23.11.15
For a small group, we did something special today, which was to write a message and pack for the project we were working on. During the letter-writing sessions, I helped my group with spelling and reading. As I saw a puzzled face from the Russian boy, I spoke in Russian so that he could understand it more easily. However, he cringed and directly said “no”. At first, I was very confused, so I asked, “Do you not want me to speak in Russian?” and he boldly said, “Yes.” Acknowledging the fact that he is a very quiet person, listening to him say yes and no in a direct tone surprised me. This displayed how hateful it could have been for him. It was interesting to process this emotion as I thought speaking and explaining in Russian would allow him to understand that there are other people around him with similar characteristics. However, with this reaction, I learned how helping could not be the best solution when trying to connect with children who already have hardships in their current lives. I could observe that other children are being extra kind or treat him as a person with no ability. This concludes how these types of treatment may seem positive but internally negative. With the influence of negativity, help from people was too obvious, and although it is still confusing how he denied my help, I believe that this attitude is formed from social threats.
