One-Legged, Blind-Folded Gymnastics

That's how my life feels sometimes, but in a good way. It's obvious to me that I need either a publicist or an assistant to help keep my readers looped into the super cool projects I've got my hands in at the VMWBO office. Freshly showered with icy water during TW's chilly winter month of February, I received a message from the universe that I would not be sent a publicist or a flying pony. I've decided to handle one disappointment at a time. Thus, I write.

Of course the art classes are still going. My Survivor-Students have torn down artist obstacles and are creating masterpieces worthy of being framed and mounted.

The support groups have been developed further and tweaked to fit the unique needs of this population. For the men, we're now discussing emotions through interactive exercises involving art, games, and overall creative out-of-the-box thinking. This change happened after a few failed sessions of traditional sitting around in a circle to talk about feelings. The change in the men has been significant and they are able to utilize the some of the new skills they are exposed to. The women are practicing healing through community and self-empowerment. We work on such things as self-soothing techniques, leadership skills, and practice self-respect and self-value, yet from a culturally appropriate approach.

I've wrapped up the last of my counseling cases in preparation for my journey to the motherland of Vietnam for Tet, wherein, I will return to the shelter one month and then head for the states.

NEW STUFF: The donations from the Human Trafficking Awareness Event (HTAN) a couple months back have supplied over 45 Survivors with materials to knit scarves. Only 3 women knew how to knit in my class. They not only taught 43 women how to knit, but they also developed leadership and managerial skills, which included a method for lending out knitting supplies. I estimate there are still enough materials for 20-25 more people to knit scarves. You were able to help keep over 70 people warm this winter! It was quite a site to see 20 women huddled in a tight space, knitting with one another, cracking jokes, arguing, and discussing fashion -- women who only one week earlier were milling about or crying while discussing their court cases and disappointments.

The donations also went to a different kind of healing, nair-apy. Pretty corny, but hey, it's past my bedtime. Nail therapy: different settings call for different ways of healing. I used a portion of the HTAN donations to buy nail supplies. 1) It gives the women another craft and skillset. 2) They can be with me in my office doing their nails and experience care, respect, relief, and fun without having to sit nervously face-to-face to discuss at length their counseling needs. 3) They take pride in their paint job. 4 of my clients worked for 2 years in a Taiwanese nursing home 7 days a week, 16 hrs a day of hard labor with wages withheld and were never allowed outside. Those women deserve at least a manicure.

With Tet on the horizon, I've been asked to teach a dance routine for the big celebration in the Vietnamese migrant worker community. Naturally, I chose Michael Jackson's PYT, Pretty Young Thing. Eight brave young folks have journeyed with me this week through the scary initiation of first time dance classes and must be wondering how they got volunteered for dance camp. Try dancing to a song that's not only in a language foreign to you, but fast, and being asked to do moves that are 100% unfamiliar, such as the shoulder and upper back shimmy. They were actually frightened the first time they saw me 'shake it' for them. We've since moved past the fear and into looking like a dance group. I'll be in Vietnam when they astound the masses with their smooth moves, but I'm proud of them and believe they will surprise themselves with how much fun they will have. Sunday is glove day. I'm going to bestow a single mitt, fingertip free to each dancer. Michael may just have whew-hoo-ed in his grave. Each dancer can now say clearly, "I want to love you, PYT pretty young thing!" Their love, their relentless energy is a beautiful thing to behold. I'm lucky to be a part of it.

* Artists used their names to make abstract designs. Creativity is much more embraced in the states, because this was a super difficult day in art class, but they got it eventually!