Journal entry 2

      I'm about halfway through my service learning and I can say with all honesty that this has been the most positive experience of my life. This is no hyperbole at all; I've never been able to help so many kids at one time and I feel like for the first time I am making a difference in multiple lives. I'm beginning to learn names without having to look at name placements and that is a huge thing for me because I've never really been very good at remembering names. I've been working with a particular child and I can say I'm almost shocked at his progress. It's not like I felt this particular child was slow by any means but I figured at such a young age it would be difficult for them to retain information, and with all they are learning the specifics I figured would get lost in translation. However his progress has really opened my eyes on just how fast children can learn.
      I can also say that it feels like the children are much more comfortable with me than I had anticipated. I have a pretty large extended family and I've dealt with children sure, but they've always been family and I figured they would react differently to someone they've never met before. However I couldn't be more wrong. They actually seemed overjoyed at my constant involvement, and as the weeks have passed they all want me to sit at their tables for snack time or help them with their activities.
     I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to expect in the second half of this experience. Just about all my questions have been answered and my concerns put to rest. It's like I said earlier this experience has been incredibly positive, as the teachers in the school has made me feel incredibly welcome and there hasn't been one situation where I felt like I didn't belong. I honestly can't wait until next week because this truly has been the highlight of my week from trip to trip.