Today was my first day volunteering at ELEPAP, a school for disabled children about a ten minute walk from the school. It was such an amazing experience; I’m so glad I went. They have kids of all ages but I’m working with the young kids, ages 2-7. There are twenty kids, split into two classes based on cognitive abilities. A lot of the students have cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or Asperger’s. From now on I’ll stick with one class until spring break and then finish out the semester with the other, but since today was my first day I spent an hour with each class.
The kids were so sweet, I’m completely in love with them! I spent the first hour with the higher-functioning kids. At first I kind of just sat there awkwardly, but as the time went on I got more involved. The guy that runs that class speaks great English and was explaining how everything works to me. I actually learned a lot of Greek, because the hour I was there they were working on teaching the kids the names of colors, foods, kitchen items, etc using plastic toys. Plus, the Greek he spoke to the children was pretty simple and slow so I could understand a lot of it. There was one adorable blond girl who seemed to be operating at a higher level than the rest of them and acted sort of as their leader. Apparently when she arrived at the school a year ago, she didn’t speak a single word—it was so great to see her dancing, playing with a little fake guitar and singing Christmas carols to me! Then there were two boys, aged 5 and 2 1/2, who were brothers and were probably my favorites (even though I don’t think you’re supposed to have favorites…or is that mothers?). They couldn’t speak as well but neither could I, so I just made faces or played little games with them and it was so much fun!
The next hour I spent with the more seriously disabled kids, who can’t really speak and most of whom can’t walk/are in chairs. That was a little harder to see, but they were still such sweethearts. One little girl toddled over and gave me a hug, and then just sort of swung off my hands, giggling. I’m so excited to work with these kids—it seems like I’ll actually be doing something to help, unlike the soup kitchen where I get the feeling I’m definitely not needed, just politely and patronizingly tolerated. Depending on how it goes I think I might try to volunteer more than once a week.
Other than that, I just had a busy day of classes today. I got my first ever college paper back (A) and took two tests. Everything was closed by the time I got home but it’s OK—yesterday my friend and I took a bus to Carrefour, the big supermarket where everything is really cheap, and I stocked up on non-perishable type groceries (veggies and stuff I’ll still get daily from the local vegetable lady). An added bonus, I found the Carrefour-brand version of the delicious cereal I’ve spent many a day searching for, always an exciting find.
On the downside, I wore jeans today and rubbed my burn raw. I hate this stupid thing!
what does ELEPAP stand for?
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