Learn to express yourself :)

Be in the middle of the people and feel alone. When you don’t understand who is close to you it’s normal ask to yourself… what I’m doing? I’m working with people with special needs and  just some of them speak English so in the first days I was very afraid because it was really hard to communicate with them. I asked to myself “If I don’t realize what they said to me how I can help them?” “If I want to explain something to them….how I can do?” I was very frustrating because I felt myself so futile. But the positive of the EVS is that you have a lot of time to learn and to improve your skills.

So after the first period I understood a very important thing: we don’t have only the words to express our needs. Of course they are really important and they simplify the communication but sometimes also your creativity is useful as much. Gesticulating, ,miming, painting… it’s not only handy but – I have to be honest- also really funny! For my students for example…I think that they appreciate this way to dialogue and they also like to try to talk with me in this strange code! I don’t want to say that is always easy…sometimes you try to find something to do, your mind travel and travel and travel…and nothing...it’s impossible to say what do you want to say. And it’s sad because maybe it’s something important or funny. But sometimes around the corner there is surprise: few weeks ago I was with one student and I tried to explain to him how to roll a cotton with a spindle but it was impossible. After twenty minutes I was really tired and he was really frustrated so he said to me: “I don’t want to continue”. I saw that he was angry with himself but after ten minutes he transformed his rage in motivation and he did his task. Sometimes you need time and patience but if you want to say something you can do that also if you don’t speak the same language. And probably the most positive opportunity is that if you really don’t understand you have only one solution: a big smile and this fell everybody happiest!