My time here as a volunteer is coming to a close I must admit with a heavy heart. For me it is actually the second time I have to part with the kids, the staff, Hans and Sussi, the dogs, and everything else that makes Barnhem to this amazing place that it is.
I was here 10 years ago as a kid living at Barnhem. I was 9 at the time and I was here with my mother and sister for 2 months, and it has been a privilege to be able to come here again at the age of 19.
Of course there are differences, like the work (especially the fact that I have to), or the beautiful renovation done over the last year, but more than anything I see the similarities.
The tired mornings, the lazy, blazing days, the homework in the afternoons, and the evening fun.
I remember going to school with my mother, sitting on the back on the scooter, and the feeling is the same. I'm even here during the same months and therefore got to be a part of the Loy krathong for a second time, sitting in the shade making banana leaf-boats and sending them away on the water. Thought it was were low-key this year, the deja-vu if it all was quite overwhelming.
But first and foremost it has the same feeling, the feeling of family and glee.
I was one of the kids then, and am one of the grown-ups now, but the love is the same.
We play, we fight, and then we play again because that's what families do.
And that's what we are; family.
But it is true as they say, all things must come to an end and I'm off to new adventures. And though I am going to miss everything like crazy, I hope I will be able to come back in a not too distant future.
So, see you later
Vera Elm
