Hello beloved friends!
Apologies for not keeping up on the blog so much this month, but I have reasons. Mainly not much has happened in January, and since I was very sick over the past weekend (when I usually sit down and write posts), I did not have the chance to write about what has indeed gone on. Sad for everyone, I know. But perk up, kids, more adventure and months are on their way.
I will write about my trip to Edinburgh in another post, when I can give Scotland the sort of attention my psuedo-travelogue posts deserve. But for now I will share a bit about my work, which I have come to adore particularly on Wednesdays. Yes, what I used to just think of as "hump day" is now my absolute favorite time of the week. I get to work w/ kids :)
I've gotten the chance to learn about more about the extraordinary community in which I work. It is not just for autistic children, but also for kids with behavioral problems. Right now I have 
been working mainly with these kids, and it's a lot of fun, albeit a different type of challenge. One of the little fellows I adore has attachment disorder, so while I love working with him, I need to be careful how much attention I give him. Another challenge is working with a group of kids and not knowing their diagnoses. I know they don't have autism, that's it. So I just need to be patient and do my best with each child, even though I don't know I should tailor my approach to them. I think it can be a blessing because a kid isn't typecast in my eyes, but usually, the more information about the disability I have, the better I'm able to help!
These kids, abbreviated "ges" because of whatever ges stands for in Dutch, don't interact much with the autistic kids. It is unusual for the two types to be friends, and the ges kids often find the autistic ones strange. Apparently they'll even use "autistic" as an adjective, either when one of the kids with autism is acting strange, or if another one of their ges friends is doing something they find weird. Unfortunately, while there is a school for the children with autism to continue to when they finish at the community's school, there is no such option for the ges kids. So we do the best we can while they're with us.
Unlike the ges kids using the word "autistic," the kids with autism are not as aware of their situation. Most of them don't recognize autism as a concept, let alone that it exists in their lives. I'm not even sure a lot of them realize they're at a special school. It is a great contrast to the ges 
kids, especially as once the children are done in our community, they move on to a school for teenagers with autism. I did learn that before the kids leave, they are given a book with information about themselves. They can see their development, who they are inside and out, and learn more about autism. I hope at this point something clicks, but I'm sure a lot think, "oh, autism seems interesting...well, thanks for the story!" and go on their merry way.
I really do love Wednesdays, no matter who I work with. When a kid I know behaves very well, or is so careful with a project and it turns out spectacularly, I get completely filled with pride. It just makes me SO happy when a kid with behavioral problems, who I know is a good kid, is really good during the few hours I see him or her. Keeps me smiling the rest of the week :-D
Oh, and when I say I was sick last week, I mean I was SICK. Like a 103 fever and sleeping all day. My host mom called the doctor and he ended up making a house call, which was LOVELY! I had told my parents I didn't want my host mom calling her doctor because I was convinced he would be a hippy doctor. My parents assured me, "no, no...it's a regular doctor! he practices medicine!" They were wrong. He doesn't prescribe antibiotics, he gives recommended herbal regimes. I ended up feeling better and my fever went away, but a very big told-ya-so was in order.
That is all for now. Heading to Madrid this weekend, so I'll have two great travel adventures to talk about when I can finally sit down in a cafe next weekend!
Much love, and stay warm
xoxo
kw
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
I celebrated Old Years Eve in Belgium. No, not New Years Eve, Old Years. The celebration was filled with endless gourmet food, lots of wonderful people, a big puppy AND a baby. So I don't really care what it's called, it rocked.
My actual Belgian friend Tine was kind enough to invite me to her family's place in Torhout, a small West Flemish town in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't sure what to expect of a Belgian Oudjaarsavond in the little city, but when I was welcomed by 
Tine's large family into their cozy home with plates of vegetarian hors d'oeuvres, I knew I made the right choice in my holiday planning. Tine has four siblings, three of which were there with their significant others (Tine as well), one of which had her four-month-old daughter. Add the parents, a close friend, and the large but cowardly family dog (if I only had a heaaaaart), and the house was full of holiday cheer and warm conversations. Tine's brother's girlfriend is Polish, so I wasn't the only non-Belgian! And since my Dutch is definitely improving, I felt very comfortable with my language skills for the evening. The Cassis-flavored champagne helped, too.
