Day 14 - A palace of vulnerability.

Today I was mainly in Primavera with about 30 minutes in Arielle. While in Primavera, I sat with the 16 year old girl, I truly cannot remember her name this is horrible, but we sat for around 4 hours and just talked in broken english and italian. She says she “likes me because I am real” and she talks about how some americans that she meets are not so real and willing to connect. 

We talked about her life and her family and why she is going to move back home when she turns 18. She talked about her favorite show and her favorite things to do. She talked about adjusting to Coop Sociale and how it was weird to sit and eat dinner with other people because that was not the case at home- her parents were never home at the same time.

She talked a lot about the expectations of relationships with family and friends and how important consistency is in the strength of these relationships. We could understand each other and I observed how she worked and when I was able to be vulnerable, she was then available to be vulnerable. 

I recognized today that this internship, if done with its fullest, is difficult and fulfilling. There is a balance between the difficulty and the fulfilling aspects, but it is a new difficulty. I want to be able to share my openness and understand the kids, but this availability is also taxing. Just something to notice, not a complaint.

For the last 30 minutes, I was helping entertain the kids in Arielle. It was simple and such a nice end to the day, except I got bit by a kid in the face, it was harmless and slightly amusing, but what a day!