Not tink...THink.

Ya-sas! Hello!

Today was another busy day at the ARC. Whenever we serve food, the crowds are larger and the building gets hotter.

Today we put together bags of olives, peppers, pita bread and sardines. The people flowed in and once word got out that there was food, the line was forming down the stairs. Unfortunately, we ran out of bags within two hours and it's difficult to keep order while trying to communicate our apologies. You just never know how many refugees will show up. Some days it's close to 900!

I got to keep order in the children's room again today. That's where I prefer to be (and not just because it's air conditioned). We used stencils today, colored pictures of Bob the Builder and watched Tarzan. I usually color a picture or two myself (coloring warms one's heart) and they end up on the bulletin board (you know this word now, Almira!) with everyone else's. One boy, Mohleed loves to practice his English words, so he signs my pictures for me. You sign your name and then F-name (your father's name). Seeing Harlan on all my pictures has been pretty amusing to say the least.

After cleaning up a mess of a room (the kids were full of energy today) we got set up for English class. I've decided to try to get to class whenever they're offered. It's not an ideal setting for an English class. It's too small and there aren't enough desks (most people have to use children's books to write on), but they come and want to stay as long as possible. Nick, a Greek American who has been living in Finland for the past 20 years, is here for a bit to teach the English classes. He does a great job, but it's obviously difficult to find a way to teach a large group of eager students who are all at different levels.

I help the women, who sit separated (as much as is possible in this little space) and some have excellent skill and ask questions like, why is "i am getting dressed" not the past form? There's an 'ed'! (One of the more unanswerable questions, thank you English language.) And then there are those who have difficultly pronouncing the 'th' sound or 'd'. I spend a little time after class now with one women, baby on her hip and one on the way, going over the difference between 'eat' and 'drink' and the phrases, 'I want to go to Italia' and 'How much does a ticket cost?'

They all want class to be longer and their eagerness would whip any sleeping college student into shape. They want a better life and they're doing their darndest to take the right steps down any road which leads out of Greece. Every nation could stand to do better for these placeless peoples...hum.

A few pictures from the kid's room today:

The girls don't smile for pictures

(only right after they've been taken!)

...we're working on it!

If you look through the doors you can tell how long the line was getting to the tea/food.