Monday I was surprised at work with a birthday cake! I've never seen them get a cake for another coworker so it was a total surprise and made me feel super special.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday the kids we serve were divided into groups and everyone had a day at the museum and the park. Friday was my favorite because I got to see kids from Los Pinos I haven't seen in awhile. They have gotten so big!!!
Wednesday afternoon I went up to tell my literacy class that they can continue at the class which is offered nearby, but that I cannot give the class any more. I was dreading it, but I needed closure and I knew they would be wondering what my boss decided.
I talked to two students. One has finished most of her book. She is 60 years old and doesn't leave the house except to wash clothes and haul water from the creek on the other side of the mountain. She is always babysitting the neighborhood kids.
After seeing how little she has left to do, I agreed to come back up and meet alone with her twice more. My coworkers have two more sessions of Familia Fuerte so they will be climbing up there for the next two weeks. We are going to do all we can do to see if she can graduate in two weeks. If not, she understands that I don't have transportation or a safe way to get up and down the mountain once my coworkers finish their last session. She said she feels good now because she knows how to write her name. In reality she knows how to read too, but she is not confident in her own abilities.
This morning I woke up early to edit photos. It's much harder to edit photos of the kids from Los Pinos than it is for the other kids. It's a good thing I wasn't in charge of photos on Wednesday's outing because that was the day Lorenzo and Tania and Karla's club went. I knew a lot of those kids. It is impossible for me to take impartial photos of the rest of the kids. All I wanted to do is spend my day with the Los Pinos kids.
I had the best surprise when I finished work yesterday! Just as I was leaving the office my friend called to say they were about to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, but they were waiting for me to come. She had talked about saving me leftovers and eating earlier, but apparently her kids decided they really wanted to wait for me.
Her son (not biological or adopted, but she has cared for him for the last three years) gave me a birthday/Christmas card that was so sweet! It said I love you all over it with lots of little drawings. The first little card even opens up to a beautiful message. ♥
So, I ended up getting to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving with turkey and trimmings and even a plate to take home. That was nice.
Thursday I did home visits. That's my favorite part of this job. I love seeing the kids in their home environment and meeting their families. It helps me understand them so much more.
One boy had a dramatic change in his behavior. He is an intelligent, studious, respectful boy. But over the past month he started disappearing for days at a time and is argumentative with his mother when he does come home
While we were at his house his mentor asked if he has gotten involved in "ugly things". The boy was quick to look his mentor in the eye and say no. I was surprised. It seemed like the boy was telling the truth. But then why would he disappear for a week at a time and suddenly be so nasty to his mother?
After digging a little we discovered that he is going to a guy named Carlos' house to play video games. And not just any video games, but World of Warcraft. His mother and his mentor were worried that it was full of blood and guts.
I know a little bit about WOW because when I worked in wilderness therapy people were paying thousands of dollars/month to send their kids to be treated for addiction to this game. It is like a drug and it was always kids like this boy who got sucked in. It's not about blood and guts, it's about strategy. They would play for literally days at a time without eating or sleeping. That is what this boy is doing. His mom said he comes home and sleeps for a long time. He has lost a lot of weight. She kept checking to see if he was high, and it seemed like he had some of the signs. But it was actually video games.
Part of me was really relieved. There are so many horrible things that go on in that neighborhood, video games seemed almost funny. But addiction is never funny. Especially not when it's causing a smart kid to flunk out of school.
We talked about having a healthy balance in your life and putting limits on the time he plays. Right now he is not capable of that. His mom is thinking of how she can sell enough tortillas to buy him a computer so he will stay at home. I think that's a bad idea. He is demonstrating too many obsessive behaviors. If he has a computer in his house, she will never talk to him again. He will play that darn game day and night. He went from being a straight A student to failing three classes this semester. Buying him a computer would be like buying him drugs. But I do understand her desire to keep him at home.
The most troubling fact is that he is going to the home of a 35 year old man to play this game. The mentor is going to find out more about this man. I am afraid the man lured this boy into his home and got him addicted to the game with bad intentions. Why would a 35 year old man want a 16 year old kid hanging around his house for days? The boy swears that the man is not doing anything bad, but something doesn't feel right to me there. I hope I'm wrong.
Anyway, all in all it was a good week. Topped with a surprise Thanksgiving and a surprise day of rest.
