Familiar Strangers

You know those people you pass everyday, but don't know? Those are your familiar strangers. It may be that you know the kind of coffee they get. Or it might be that you they wear blue only on Thursdays. Or it might be that lady with the curly hair that you pass everyday. You don't know them. You know almost nothing about them, and yet you see and remember their face. They have no importance in your life, but at the same time you wonder "where are they going? what is on their to-do list?"

Everyday when I go to work, I pass multiple people. Some are people who I will never see again. Children, adults, cats. But lately there have been three people who I consistently see on a daily basis. There is the lady that walks her cat and slowly admires the rising sun. There is the lady who is wearing pastel pink sweats (yes, everyday) and begins her walk in Sachar Park. Then, there is the guy at the crosswalk on his bike. Because the crosswalk lights stay on red for so long, I usually see him. He regulates my time. If I don't see him, I need to sprint to work. If I see he hasn't crossed to my side yet, I know that I have a lot of time left.

It's amazing that eventhough you don't know anything about these people and you only see them for a few seconds a day, that your brain is able to remember and recognize these faces. There are a million people in the world. The fact that this three pound muscle is able to remember is amazing.

In the kindergarten, a specialist comes in for Music. She is blind. I think that it is good for the older kids to know that there is a working and functional blind adult in their vicinity. While she only comes in once a week and stays in each classroom for about half an hour, the kids are still able to recognize her voice (which, by the way, is decent. She can actually sing which makes a difference since none of the rest of us can). As a blind person in the community, she does not have familiar faces, but rather familiar voices. But all of us have mixed up another's voice. Half the time when I talk to my family, I have to say it's me and not my sister. I have had conversations though where people thought I was my sister. Some times vision is the most helpful despite that the visually impaired have better tuned hearing than the seeing.

So, while familiar strangers are not very important in our lives, it makes life easier. If the cashier knows you always give correct change and you are short by a few cents (or agurot) they will let it slide. Or if the familiar stranger spills something on you or steps on your foot by accident, it makes it easier to forgive them because you know that it's not the norm.

But then after awhile it gets awkward. There comes a point when you recognize them and they recognize you. Do you say hi? Or just go along like normal?

University Taught Me Something

The past few days, all seven kids have been crying during nap time. Usually it's the same two kids that cry and that is easy to deal with. However, suddenly this week, everyone has decided that they will cry during the first half hour of nap time and then maybe they will go to sleep.

Most parents know that when a baby is crying at the beginning of their naptime it is because they do not want to go to sleep, no matter how tired they are. However, after self-soothing, they are able to calm themselves and eventually fall asleep. There is one boy who is a little over a year who likes to be cradled and rocked all the time, even when he is awake. Sometimes, when he is exhausted, he is able to fall asleep on his mattress without any swinging. Anyway, the moment he starts to cry, the new staff member runs over to pick him and put him in the swing. Or if someone else is crying, she will pick them up and hush them. From experience and classes, I know that it is better to let the babies cry for a little bit so they can learn to sooth-themselves and then after a little bit try to calm them. This method does not work every kid, but for over time, the child will gradually learn to calm himself.

The child that constantly likes to be rocked is blind. He is able to see different colors and flashes of lights, but not much more than that. He has his favorite toy that sings and flashes lights. It is like a pacifier. If he is not playing with his toy, he will cry unless there is someone with him to say "you toy is in front of you" or unless he is able to feel someone's presence. He likes to be hugged and kissed and picked up. My theory is that because he is blind and unable to see, he is literally lost in his own thoughts and his own world. (Whether or not babies have thoughts is a different issue). He feels alone and unstable. I imagine it is like waking up disoriented. Being held allows him to be more in touch with reality and to know that he exists. That people care. The swinging and cradling also allows him to be able to know that he is alive. Even last year the girl that was totally blind always cries unless she was rocked back and forth. The boy from last year who was mostly blind didn't like to sleep because he probably felt that he would be lost. Their feelings are completely understandable.

In addition, the kids' morning play usually consists of building blocks (both literal blocks and metaphorical ones that will help them develop their skills) and Legos. I know the reason the kids are playing specifically with these toys is so that they can develop their fine and gross motor skills. Because they are so little and their hands are so little, most of them have very little control over putting the block into a specific area and usually "get one in" by luck. But because I know that these toys are supposed to enhance their skills, I will usually find a toy that will help them practice their skills instead of toy that just sings and makes other animal noises.

There are many other things that I learned in university that I would not have known otherwise and the skills that I learned have helped me work with the kids more than I think.

Step by Step

I recently started at a job at the same place I volunteered last September. The kids, of course, have grown. They can now walk by themselves and have a conversation. Although they don't remember me because of their age, it is still great to see how far they have come in just six months. For an adult, six months is no improvement at all. Full rehabilitation takes longer than that, but these kids have acquired a language and are able to walk around and play.

On my first day, I was asked to come in to welcome the kids when they arrived. One girl arrived and I couldn't believe how she has grown. Last year, the teachers worked with her to keep her bald head from going to just the right side. When she was laid down now, her ginger hair contrasted with the blue mat and she was able to turn her head to both sides, though she still favored the right side. In contrast however, one of the girls just turned three. She can't stand, nevermind walk, nor can she talk or really do much of anything. I'm not sure exactly what she has (I think cerebral palsy), but she is severely developmentally delayed and no matter how much therapy she has, she will never be a "normal" child.

In the day to day learning, we don't see the improvement of the children. Even talking begins slowly. First there is the "bababa" sound which goes to "abba" (father) and then two word sentences and eventually full chatter. However, this process doesn't happen overnight, but rather about a year. Working with the children everyday, you don't see the small skills they acquire so that they are able to go on with the next step. It is only when you look back that you can see how much a child has learned.

One of the hardest things about making Aliyah is the language. Sometimes I feel like I am on the same page as the two and a half year olds. I know words and I can put together sentences, but I don't always understand the words that everyone is using. It feels like I am not learning any more Hebrew, but then there will be a day when suddenly everything is in Hebrew or I do a task that I previously would not have been able to do. For example, I went to the bank (which is a whole different system than the US, but that's a different story). I asked the teller if he spoke English to which he replied only a little. Since I had already been waiting for 45 minutes, I didn't feel like waiting more so I gave up and spoke Hebrew to him. (Side note: He was surprised I was from the US...Last time I checked I have a strong American accent. Oh yea, plus I asked if he spoke English. Is that not a clue? I speak Hebrew sometimes and the clerks automatically switch to English.) I succeeded in my task and was proud that I was able to do this in Hebrew.

A few weeks ago, I went to the Golan so here are some of the Pictures