We had just finished a vigorous game of duck-duck-goose. By the end the fun couldn't be contained by the rules and four kids were chasing each other all around the room. And I don't just mean the children living at Buu Tri Pagoda, but also a few of our USP student volunteers were giddily running about.
I was sitting exhausted, covered in sweat and dumbfounded about what to do next. We'd run through a list of activities planned ahead of time. Some worked well, others crumpled when the kids lost interest or got too interested in something else. Now we had a bunch of excited kids but no real plan as to what to do next.
But, luckily, we've got great USP volunteers and big sister Kate, ring-leader extraordinaire. Kate settled the troops and then Thao started up the "Releasing Birds" game that kind of works like musical chairs. Then Lam, a true superhero, put together a math lesson/game that also included drawing pictures of the beach. He so entranced the kids that the hall fell silent, something that hasn't happened too often. It's pretty neat to see the USP volunteers be able to connect with the kids in the sheer giddiness of games and then, in the next moment, enthrall them in quiet work.
At the end of the evening, I was slumped against a column in the center of the room. We had passed out candy at the end of the activities and kid after kid came over and gave me a piece of what we'd given. I turned them down, passed the gifts along to other kids, and finally succumbed happily to eating candy along with Vu and Vy, both of whom were thankfully taking a break from using me as a jungle gym.
It was a happy night and I felt extremely glad to be there, but I also felt sad to be going back to the States and away from this project (at least in body) in just three weeks.
More child and USP volunteer profiles, project highlights, pictures and more videos coming soon!
Our "Releasing Birds" game--in action!
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