Remembrance
By Chou Hui-Wen, Nursery worker of Jonah House
Translator : Jancy
Since I like children, I resolutely chose to major in Early Childhood Development and Education when I re-entered the college with the goal of becoming a preschool teacher. While studying courses that I had never experienced before, I worked part-time in a kindergarten. This was my first job, and although hard, I found it to be quite interesting!
I still remember the first time I asked a child to finish the work on the count of three. When I said, “Sophia, 1…,” and was about to count 2 and 3, Sophia immediately said “Sophia 2….” At that point, I suddenly felt very funny, and all my anger was gone. I also remember a little boy wearing different colors of socks every day. At first, all of us thought he had worn it accidentally. But later, we found that this was his persistence every day. He was also the only child who would tell the teachers what was missing from his bowl every time he ate. Even it was a small piece of scallion, he would also raise his hand and say: “Teacher! I don’t have any scallions...” (Actually, he didn’t eat scallions at all!)
For the first time when I took the children on a field trip, I instructed them not to soil their clothes. But a teacher told me, “Playing outside would definitely get the clothes dirty, and dirty clothes mean that they are playing seriously.” It seems to have happened a while ago, but it’s been decades.
After I formally entered the university, I repeatedly manipulated the handmade teaching materials in class and recited the regulations in the Early Childhood Education and Care Act. I also went to kindergartens many times for internships and progressively understood the working pattern in kindergartens. Gradually, I became averse to all this. However, when I was serving as a volunteer out of school (in the pediatric playroom of a hos- pital), designing activities for child welfare orga- nizations, leading elementary school camps, or working part-time taking care of children of foreign spouses, I clearly knew that my love for children has not changed!
By chance, I’ve contacted nonprofit organizations before graduation. To avoid the popular situation at the time that “graduation equals unemployment,” I started submitting resumes to look for a job be- fore graduation. Fortunately, I was called in for an interview after submitting my first resume. At that time, I didn’t even know where Sheng Keng was. It was Sr. Rosa who told me where to get on the bus, which station to get off at, and then to walk ahead to see Cathwel…
I remember that it was Sr. Rosa who interviewed me. She asked me only two questions after show- ing me around Cathwel. Then she arranged with me the formal work schedule. At that time, I wasn’t clear about the services at Cathwel, but I was very happy that I’ve found a job with many children. After taking a day off after my graduation ceremony, I started working. Although I occasionally envied that my classmates could slowly find a job while resting, this thought gradually faded away with the busy work and didn’t bother me for long.
From June 12, 2006 to July 15, 2011, I worked in the nursery team. It was the first time for me to contact children with special needs. I didn’t know how to get along with them at first. However, as time passed, I knew they were just like other normal children.
There were many children on our floor and the age gap varied from 1-6 years old. Each of them was with different background. I remember a little girl who was referred from foster care. She burst into tears and said, “The foster mother said she would be living with me forever....” when she checked in. She cried so bitterly, and I did not know how to comfort her. I could only stay with her and wait for her to calm down slowly while asking the social worker to arrange a meeting for her with her foster mother. I forgot how long it took for her to open up to us after the meeting, but I remembered that she was always a cute, lively, and sensible little girl!
There was a brother-sister pair, who were young but very talkative. We all said that they were quiet only when they were asleep. Besides, there were some children who always drank a lot of milk and ate a lot of food. But, they could no longer drink or eat excessive amounts of milk and food after finding there was after-meal snacks.
I enjoyed taking children out for fun. Some parks and Taipei Zoo were the places where we visited most often. However, Taipei Zoo was the place where we got separated from our children twice. It scared us out of our wits. Fortunately, the children knew to stay where they were and wait. Another time, it rained heavily when we were at the zoo. There were not enough raincoats, so we cut three holes (for the head and two arms) in plastic bags and put them on the children. Passers-by saw them and said they were so cute.
I still remember the first time when I took a child to Tamsui, he lay on the road crying and did not want to get up. When I took him to take MRT, he stood outside the carriage and kept saying: “Why does it keep beeping?” And then he forgot to enter the carriage with me. After the door closed, he was still outside. I was very nervous, so I pressed the intercom to ask for help. Also, when the first time we took our children to Leofoo Village Theme park, we entered the park happily after arriving at the parking lot. But when we were about to go home in the evening, we couldn’t find where the car was parked. We kept searching in the parking lot in the dark for a long time. There were too many first experiences that have become unforgettable memories to me, and I’ve made these memories into photo books one after another so that the children could take my blessings to their new homes and start a new life.
