the money on art and craft materials to take with me. The money left over has gone into a savings account as I'm hoping to return to Russia with CCS again next year. Thank you all so much for your generous donations - I wouldn't have got there without your wonderful support.
Day Four
Day Four
Slept well – got up late and missed breakfast (must be getting used to the trams/trains)! Luckily I had some cereal bars to eat before we left for the hospital at 9.20am. We made bears today to add to the forest of owls. The proportions are a little wacky (the owls are bigger than the bears!), but apart from that it looks good! A had written his name on the example bear he had made to show and instead of writing their own names some of the children copied his onto their bears as well! That was funny and very sweet. Felt better today at the hospital as I knew what to expect. It was hectic though as we had a lot of children take part.
I must mention that there is a very nice doctor here who is really great with the kids – she joins in with the activity we have planned and makes a real effort to communicate to us through the translators. Though she did tell me off for putting a bag in the wrong place! lol. I do like her though, she really seems to enjoy being with the kids.
There were some different kids there today. ‘Chatted’ to Svetla (Natalie Portman look-alike!) and another girl who was very sweet and talked to me none stop in Russian – she slowed down for me but I still didn’t know what she was saying. Though I did pick up ‘Ya lubloo (I love) A...’ quite a bit (the male volunteer!) – she was very taken with him! Spent time with Lyuba - who is one of my favourites at the hosp. She speaks a little English and is very smiley. She made up a song though the only words I could understand were ‘emma’ and ‘banana’! I’m sure whatever she was singing was probably quite rude as all the other children were laughing!
A very flexible Lyuba!
There is also a very small, animated little boy who is very smart and chats away to us. Shosha sat with me for a while today – she is hard to describe. She loves being hugged and holding hands. She is very affectionate. I’m able to chat with her a little in Russian. I ask her how she is and each day she replies with fine thank you! Out of all of them if I could I’d take her home with me. She has to have injections though I’m not sure what for. Some days she is more sleepy than others.
Shosha
We went outside again as it was another beautiful, sunny day. Played terrible football for hours with a little boy who wasn’t too impressed with my ball skills and shouted at me a lot in Russian! Probably a good job I couldn’t understand him!
A very flexible Lyuba!
There is also a very small, animated little boy who is very smart and chats away to us. Shosha sat with me for a while today – she is hard to describe. She loves being hugged and holding hands. She is very affectionate. I’m able to chat with her a little in Russian. I ask her how she is and each day she replies with fine thank you! Out of all of them if I could I’d take her home with me. She has to have injections though I’m not sure what for. Some days she is more sleepy than others.
Shosha
We went outside again as it was another beautiful, sunny day. Played terrible football for hours with a little boy who wasn’t too impressed with my ball skills and shouted at me a lot in Russian! Probably a good job I couldn’t understand him!
There seemed to be a lot of tears today as well. One new boy who was very upset and just sat and cried for most of the time. Another girl got almost hysterical as the van from the orphanage turned up and she thought they had come to take her back (she’s supposed to be going home soon). That’s hard to see – how distressed they are. How sad. Made me feel quite helpless…when there is really nothing I can do long-term to make their lives better.
****
Back for lunch which was…cheese and crab meat salad, mushroom soup, meatballs and rice and fruit. We met two more volunteers today R who came with us to the hospital and M – they have been in St Petersburg for the weekend and got back at 5am this morning! R has volunteered in South America and South Africa – she has some interesting stories to tell.
Nadia had organised a visit to the Space Museum (dedicated to Valentina Tereshkova – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_T
Later in the afternoon me and J went out for coffee which was nice. I can’t believe how warm it is here! I’m walking about in a t-shirt. Back to the hotel for dinner…lots of people had gone out to eat so there were only six of us. Really nice dinner of coleslaw, kebabs and salad - it was nicer than it sounds!
Spent evening preparing craft for tomorrow with A and J – snakes and butterflies to add to the other animals.
Can’t believe I’m already halfway through my time here!
Go to bed early but can’t sleep – practice my Russian instead.
14 April 2007 @ 11:12 pm
for the delay in updating. I'm revising for russian tests (that I have next wednesday) at the moment which takes up the best part of my evening.
I will try to post an update in the next couple of days.
:)
09 April 2007 @ 03:39 am
09 April 2007 @ 12:53 am
Sorry I missed updating yesterday! I've been busy and I'm tired so I may not be explaining things very well - as always leave your questions in the comments box if there's something I haven't covered or explained properly.
Day Three – the Hospital for Kids
Day Three – the Hospital for Kids
Pancakes for breakfast! Yum. One of the things I noticed with all the volunteers is how much you appreciate things that you would normally take for granted when everything familiar is gone...like pancakes!
