Has there ever been a time in your life where you just know you are in the right place? A place where things make sense...even if you don't exact understand why. That's how I've felt since arriving to the Village. It doesn’t mean I don’t question my actions regularly (maybe too regularly) or feel lost and confused about things happening in the day to day. It just means I know this was the right choice for me at this current moment in life.
While different people choose to do a JDC Fellowship for varying reasons, I chose to do it to explore the areas of myself that I feel have room for major growth. Looking back, I feel it was a bit selfish of a reason because in reality, the past two weeks have already meant SO much more than that – and most of what I’ve been exposed to, I had never even expected to experience.
My ASYV Family
Family 2 – yet to be officially named (this will come in the next few weeks when my girls choose a deceased hero to name our family after).
The girls
The 20 girls in our house are the best bunch I could have asked for. Somehow each one of them has already found a way to carve out a small place in my heart in these past days. With some proving more skilled in English and others much less, we each find new ways to communicate and build our relationships. This could be through eye contact, hugs, sports or the small notes that the students passed around after New Years to express their love.
I am beyond excited to continue to find new ways to speak with my girls and I very much look forward to seeing their English improve so we can begin having more in-depth conversations.
Mama and Big Sister
My Mama is a feisty middle-aged lady who has previously worked in a similar role in her local village before coming to ASYV this year. She is deeply religious but still gives me the flexibility to explore new topics and fun activities with the girls. While our communication is limited due to her lack of English, I feel a deep connection to her because I can see how much she cares for these girls.
Big Sister is the lifeline of our family. Her English is impeccable – which is absolutely amazing because she had been an Enrichment Year student only four years before. A serious girl, my favorite thing to do is to make her laugh. She’s incredibly smart and deeply devoted to her position as Big Sister, proving to be an exceptional role model to the girls.
New Year’s Celebration
As the Communications Fellow, I wrote about our celebrations on the ASYV blog. Check it out here: http://asyv.org/blog/starting-the-new-year-off-right.
During Family Time following our New Year celebration, we went around the room, talking about what we were grateful for in 2016. With so much gratitude, each of the girls shared their feeling since coming to ASYV – it was the first time they had a real family, the first time they ate cake or the first time they had food to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner…
The Village
Think about the most beautiful place you’ve ever been. Now imagine a place significantly more breathtaking. That’s the Village. With a mix of mountains, farmland that goes on for miles and the lushest flora, the Village can almost be mistaken for a dream. You can find students eating the fallen mangos from trees, milking the cows in our farm or playing football (European), volleyball and basketball on our courts.
The Food
Every day. Every meal. Enough said.