Glamorous, ooo flounsay flounsaaaay

As I settle into this life of a volunteer at Corrymeela, there is a certain event that occurs where you begin to understand the hard work required of being a volunteer. This week was that event. I, with three other volunteers, had a group of primary school kids. They were delightful children, very unlike the Montecito children that were often in my care during my years at Westmont. Always respectful, many pleases and thank yous among the girls and boys. There were, of course, many times when scolding was necessary, but direction was always heeded. No serious problems. The teachers who accompanied were also wonderful. They often volunteered themselves to do the dishes for us, which after a long day was a blessing.

When you are hosting a group of children, there is not a lot of time for breaks. We serve them breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. The kids get free time usually directly after the meals, but we do the dishes. This means that you only sit down for about ten minutes in order to inhale your food. Immediately after dishes, there are activities that often involve running and yelling. Some of them involve battling the rain and wind. Such as the beach day where the rain blew in sideways as we walked to Ballycastle for ice cream. The last time I felt this exhausted was during the holiday season at Barnes and Noble. I think that I was so exhausted that I caught a cold. Huzzah. I probably also passed it onto my roommate, Jessica. We've called the germs our "third roommate."

I've had a good time getting to know the other volunteers. Went to the pub last night with a few of them. It was Lisa's birthday this week and so I bought her a tequila shot :) Working with the other three with the primary school was really wonderful. I thought we worked very well together, easily taking on roles and helping each other out without needing to ask. I feel like I've really gotten to know the volunteers on my team. It was not very easy to get to know everyone right as I arrived and I've soon realized this is only because everyone is busy all the time. There isn't time to chat in the middle of sessions and duties. Hosting groups is more than a full time job with 10-14 hour days. Coventry, the house where all the volunteers live, is a lovely place. Though I've noticed there is an odd sense of unsociability to the building. The volunteers do not often spend a lot of time in the common areas. I whole heartedly admire the long term volunteers. Their job here is not easy. I've only had one week of hosting a group and it's hard to imagine doing this for a year. Especially once the summer program starts in July. Apparently, there will be 192 children at Corrymeela the first week of the summer program.

I have the weekend off, which is very nice. I've convinced Jessica that she will watch Star Wars with me before we leave. She's never seen them before, which should be a crime against humanity. We watched A New Hope earlier today and will probably watch Empire Strikes Back tonight.