Reflection

Participating in the Lincoln Loot Store was a great experience that I will always carry with me.

From my first visit, I felt the kindness of the teachers and directors of the school. At all times they made me feel welcome, and seeing their kindness and dedication to their profession inspired me to continue participating in that activity, so I returned in October and November of the same year.

Helping out at school taught me many things and helped me grow as a person. I consider myself a quiet and shy person (most of the time), and one of the biggest challenges I have is being able to start conversations with people I don't know. I've always wanted to be able to overcome that fear little by little, but I found it very difficult. When I signed up to volunteer I felt a little nervous since it would be the first time I was going to interact in a place other than work or school.

When I arrived at the school for the first day of volunteering, I was very kindly greeted by the school social worker (J. S.) and the principal (M. C.), with whom I later had the opportunity to speak regarding a volunteer opportunity at the school.

Once we all arrived, we had to introduce ourselves, and by that time I was already feeling nervous. After that, we were explained how the activity worked and what we had to do. The children entered in groups, each class had a set time for their students to make their purchases. I was happy to be able to help the children count the money and help them choose what to buy. Some of the children asked questions or commented on why or for whom they were buying things.

By the time the first shift was over, I was feeling calmer and confident that I could continue helping the next classes. One of the moments that stood out in my day was when one of the students in a class spoke Spanish. The teacher of the class told us that for the student, English was his second language and he was learning it (just like me). When I told the teacher that I spoke Spanish, she and the boy smiled, and it was at that precise moment that I realized how much that interaction influenced both of us.

From that moment on, I helped the students who spoke Spanish, as well as those who spoke English, and it was an incredible experience. I was delighted to be able to help the children feel happy about being able to speak in their native language (Spanish), as well as helping them during the activity.

Volunteering at Lincoln School was a very important moment for me. This experience allowed me to learn how to work as a team with new people, it helped me get out of my comfort zone, and it allowed me to learn how great it is to contribute to the little ones. I was very happy to see the positive impact on the children of being able to have someone who also understands the difficulties of adapting to a new country and learning the language. I believe that this was what allowed me to connect more deeply with them and provide them with the emotional support they needed.