I woke up early this morning, excited about finally getting to my placement. I want to explain first of all the differences between the orphanages, the shelter and the hospital for kids.
The Orphanage is self-explanatory – children who have no parents or whose parents are unable to look after them are placed here until they are adopted or reach 18. Foster care is very new to Russia, but is proving more successful than was first thought with mostly babies being fostered.
The Shelter is a kind of holding place for children whose parents are unable (hopefully temporarily) to look after them for one reason or another. There are many reasons but alcoholism is the biggest problem. I forget how long children can stay here for but it might be up to a year. Then a decision is made on whether the child will be returned to their parents or put into an orphanage.
The Hospital for Kids is where I worked and therefore know the most about. It’s quite hard to describe – the word ‘hospital’ being very misleading! It can have up to 50 children at a time who stay for a maximum of 3 months though the children can come out and be put in again (during my time there I met one boy of about 7 who was in the hospital for the 15th time)...the children at the hospital are a mix of orphans and children who have parents but for some reason or other have been brought to the hospital. The hospital is also where they put orphans who have run away from the orphanages as a punishment.
It’s the hardest placement for many reasons. The state of the hospital itself takes getting used to - it’s not very clean, in a poor state of repair and is quite smelly. The treatment of the children (aged 6-14ish) there is also hard to take in. It’s not always obvious why the kids are there, some were there for conditions like epilepsy or because they had learning difficulties...others were so heavily medicated it was impossible to know why they were there...others had nothing obvious wrong with them. The children do not go out except to a small yard and apart from that stay in to the hospital. They aren’t allowed any possessions of their own - there were a handful of old toys at the hospital ( a couple of jigsaws, a few cars and some soft toys) which are shared between the children. They are bathed about once every 3/4 weeks and don’t often have clean clothes. In the week I was there the majority of the children wore the same clothes everyday even if they were soiled or dirty. A number of the children had their heads shaved because of lice.
My first day was a shock, I had an idea of what I was going to see but being really there in it was hard. I just took a deep breath and hugged all the kids that came up to me – they were all saying ‘privet’ (hi)and wanting cuddles. A (a volunteer who had been working at the hospital for a few weeks) had come up with a craft idea (making trees and owls to go in it – we would make a different animal each day with the kids), so we started with that. We also had a translator with us who explained to the children what we would be doing with them that day. We worked in one room with a few tables and chairs and had anything from 15-25 kids (some would lose interest and wander off while other would join in part way through).
The forest and animals we stuck up on the walls to brighten the place up.
A lot of the children seemed to understand that our Russian was pretty terrible and would purposely slow down for us or mime what they wanted. If all else failed we’d get the translator to help out! I was very grateful to my Russian teacher as I was able to ask the children their names, ages, how they were, etc. It made such a difference being able to talk with the kids if only a little.
After the craft activity we got out the games and puzzles and whatever else we might have packed. One little boy loved crocheting so we brought that for him to do everyday. All the boys loved ‘machinkas’ (toy cars) and there were lots of tears as we never had enough for everybody. I quickly learnt the word for share!
As it was so nice we took them outside to play – the space they have is mostly dirt with a few trees...though the week after I’d been there they (the CCS volunteers) were planning on planting some flowers. There are some old climbing structures but really not that much to do. We had brought a bag of outdoor toys and there were lots of games going on...unstructured chaos! I played skipping with some of the children and also catch with two of the children who became my ‘regulars’...I played catch with them outside all week!
There were some children that I became attached to almost straight away and this continued through out the week. A beautiful girl with huge brown eyes who I secretly called Natalie (as she looked like Natalie Portman) for a while before she told me her name! A little boy of 9 who was very smiley and loved to play ball and two girls who I thought were boys until Thursday! It’s hard to tell as they mostly dress in boys’ clothes and have short hair – the names don’t mean much to me either! One of them was very quick and chatted away to us, singing – always happy. I guessed that she was one of the ones that kept running away from the orphanage. The other was a sweetheart who was heavily medicated, but I never found out what was wrong with her. Some things just weren’t told to us. She just liked to sit and be hugged and would stroke my hands and arms. They all liked having their hands held. The only affection that is given to them comes from the volunteers – none of the carers/nurses were avery ffectionate and we saw a child struck on more than one occasion. Very quickly I had to get used to the fact that I can’t change the system in Russia – there is prejudice against orphans and that isn’t going to change overnight. All we as volunteers could do is show them that there are people who care and who will play with them and hug them. Will it make a difference? Will they be able to take some of that into their adult lives? I don’t know. I hope so.
We returned to the hotel at 1ish – in time for lunch and to meet and chat with the other volunteers. Afterwards we had a Russian lesson – I knew most of it, but learnt a few new words/phrases to use with the children.
