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| Larissa's time to relax before the work begins |
As
if enjoying a beach day (while everyone at home in Connecticut had a snow day!)
wasn’t enough, this weekend we went to a Swedish House Mafia concert on an
ostrich farm. Walking in to the venue we passed some scary looking
ostriches, but as soon as we got a little further, it was a great venue for a
festival. The music was fantastic as expected, the crowd was powerful,
and overall it was a really awesome night.
After
trying to recover from the late night concert, I started my internship at Eros
School the next morning! So far, I’m loving my internship and am feeling
so thankful to have the opportunity to work there. Traveling to work is
also quite an experience, as we take a mini bus which is basically a van that
drives around yelling places it’s going and you have to quick hop in and get
off at your spot. The language barrier is a challenge at times because
they don’t always understand where you’re trying to get, but the locals have
been very helpful and completely welcoming. Once I get to school, I work
with a group of eight 4-8 year olds who all suffer from either cerebral palsy,
or a developmental disorder. These kids melt my heart in a way that no
other child has ever done before. Many of my students don’t speak, don’t
feed themselves, aren’t potty trained, leave class for various therapies
throughout the day, and some even show up with holes in their clothes and
without backpacks. It’s very difficult to watch these kids struggle,
especially knowing that in their minds they know what to say, they just can’t
communicate it to others. While a few of my students are in wheelchairs,
some of the kids crawl around all day, sometimes dragging heavy metal leg
braces behind them. Their knees are horribly worn, and their clothes are
filthy from being on the floor all day. It doesn’t seem fair that such
innocent, adorable children can be in so much pain. I’m constantly
wishing there was more I could do for these kids, it breaks my heart to see
them crawl or be wheeled around and not able to participate with the more abled
children. These kids have an inner strength like I’ve never seen before,
and I love that I leave work everyday feeling like they’ve given me more
strength as well. Working with kids who have these types of issues makes
the work I do that much more meaningful; it’s the best feeling in the world
when a child who hasn’t spoken a single word in days finally says hello to you,
or when a child who doesn’t smile at anyone finally laughs when you put in the
effort to make them smile. These small joys make every second worth it.
I’ve never felt such a desire to help others and give as much of myself
as possible to people who need more than I
do right now.
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