"You don't want to date gentlemen. You want to date players and rough riders"

As it turns out our ratty old gym is a good place to meet single guys. Today I met a guy from South Korea. He is here going to school and when I told him I was from Florida he said, in broken English, “Oh, Miami… C…S…I!” I tried to explain that I wasn’t from Miami but more from the Tampa area. I thought he asked if I could take him to Florida with me sometime but later realized he might have asked if I could talk with him about Florida sometime. The entire discourse was very awkward and probably hilarious to watch if not because of my lack of communication skills but also because I was drenched with sweat. The other guy I met happened to be with his mom and looking for a restroom. They were waiting to sign his lease and since I have such a nice face they inquired where they might find one. I told them I was going to the gym downstairs and that there was one there. Turns out the ladies room door was locked so that meant the guy and his mom had to take separate turns using the men’s room. While the mother waited she asked me if I was going to school and then about the internship program; all very nice and normal. Then when the guy came out to wait I asked him if he was going to school and about moving into his own place. He was quick to explain that when your mother is standing in the way of your life’s happiness it’s time to move out. After an awkward laugh on my part the conversation was over. I never said the guys were fun and interesting, just single. Possibly the caliber of the gym is proportional to the caliber of man you find within it.

I had another meeting with Pastor Kopp today that did not end in tears. I count that as a success. I talked with him about my idea to pursue nursing and he offered some interesting insight that I will consider when planning for the future. He also showered me with compliments about my “progress” and about the “enlivening of my spirit”. It sounds corny now but it’s always nice to hear someone compliment your spirit.

My relationships with the kids are definitely starting to blossom. Stephen and Andrew are the cutest little boys. They are my comfort when I begin to feel like all kids must be disrespectful. Ralston is starting to really open up to me. I think that people have not expected enough of him in his life. He seems to have a keen awareness of other people’s feelings and personalities. Even though you will always have to tell him something twice we’re finally at the point where he doesn’t simply disregard me. He shared his homemade cookies with me and gave me a hug today. It was the best moment of the week so far. He’s also reminded me that it’s important to talk to kids about things other than punishments. If all you ever do is yell at someone they will learn not to hear you. There is one Asian girl in my group. Her name is Cierra. She’s really starting to come out of her shell which is just great. We have a dance instructor come each Tuesday to dance with the kids and today we did a soul train line. When it was Cierra’s turn to dance down the center she went all out. It was adorable. Somehow her dance moves looked almost identical to those of the dancers in the game DDR. Another camper that I’m really impressed with is Jaide. There is a mentally handicapped boy in our class and she always takes time to play with him during the day and not in the way that the other kids do. She seems to be very aware of his limitations and she takes her cues from him. If he wants to go backward on the game board instead of forward she has no problem with that. She’s showing that she has expanded past the concrete functioning that the other children still display as well as her genuinely caring nature. The job is slowly getting better in many ways. While it’s still not something I would want to do for my whole life it’s certainly something I can do for 3 more weeks.