3-5-2011

My new buddy, Josh and me.

It was a really good day. I finally start my working days again in Hong Kong in order to fulfil my dreams in the near future. But, I wouldn´t compromise myself, and I had chosen to do something I feel right for me. I can´t work in the commercial world, and it woulld really put me off with lots of office politics and rivalry for status and money. I was fortunate enough to find a work for a NGO which specializes in facilitating adults with special needs. I had never worked with adults with special needs before, so it is very interesting to me. And I know I can enjoy myself and having a balanced life as well (No Overtimes and work in the weekend, for instance).

I woke up at 7:16am, which is a little bit late but fortunately I managed to get to work on time. It was a little bit chaotic in the beginning with the schedules and things as everything is new, but I think it is normal. But once we started working directly with the students, I felt like home and it went very smoothly. I love working with them as they are very sweet. The challenges are with those who have poor or no language skills and physical handicaps, but they were also very lovely to work with.

We did painting in the morning, getting ready for some arty decoration for the Royal Wedding Street party next monday. It was really hard for most of them to even painting, and it took a lot of efforts to get them work well, although I knew they were trying their best already. I particularly worked with Emily, Bertille and Reshma, and they were all great. After the painting session we had lunch. A funny thing happened when Tiffany refused to eat her sandwiches and left the room, Bertille who sat next to her instantly grabbed her sandwiches and ate them! It was a chaotic moment but it was really hilarious! Then, Robert, a student, and I went out to buy some lunch. He showed me to go to a Japanese restaurant and we got some lunch boxes. He walked really fast and constantly I had to remind him not to slow down. But he is a very cool person and we hung out a bit during lunch.

Before we went to the Hong Kong Football Club where we had a dancing session, I talked to another student, Vicky, who has real great talent with languages and piano. She speaks English, Cantonese and Japanese, and currently taking Grade 6 piano lessons! It is very impressive for a young lady with special needs! So I told her how talented she is and she needs to keep going and learn more, and she smiled and said, "You have just made my day!" It had made my day as well to see her so happy. As I hopped on the bus to go to the dance class, another student, Joshua, invited me to sit with him. He is very sweet person, and I got to know a little bit better about him. He showed me the music in his iPod and some pictures of his family. I really adore him. In the dance class, I spent most of my time with Emily who needs to walk with a walking frame. She was very quiet during painting, but she surprised me with her energy at dance class, and she loves to dance! So I danced quite a bit with her, although she got tired from time to time. She could even skip and jump sometimes! I taught her how to swirl and turn around, which she found a lot of fun.

It was an extremely fulfilling day, and I´m so happy to be around all these beautiful people who are just lovely!