After taking one month off, I was then transitted to the Hard-to-Place Children Program from August 15, 2011 to April 2015. I was responsible for taking care of a sibling group of four. The youn- gest was only three years old, who was going to preschool. The oldest was preparing to enter junior high school. I still remember the weather was very hot on the first day they arrived. Each of them brought several luggages. In the first few days, we were busy organizing their luggages together, and then we embarked on our first home unit trip without being familiar with each other.
Together with two other home units, we set out for a two-day one-night trip to Fulong and Jiufen. In Fulong we drank seawater, built sandcastles, and learned to ride bicycles…. It was scorching hot! The next day we took the bus to Jinguashi Gold Museum, but the excessive stairs in the museum made me give up the opportunity to see gold without hesitation.
After the start of school, the children were busy with their school life, and they came home at 6 o’clock in the evening. We ate together around the dining table and listened to the children sharing their own experiences. After the meal, the routine of watching TV, showering, and going to bed was another round of tugging and pulling; they always tried to procrastinate one after another.
When I was in the Hard-to-Place Children Program, I always took the children out. Perhaps due to a significant age gap between the siblings, it was occasionally easy to overlook one of them. I still remember one time we went out for a long walk, and the youngest child was already over- whelmed and started fussing while walking. However, I just criticized him for crying and fussing around, for- getting that he was only a 3 or 4-year-old child. As the children grew older, their personalities became more distinct, and we were often in a battle of wits. Fortunately, my supervisor was always there to be my strong support and share with me how to deal with the situations. These four kids were the only ones I had seen off at the airport, saying goodbye and watching them happily left with their adoptive parents for a new life in the United States.
After the Hard-to-Place Children Program ended, I rested for a month and a half before transferring back to the nursery team at the end of May 2015. The memories of the past are still clear in my mind. I could quickly grasp the workflow now. However, I often felt hard when taking care of the children even though the number of children was less than half comparing to the past.I didn’t know whether it was because I am getting older or because the children have “evolved”.
Once, I took care of a little boy with Down syndrome. He loved drinking the corn chowder I made. (My colleagues always laughed and said I would be rich if I changed my career selling corn chowder.) The boy has got amazing stamina. He was just a kindergarten-age child, and yet he ran ten laps around the playground before entering the class- room every day, which scared me beyond words... And, he always enjoyed standing next to me in the early morning with his quilt, constantly shak- ing it before lying down to sleep. I often saw him when I turned around or woke up, which really abruptly made me awake.
There was another little boy. When we went to the Taipei Water Park for water fun, he suddenly stood behind me. I just felt warm on my back while I wondered whether if the water in the swimming pool had become warm. Later, I found it was him peeing at my back…
Another time, we went to play in the sandbox at a park. A child’s shoe went missing while we were digging in the sandbox. No matter how hard we search, we couldn’t find it. There was no nearby shoe store. So, we placed a towel under his foot and wrapped it with a plastic bag to serve as a shoe. Then we went home like that.
The annual home unit trip was also an activity that children were looking forward to. It was the only opportunity to spend some nights out. I still re- member how happy they were when they saw the bathtub.Thay jumped up and down on the bed excitedly as if they were seeing everything for the first time. In the amusement park, children were reluctant to stop to eat or rest. They eagerly queued up repeatedly for the rides, hoping to experience each type of ride. But one year, there was a little girl who was physically weaker, and she had to use an oxygen machine when sleeping. It became more difficult for us to spend nights out. We changed the family trip to a one-day round trip, but we played for a full three days, and everyone was completely exhausted.
Another year, we went on a four-day trip to Taichung and Kaohsiung. Although there were only four children, each child had a unique situation. There was heavy rain in Kaohsiung. The children didn’t sleep well due to staying out. They were with poor spirits and emotional instability during the day because they didn’t get a good rest. It was the most unfortunate part of it that they neither got proper rest nor enjoyed themselves.
Nonetheless, I still love taking children out. I feel very satisfied when I see children smiling happily.