Volunteering with Children

Volunteering overall was quite an experience. It was very enjoyable, and I’m very happy I partook in it, however it was not without difficulties. Immediately upon entering the room, we observed kids running around, being loud and rambunctious. We proceeded to split them into groups, and we tried to calm them down and play some games with them. “Simon Says” was popular with the older kids, along with an interesting Korean game I had learned last year (in English it is called the Korean frying pan game) from some friends. Halfway through, our group switched to work with the younger kids who did not know much English. This group was very active, and our main way of controlling them was through a body language game. Very similar to the idea of “Simon Says,” we pointed to one person as the “leader” and copied their movements. The younger kids quickly caught on and really enjoyed the game.

From the experience, I learned both how to better work with kids and also how to communicate through non-verbal means. There were also some cultural surprises that caught me off-guard; for example, the kids walk home on their own and some even use the bus system themselves. At first I thought the kids were running away and I was very worried, until our event leader told me this is normal for them.

Meeting these children and knowing that I would most likely never meet them again did not impact the way I interacted with them. I still tried to entertain them the same way I would any other kids I know, trying to make their time as enjoyable as possible. However, I do tend to interact different with older people that I will/won’t meet again. If I know I will meet a person again, I try and develop a base relationship with them before departing ways. On the other hand, with people I will most likely not meet again, I am more likely to be more passive; I may or may not pursue developing a relationship with them. While I find interactions with people I will not meet again easier (because I do not feel pressure if I mess up, it’s not like I’ll see them again anyways), I more enjoy speaking with people that I will see repeatedly because I look forward to developing relationships amongst one another.