A Tribute to Olinda

Oh how I love to worked at Olinda! How I always motivated to woke up in the morning because I can't wait to meet those 6-8 years old kids! I dedicate this writing to my wonderful week in Taize on 31 July - 7 August 2011 (read more about this week here).

Things that I like about Olinda is, how they able to make a programme every week for every summer that can encourage the children to have fun! Of course they put some significance religious related to every activity since it's a religious community. But I just love how they put that into every activities that not always one-way lecture. I don't know with the other group or the older group like 8-11 years old and 12-14 years old. But at least in my group, we always have a lot of games and singing to energizes the kids. We realize that the kids on this certain age isn't able yet to absorb something abstract and boring-lecture-way. Yes, we take care the children while their parents wants to seek wellspring of life in Taize. So while the parents join the bible introduction which led by one of the Taize brothers, they let their children being taking care by us the young people.


The other thing is, how these kids has become my energizer throughout the day. After my third day in Olinda when me and the kids know each other more and more, we can meet not only in Olinda but also around Taize, or inside the church for sure. In the morning, yes I can play, sing, and laugh with them. Throughout the day when sometimes I just passed by and accidentally meet them, it's either they greet me or I greet them enthusiastically. The good thing is, if I meet them outside Olinda means that I can meet their parents as well. Some times I can have a conversation with their parents and know more about them.

For me, working at Olinda seems like to test my knowledge of how to greet people in various languages. Lucky for me, I have this high interest in language and can learn some of them during my three months in Taize on 2008. So I used to greet some kids in their own language in our big group. Spanish, Italian, French, Germans, and even Polish! So every morning, I always greet some of them with an universal greetings such "Hi, Good morning, how are you, good" in their mother tongue. Because of this, sometimes some of them came and speak to me as if I can understand them, maybe because I speak a little bit of their language so they think that I can speak their language. Haha! So if they start to talk to me and I can't understand them, then I just smile and laugh, or even call one of the animator to translate it for me.

My highlight is the only four Polish boys in our big group. I only can greet them in their language with "How are you", "good", and "thank you" because that's the only Polish word that I know. I greet them every single day like this, on every moment I meet them even we're not in Olinda any more. Because of this, later on every time some of them see me, even outside Olinda, they always came up to me in the first time and shout enthusiastically, "Timo,jak się masz?" "dobry" "dziękuję" as enthusiast as I used to greet them. Oh I will miss those boys!

There's another boy, Spanish-speaking boy who "belongs" to the Spanish-speakers animators, because I only take care English-speakers kids. Because I always greet the Spanish, include this boy, with my Spanish which is better than any "foreign language", seems like he thought I can speak Spanish well. Since the third day, this particular boy always come next to me whenever our coordinator starts to gather all the children in a big children according to the languages spoken. Oh yes I'm very glad if there's a kid with their own initiative come to me, but the difficulties is when our coordinator give the instruction, means that that kid have to understand that instruction! So what I did in the first time is keep pointing at the Spanish-animators and told him to go there, but soon I realize he don't understand me, so I lift him up, carry him all around the big circle, and put him next to the Spanish-animators. And this thing happens everyday! Haha! On the free time, that boy frequently come to me, grab and play with my hand, and he start to talk with me. I realize my Spanish is very limited to the "greetings-sentences" so I only can smile on whatever he said while I'm looking for any Spanish-animators to help me with this situation. Haha!

My habit of greet kids with their language isn't stop there, I greet some of French kids as well. And the result apparently quite the same with what happens with the Spanish boy. This particular French boy always come next to me on the day after, and I have to carry him all around the field to put him in the "right" group, since I can't communicate at all with this boy even he's very cute. Oh I wish I can speak many languages!

Well, for sure this experience of working in Olinda already fulfilled my longing to work on this particular place. On 2008, I stayed for three months and work in various places and tried almost all kind of job but one, Olinda. So, I'm happy and I can sleep well every night since now and then.