2 months.
It may seem very short but it is long enough for learning to begin and relationships to bloom. This is the amount of time I had spent in Little Bodhi Student Care Centre (LBSCC) as an intern.
If you ask me to describe the experience in just 1 word, I would say “fruitful”.
When I first decided to join the centre as an intern, I did not expect much. My intention was to learn about managing the centre while having fun with the children, because well, I love kids.
I remember the first day of work. I was someone new to about half of the children in the centre. The other half already knew me from previous NTU Buddhist Society events.
Some of the kids were shy being around a new appearance, some were excited while some were cautious to approach. Being kids, it did not take long for them to get used to me being around. On the other hand, it took me a while to get into the role of being a teacher to them.
Since I have met some of them before, I was used to smiling and being friendly and lenient to them but I gradually learnt that that is not going to work as a teacher. I had to exert authority on them after all. It was indeed a journey of fun and learning as I transitioned from a smiling teacher who joked with them all the time to a fierce teacher who tolerated no rude manners. I would say, it was not easy at all. Not when the kids were not as cooperative as they could be.
In the 2 months, I had lots of fun with the children, be it studying, playing, celebrating birthdays or going on the excursion. All the memories made the time memorable and worthwhile.
Talking about the learning side of the internship, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the staff and committee members of LBSCC for teaching me everything they could in that short time I was there. First of all, I have to thank Mr Choo Chou Foo for teaching me how to use the website since that is why I can be posting here in the first place.
Mr Joe Tham, Chairman of LBSCC, provided me assistance throughout the 2 months, sharing his own experiences both in operating the centre as well as working in the real world. Teacher Cindy, supervisor of the centre, also guided me throughout and taught me much knowledge on how to handle the children, the staff and the centre’s operations.
Mr Lam demonstrated how to be strict yet kind to the children, Teacher Joe showed me how to control the children when necessary while still being on friendly terms with them usually. Teacher Chan taught me how much love we can give to the children and how we can care for them in every way possible. Teacher Kelly also helped me to get used to handling the children, sharing some of her experiences with me.
Despite her busy schedule, Teacher Meng Hoon also spared some time to teach me all the administrative work that was needed to be done. Because of them, I was able to take away experience and knowledge from LBSCC, that I could not have gained anywhere else.
On a final note, I would also like to thank the children for being such lovely little angels, though they were closer to devils at times. Without them, the internship would not have the same ‘fun’ element. I will miss every single one of the children and I hope they will miss me too.
Thank you, Little Bodhi Student Care Centre. I will always remember you.
Written by: Foo Si Hui
August 7, 2014