My Girls

As mentioned before, I had a great two weeks, due mostly to my group--most commonly referred to as "my girls."

First Impressions
Every Thursday, to get ready for the new arrivals I put on my child's size shirt that reveals my sexy, hairy belly, my hat, and a brightly colored sulu. I am also flamboyantly outgoing. This sometimes (by sometimes I mean often) freaks out the new kids. When my girls first arrived and met with me for the first time, they were slightly freaked out. Most of them did not talk. The first impressions for all of us did not match up with how the following two weeks would turn out. These girls love to talk, to sing, to be outgoing. And I'm still weird--I just don't wear that shirt all the time.

Independence and Trust
Our first Tuesday afternoon found the eleven of us at Mulomulo Muslim School. We were prepared to teach two classes in two teaching groups. Upon arrival we discovered two classes actually meant four separate classes with a combined total of nearly fifty kids. My girls handled it like pros. Without any extra planning time, they split into smaller teaching teams and set out. I walked from classroom to classroom for the first few minutes before being captured by the headmaster for some discussion. During this walking, I found one teaching team standing in the classroom, at a loss for what to do. Quickly, I went to another classroom and asked one of my girls to go with the other two. This girl, the youngest of the group (younger than these two by two years) jumped in like a seasoned teacher. The rest of the teaching went smoothly, even when I stopped checking in on them. To of my girls asked the kids to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up. My favorite answer: "When I grow up I want to be a knight."

I went the majority of the two weeks without doing any planning on my own. I told my girls what the teachers were expecting and let them plan largely without my interference. I was never let down. One lesson plan expected to last over an hour took fifteen minutes. Instead of standing around with a blank look on their faces, these girls just kept going with other activities once again with minimal interference on my part.

At least twice during the two weeks I needed the help of my group to shop. The situation that most displays my trust in this group happened the last day. My normal system of food buying was disrupted and instead of having over two hundred dollars worth of food waiting for me at the market there was none. I had 45 minutes to buy enough fruit and veggies for 85 people for one day and 60 for the next. I made a quick list, split my girls into groups and gave each items to buy and 50 dollars to do so with. For the most part, if I had done this with any group I've had in the past I would be out 50 dollars. My girls bought everything on the lists and brought me change. One even bargained for a lower price on pineapple.

Priorities
Each week, we were scheduled to either go to the hot mud pools or an amazing place called the garden of the sleeping giant. Instead of going to either of these, my girls requested that during the second week we go to the orphanage instead. I made a few calls and made it happen. We spent an hour playing with little kids instead of merely entertaining ourselves.

They were there for fun, but each girl had service in mind. They were my girls and I loved them, but they didn't get anything for free. I have the belief that the kids that come here need to work to earn their service hours and these girls were no different. Doing a beach clean up with another group, we were the first to arrive and the last to leave. When we went to the schools, they all taught and all actively participated. During computer training, when we did not have enough students for each girl to be busy the whole time, I rotated the girls through so each worked. They rarely complained and by working hard and having great attitudes they earned trust and privileges. I asked for their opinions and would change how we did things or where we went and for how long. We had a lot of fun.

Bonding
The girls got a lot closer after the first week and most of them moved into the same room together. Twice we planned bonding times up on a nearby hill. The first was at sunset. Two of the girls sang a song for us and we all sang lean on me. The song they sang Was I'm Yours, by Jason Mraz. This became the theme song to our group. This duet version of the song is by far my favorite. While there for sunset, we made what some people call camp bracelets. The way to make one of these is to cut strips of bandanna, write all of the names of everyone in the group on each strip, then twist the strips into bracelets.

The second organized bonding time was on our last night. We went up after dark to look at the stars, share our favorite memories of Fiji, and eat what was intended to be chocolate cake. Due to a lousy oven it more resembled pudding, yet was still delicious. It was here that my girls told me what I meant to them and how I helped them over the past two weeks. This meant a lot to me. They also gave me a present that could not have been better- a jar of nutella. Nutella is worth, among staff, its weight in gold. Not only did they give me a jar of nutella, but they wrote a brief message on top- "Happy early B-Day, Love, Your Girls." Once again, nearly brought to tears. We also had a nice little "I'm Yours" sing along.

Throughout the two weeks, there were plenty of other unplanned bonding sessions, such as henna nights, that were also wonderful.

Adios
Thursday night, my girls flew back home. It was not a moment I was looking forward to at all. There were hugs all around without any tears shed. It seemed close with some girls, but it was a quick goodbye without any lingering around. I was bummed when they left and miss them, but things go on and I can't linger on it. I have to give my all to all of my groups and look forward to meeting all new people.