This past week I've been really sick, and had the interesting experience of calling a doctor to my house (which apparently is very common here), but am finally getting better. On the cusp of getting my energy back, however, it was completely strung out of me with yesterday's events: a day of volunteering with children ages one to five years old.
NYU Buenos Aires tries to include students in one-day volunteer activities over weekends throughout the semester (there are some kids here who have, through NYU, been signed up to work with a specific program either as an intern or as a volunteer. But since this set-up had very limited spots, these weekend opportunities are primarily for those students who are not regular volunteers elsewhere, i.e. me!). So the NYU faculty set us up with a day of helping with Ronda de Juegos, a program that works with both hospitals and kindergartens / daycares around the city to help provide socialization / social inclusion for kids, usually involving donating toys to them and organizing fun activities, etc. Our original plan for Friday was to go to a hospital in the Floresta barrio (a little out west from the city; southwest from where I live) and give toys to sick children and play with them for a bit, but staff realized that going to a daycare would be more a little bit more active, as the hospitalized children are much more sensitive to work with (this is understandable).
So, 12 other students and I ended up taking a bus to Jardín de los Colores, a daycare also located in Floresta. They divided us amongst the different rooms of children: infants, two-year-olds, three-year-olds (this is where I was) and then the four-year-olds. I had a constant sense of the facility being understaffed, and I sincerely wondered how all these women function when there aren't volunteers around to control the criers, to help the ones who fall and smack their head get back on their feet, to keep them from making vicious messes at snack time, to make sure they don't run out the door and wander around, etc. As is the case with any group of toddlers, there were the shy ones, the bullies, the angels, the mischievous, and the ones who cried the whole time wanting their mommy and daddy. It was a babysitting nightmare, but I was more than happy to be there (I sure do miss a couple... Augustín loved to play peek-a-boo, Sofía always gave me her toys, Facundo, who can't quite walk yet, was always grabbing onto my leg and wouldn't let go when I had to leave). I was also more than happy to help these incredibly sweet, young women (no more than mid-20's I would say) who do this everyday as their job. You could seriously tell they needed the help. And I miss playing with kids! It had been a while! It was also such a great group because the 3-year-olds are just old enough to understand you (my level of Spanish was perfect for them, haha, which is a comfort I s'pose), but not yet old enough to form words, yet, so it was a perfect harmony of communication.
At the end of the day, when we had to leave, the children started crying and were genuinely upset that we had to be on our way. It was so touching, and I wish I could go back. It was a truly interesting experience to see how daycares in this city function (as best as they can) and to be able to help in any way that I could. I hope to volunteer with any other programs NYU offers throughout the semester.
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