We (me, J and B) then had a tour of the city with a Russian guide called Irina. We walked along the river(s) Volga and Kotorosl and saw some beautiful churches. Irina talked about the history of Yaroslavl and the buildings and monuments she took us to. Also chatted abit about Russian history in general – surprised myself by remembering quite a bit from GCSE history!
Went for coffee and cake afterwards – I spoke in Russian to them and they spoke back in English – typical! Though their English was about the same standard as my Russian! So between us we created Ruslish and managed to communicate ok. ;)
Back to the hotel for dinner (there had been a special request for broccoli so we all had that along with chicken kievs!) – really enjoyed talking to the other Brit volunteers as we just laughed and found things funny that nobody else did! Talked about volunteering - it's an unheard of concept in Russia - most of the older people we spoke to thought that we were daft for spending money to come to Russia and then to work for free. Being here is certainly making me more grateful for what I have back in the UK.
Late to bed as busy in craft room preparing for tomorrow and then lying in bed thinking over the day...
06 April 2007 @ 09:04 pm
Day Two – Yaroslavl
Woken at 8ish by alarm (I had set it so I wouldn’t miss breakfast). Woke up to a bright blue sky and the noise of the trams running just underneath my window. Very strange to finally be in Russia after the months of preparing.
View from my window...
Dressed and showered and went down to breakfast with the other two girls I had arrived with last night (J and B). We were the first ones into the dining room – thought we might meet the other volunteers there but it became apparent later that not all of the volunteers ever get up early enough to make it to breakfast...esp. at the weekend!
View from my window...
Dressed and showered and went down to breakfast with the other two girls I had arrived with last night (J and B). We were the first ones into the dining room – thought we might meet the other volunteers there but it became apparent later that not all of the volunteers ever get up early enough to make it to breakfast...esp. at the weekend!
Breakfast was...two fried eggs, a bread roll, yoghurt and coffee. Not the most appealing as I have trouble eating anything when I first get up anyway. Managed a bit of egg and bread and some coffee.
We had been given a timetable the day before and we had scheduled for today an induction with Nadia (head of CCS in Russia) and a Russian lesson. As we had time before the meeting with Nadia we went out for a walk. Yaroslavl is an interesting mix of huge tower blocks and beautiful churches, the roads and pavements are not in good repair and everything is very dusty.
Back to the hotel to meet with Nadia for our orientation. She welcomed us to the programme and told us a bit about CCS in Russia, how it came to be and went over the rules and other things such as how to use the telephone and how to get laundry done! She also spoke about our placements (myself and J were to go to the hospital for kids and B to the shelter) and the orphanages. CCS also sends volunteers to work with the elderly, at after school clubs and at a boarding school. I’ll explain more about the differences in these places later.
At lunch (beetroot salad and sour cream, soup and sour cream, rice and ‘mystery meat’, fruit and tea which is always drunk black here! I have to get used to drinking it without milk or go without!) we finally get to meet the other volunteers except for M and R who had gone on a trip to St Petersburg. We’re all from the UK or the States and peoples time here ranges from a few weeks to a year. Everyone is very nice and friendly, most speak Russian from a little (like me) to a lot. It’s interesting to hear about the placements and what they think of Russia. Most are continuing to travel after they’ve finished here. One of the girls is going to Mongolia – a place on my top 5 list of countries to go to next! I want to go with her. She promises to email and tell me all about it as she’s going there with a different volunteer organisation.
After lunch we have a Russian lesson but as it’s very basic and I already know it so I’m allowed to have free time instead! :) Think about resting but instead go and chat to the other volunteers again who are in the craft room preparing for the next day. J and B finish and so we decide to go into town. Nadia takes us in her car and shows us the internet café. We all email home and I update my journal. It cost 60 roubles for 1 hour – that’s just over a pound. We go across the road to a café and attempt to order drinks – I learn that cappuccino is a universal word! The waitresses don’t speak English so all we have is my somewhat limited grasp of Russian to communicate. Manage ok...at least I have please and thank you sussed! Send silent praises of thank to my russian teacher back in the UK.
Back to the hotel for dinner – carrot salad (and yes...sour cream), chicken and potatoes, fruit salad and more black tea...enjoy talking to the other volunteers more than the food, but it’s ok. E tells me she was a vegetarian on first arriving but that it proved impossible so she had to start eating meat again.
Tomorrow we have our first day at the hospital. I’m going there with J, V and A. A is greatly loved by the kids as one of the few male volunteers. He already has a craft project planned for next week so we just need to familiarise ourselves with that. Get ready for bed, but too excited to sleep again. Lay in bed listening to the trams...