Ok, we've got an agreeable, intimate setting, many pleasant pe
ople, and enough wine to hold Passover services with an entire army. What exactly do Belgians DO on Oudjaarsavond? Eat. A lot. Tine's mom made a 5 course meal. There were endless appetizers, many of which were veggie friendly, a delicious soup, a palate-cleansing spinach pasta, the main course (by this time I started thinking I should have paced myself better), and dessert. Twice. Did I mention all the food was homemade? It was amazing. Happy, happy waffle.
Dinner went until about midnight, when I asked the inevitable American question- "Um, what do you DO at midnight? Do you watch a ball drop?" This is when everyone gave me the inevitable European what-are-you-talking-about stare and I had to explain the ball drop. This felt so foreign to me, it was like explaining why we have fireworks and hot dogs on July 4. How ELSE do you celebrate the holiday? Apparently, everyone turns on the TV around midnight, just so they know when the official midnight is, and then they kiss everyone and wish them a happy new year. Sounds easy, right? In Belgium, they do three alternating kisses. Three. As in I gave three kisses to twelve people in the span of about five minutes, feeling like a pecking chicken moving my neck down a ski slalom. When you come from a hugging, one-kiss country, your neck starts hurting from all this weaving. Hence welcoming the new year with a slight sense of whiplash...
Oooh, did I mention the presents? They give each other presents on Oudjaarsavond. I even got a lil gift spa set, thanks to Tine:) The holiday just kept getting better and better.
Celebrating New Years Day is also a thing in Europe, which is a refreshing change of pace from playing the what-the-heck-is-open-today game in America. About twenty minutes after I got home from my late Old Years Eve, I headed out again to meet Christian for celebrating the New Year! I do love that the tradition celebrates the old and the new years separately- it's a nice way to cap off a year and welcome a new one.
We started with a movie (I abstained on the wine...I had enough the night before), grabbed delicious Thai food (so in a way similar to the what's-open-today game), and ended up at the pussy bar. It is a small bar near Christian's place that is mainly frequented by old people and is decorated completely with cats. Cat statuettes, old cat calendars, cat needlepoints, etc. It's a little creepy. For the holiday they had a DJ playing a ridiculous combination of music to which the old and drunk patrons enjoyed dancing. At first Christian and I gave each other skeptical looks, but after we saw the Macarena starting to happen, we knew we had to jump in.
When I say the DJ played a ridiculous combination of music, I'm not kidding. I remember hearing songs ranging from "I Walk the Line," "9 to 5," and "Grease Lightening" to "Proud Mary," "L-O-V-E," and an old Greek folk dance. I knew all the words to five out of six of those. Christian and I danced the night away- we had so much fun!! People kept coming up and talking to us, and I sometimes had to translate for some of the old-timers who didn't speak English. The DJ was so kind and came up to us to ask us where we're from and what songs we wanted him to play. Being my mama's girl, I requested Jailhouse Rock! I don't know the last time I just let loose and danced to oldies and crazy Euro techno, but I can safely say that is the most fun I've ever had on January 1. I knew it was a great start to a great year! Not even the stares of a hundred cat sculptures could bring down my enjoyment level!
So that is how the Belgians celebrate the last night of the year and how Europeans celebrate the first day of the new. I had a lot of fun and will certainly remember celebrating the welcoming of 2010. I'll always look back, smile, and rub my neck.
xoxo
kw
been working mainly with these kids, and it's a lot of fun, albeit a different type of challenge. One of the little fellows I adore has attachment disorder, so while I love working with him, I need to be careful how much attention I give him. Another challenge is working with a group of kids and not knowing their diagnoses. I know they don't have autism, that's it. So I just need to be patient and do my best with each child, even though I don't know I should tailor my approach to them. I think it can be a blessing because a kid isn't typecast in my eyes, but usually, the more information about the disability I have, the better I'm able to help!
kids, especially as once the children are done in our community, they move on to a school for teenagers with autism. I did learn that before the kids leave, they are given a book with information about themselves. They can see their development, who they are inside and out, and learn more about autism. I hope at this point something clicks, but I'm sure a lot think, "oh, autism seems interesting...well, thanks for the story!" and go on their merry way.
