The Club House

So I vowed that I would tell a few more nice stories on my blog before I called it quits with the blogging untill my next set of adventures. One of the experiences that I will hold most dear to my heart about my stay in the Netherlands was the experiences that I had with my volunteer position at The Club House. Every Wednesday elementary school Children would have a half day at school with the intention that the children should get to spend some quality time with their families. However, not all of the Children were so fortunate to have parents who could get the time off work for this to be possible so they would come to the club house from about 1 to 4. So I guess I should start from the beginning with how I found this volunteer opportunity, so here goes.

The Beginning
I had noticed that there was a Red Cross in the main shopping area of Rotterdam, and as my course load lightened I decided that it would be nice to volunteer with the red cross for the Christmas season. However, upon my arrival at their office I was politely informed that they really only needed people with a better understanding of Dutch than mine. So I asked if they new of anyone who would take me, so they directed me to a volunteer agency CVD. The VD was very enthusiastic to find me a position, and as soon as I mentioned that I had previous experience with Children, we were off to the races. The co-ordinator found the Club House in their system, and sent me off to meet it's co-ordinator Monique who enthusiastically welcomed me to her team of Social Workers and volunteers, and all it required was a hand shake and a promise that I would try to speak Dutch, none of the usual paperwork and police checks which are so standard in Canada were necessary.

The Club House
Given my previous experiences with the Dutch population, I was overwhelmed and surprised by the enthusiasm which greeted me on my first day. There were many volunteers and workers of different ages and backgrounds who I honestly must say were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Upon being introduced, the staff and volunteers at the clubhouse were constantly encouraging me to practice my Dutch and more than happy to help whenever I had a question.

The Children
In All I only got 3 opportunities to volunteer with the children, missing out on a 4th because of my early departure. The first day I was asked to help supervise the older group who were watching a movie that day. This gave me an excellent opportunity to meet some of the Children and better get to know the workers and other volunteers. The second day was the day that Sinter Klauss came to visit the younger children, that day was indeed a test on my ability to speak Duth, as all but 2 of the Children spoke no English. However, I really enjoyed this second day because of being exposed the the Dutch tradition of St. Nicholas' eve. My third day was really quite amusing. On this day I was put with the intermediate group who ranged from 6 to 9. My first job was to supervise the children in the change room before they were allowed to go into the gym. I had been warned that they found it fun to try to escape into the gym. Initially it was okay, however, one they realised that my comprehension of Dutch wasn't the greatest, one of the Children went out the door they came in and when I followed that Child 3 more of the Children escaped into the gym through the door I was blocking, but I managed to to heard them all back in to the change room, just in time to be rejoined by my colleagues. At this point I got to practice my Dutch with some of the children as we played games. My favorite moment of the afternoon was when one of the Children asked me in Dutch if I could speak French, so I replied in French that I could in fact speak French and asked if she could to. The girl then proceeded to look totally bewildered as her friend whispered in her ear that she thought that I was speaking French. The rest of the afternoon was spent having snack and making Kerstdagen (Christmas) Cards.

All in All
I am so greatful that I had the opportunity to volunteer at the Club House. Suprisingly, in the three short sessions it greatly improved my Dutch. I went from being unable to understand anything that was being said to me in Dutch to understand at least half of what was being said (if I was listening) and from knowing only single words, to be able to speaking in full sentences in a conversational setting. In addition it gave me the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and it also showed me a very different way of interacting with and caring for Children. (The Dutch are surprisingly less militant than Canadians!)

Until Next Time!
Cheers