You may remember about a month ago i posted about being mistaken for a ghost by the daughter of one of our employees at the prevention unit..here's the follow up story on that...
yesterday i went out to the prevention unit (I haven't been out there in a month).
I walked in and saw the little girl, and she was excited to see me. "Are we going to play games?" she asked? Mandy (another foreigner who lives in Kolkata has been going out once a week).
"Later" I replied.
Later i walked into the room, and the manager of the unit was telling the little girl that if she was naughty the ghost was going to "get her."
WHAT?!?! this is not helpful.
me: "Please don't say that to her, she'll be afraid of me."
manager: "But she misbehaves so much, if i tell her this she'll behave better"
me: "But then she'll be afraid of me"
manager to the girl, "See, she's a ghost, and if you're bad, she will pick you up and take you far away."
me, uselessly, "i'm not a ghost, you don't have to be afraid."
manager to the girl: "yesterday when i wasn't here, i went and i found this ghost, and see, I brought her here today, and she'll take you if you're bad" (the manager had been in kolkata at a meeting yesterday so wasn't at the prevention unit)
me: "really, i'm not a ghost."
manger: "see, she's being quiet now."
me: "i know, but she's scared of me"
sometimes you just give up...so i left the room...and later when i came back to play memory with the kids (what a great day!) she wasn't absolutely terrified. she'd come close, as long as others were around here, and she definitely wouldn't come close enough for me to touch her (cause then i might actually take her and run away).
...oh...not helpful...not helpful at all.
how to convince a 2 yr old you're not a ghost...when other people tell her you are...now that is one of the mysteries of life...
cultural note - it's not abnormal to tell kids that a ghost will get them if they're bad...i'm just not used to being the ghost. (and, no one else seemed to be concerned at all, and the girls' mother was there too...just so you know the context...the little girl isn't being traumatized by this...it's primarily a way of "Joking" with kids here...it's not malicious at all). everyone in the room (except for me) seemed to think it was pretty amusing.
yesterday i went out to the prevention unit (I haven't been out there in a month).
I walked in and saw the little girl, and she was excited to see me. "Are we going to play games?" she asked? Mandy (another foreigner who lives in Kolkata has been going out once a week).
"Later" I replied.
Later i walked into the room, and the manager of the unit was telling the little girl that if she was naughty the ghost was going to "get her."
WHAT?!?! this is not helpful.
me: "Please don't say that to her, she'll be afraid of me."
manager: "But she misbehaves so much, if i tell her this she'll behave better"
me: "But then she'll be afraid of me"
manager to the girl, "See, she's a ghost, and if you're bad, she will pick you up and take you far away."
me, uselessly, "i'm not a ghost, you don't have to be afraid."
manager to the girl: "yesterday when i wasn't here, i went and i found this ghost, and see, I brought her here today, and she'll take you if you're bad" (the manager had been in kolkata at a meeting yesterday so wasn't at the prevention unit)
me: "really, i'm not a ghost."
manger: "see, she's being quiet now."
me: "i know, but she's scared of me"
sometimes you just give up...so i left the room...and later when i came back to play memory with the kids (what a great day!) she wasn't absolutely terrified. she'd come close, as long as others were around here, and she definitely wouldn't come close enough for me to touch her (cause then i might actually take her and run away).
...oh...not helpful...not helpful at all.
how to convince a 2 yr old you're not a ghost...when other people tell her you are...now that is one of the mysteries of life...
cultural note - it's not abnormal to tell kids that a ghost will get them if they're bad...i'm just not used to being the ghost. (and, no one else seemed to be concerned at all, and the girls' mother was there too...just so you know the context...the little girl isn't being traumatized by this...it's primarily a way of "Joking" with kids here...it's not malicious at all). everyone in the room (except for me) seemed to think it was pretty amusing.
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