Christmas - the best time to share (project)

  19th of December came extremely fast! The day before the Christmas eve I got super nervous about the success of our performance. The worries about transporting all the required things to place somehow, not forgetting the words and pleasing the kids couldn't leave me alone. However, my concerns were for nothing as it all went so much better than was expected.
   The time at school went unnoticeably fast and here we were, standing near the foster home waiting for a social worker to welcome and introduce us to little listeners for the evening. All the possible scripts of the so important meeting already went through my mind at that point but the actual union was not like any of them. Kids were sitting by the kitchen table and waiting for our visit. It was nice to see curious but not even close to shy looks. Orphans were just like typical kids, buzzing around, arguing with each other and always communicating with us.
   As planned, the Christmas eve began from theoretical part where we presented most interesting facts of Lithuanian traditions. I was surprised, how enthusiastic children were about the questions we were asking them. Each one wanted to manifest and add something.
   Not so long after, the time for practical (and most entertaining) part came. Fortunately, kids were still full of live and excitement of upcoming activities. We tried to guess the length of live by pulling out hay straws. It made a little mess as kids were starting to get out of control. The true madness started when we took out the dough and flour for "kūčiukai" making. Oh boy! It wasn't easy to control the craziness of some kids, yet I could see how much joy it brought to them. After playtime with food the first batch of "kūčiukai" was sent off to the oven. While waiting we predicted who will find love next year by the even or uneven amount of "kūčiūkai" in a handful (the day-before baked cookies came in handy). When fresh and still very hot cookies were put on a plate, not a blink after, they were all gone! Such a success! This was probably my favorite moment of the whole evening.
   The sweets were a hit too, as kids loved them as much as the fun activities.
   After all, this project helped me improve my planning, collaborating and communicating skills. Also it made me rethink my values and approach toward life. I enjoyed every second of time spent with kids in a totally unusual for me environment. A true challenge was undertaken and overcome and I'm proud of Kamilė, Ignė and I. Actually, if you were to ask me I would never say I would have enough courage to take such a responsibility-requiring and risk-taking activity, but now I even want to go there again for another eve. Hopefully someday...








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