Monday, May 9, 2011

My First Day

For someone that really loves to dive in, today was really hard. This morning, I was allowed to sleep in, which was nice since we didn't get in until 3am yesterday. I ended up waking up around 9:30, unpacking, and getting ready for the day. By the time I wandered downstairs, everyone else was hard at work. During the course of the morning, I was introduced to the 14 other staff members, had a brief meeting with the director, and wandered around looking for something to do. Whenever I asked if I could help with something, everyone quickly replied, "No! It's your first day. Take some time to adjust." Um... no thanks. I'm good. You can put me to work!
Thankfully, one of the workers must have realized my distress and invited me to meet the kids and play with them. The purpose of this organization is to help families whose children are having heart surgeries at the local hospital. The three kids I met today are Kurdish; two will have heart surgery soon, and the other is recovering. I was able to spend some time hanging out with them and playing games. Apparantly, this is a big deal for them! Their mothers don't usually play games with them. So when we pulled out toy trains, tamborines, Uno, and puzzles, they were delighted!
So it was a good first day. Pretty uneventful, but still nice. I also took a walk to the old city this evening. It was crazy... like being in a dream. A very very good dream. I'm just glad I don't have to wake up!

2 comments:

  1. Natalie! I am glad that you are safely in one of our favorite places! I cannot believe that just a few hours ago you were walking in the old city once again! I am praying for you =)

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  2. AHHHH SOOO jealous. Also, I miss you. I'm praying for you too!

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