Turbulent Weekend

How would I describe my weekend??? Good question....I don't think there are enough words and expressions in the English vocabulary to describe what I went through this weekend. All I can say is that I live in an orphanage with babies, toddlers, school aged children, and teenagers. And I share a single bathroom with 15 people. Enough said.

First of all, I live at the orphanage, which means I don't get a break. I literally work 24/7. We are in the middle of restructuring everything at the orphanage and lacking staff, so it means a heavier load on my part. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to be apart of this change and to help make the orphanage function better. The only thing that has been getting to me are the teenagers. I knew there was always a reason why I never wanted to be a middle school or high school teacher....it is just too much sometimes. Plus all of these teenagers have been through some sort of trauma in their lives, so it makes it that much harder to talk to them. Oh yeah, don't forget about the different language, different culture part....that really pushes the difficulty bar up a notch.

So I had doors slammed in my face and constant laughter and yelling in my ear all weekend. This was on top of what I had to do with the other parts of the orphanage. Somehow I still got the 19 reports that I needed to get done today for the children who have adoptive families. So that was the good part. Having children and staff members knocking at your door every 15 to 30 minutes really makes it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It's been a challenge for sure.

So I came up with a productive punishment system for the teenagers this weekend. I have them do chores or stay in their rooms throughout the day if they misbehave. It was put to the test today, and it worked wonders. One teenage girl had such foul mouth and negative attitude that landed her in a one week grounding at the orphanage and everyday she has to wash dishes, babies'clothing, and clean the floors. Day one was awesome, let's hope she gets the point this time.

The turbulent weekend of intense teenage mayhem led to one of the teenage girls leaving the orphanage. It wasn't a surprise to any of us, nor her. In the end, I hope she is happier with the result of leaving. I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. I told that if she wanted to do something with her life, she needs to trust others and believe in herself first. Her attitude toward others needs to change, because life is too short to be angry all the time. I hope she heard what I said and reflects on that. It's still hard to say goodbye, but it's for the best.

OH YEAH! Happy Taiwanese Independence Day 10-10!!!! 

(I especially put on a Traditional Chinese top for the occasion)