This was a real adventure!! I sold Red Cross stickers last year but it was definitely not as... eventful. Even though I think we spent less time, but that was due to the rain... Let me start from the beginning.
So, after school Joan, Hannah and I went to the meeting place where Mr Elst was going to give us our stickers. He handed them to us and told us to walk to Veltwijcklaan... We all looked at each other in surprise. Because I always take the train to Ekeren, I did not really know where he meant, and neither did Hannah or Joan. After some explaining, we hesitantly decided to just walk on and try our best to sell stickers. Hannah did not really like the idea of selling stickers to cars, so preferred asking people at their door. Joan and I therefore walked on until we reached the stoplights, relief showing clearly on our faces: step one of this CAS activity was already done. Joan recognized her pastor standing next to his house, so we sold our first sticker to him. Even though I had done this before, and also the Voedselbanken, I still have an immense sense of pride and self-content whenever I do this. Probably because I know that the Nine from three years ago would not have been capable of addressing strangers, and also because I did something towards the "greater good".
Anyways, as Hannah started ringing doorbells, Joan and I set to work at the stoplights. We were both quite shy and unsure of what to do, knowing that Hannah was more courageous than us. We ducked down to get the attention of the driver of the first car, holding up our stickers with anticipation. He looked up, noticed the stickers and shook his head. We lowered our hands and looked at each other, a bit disappointed. But we knew there were more cars waiting, so we continued on. It was quite nerve-wracking, hurrying from one car to the other, hoping to sell a sticker. We separated so that I could go to the cars at the front and Joan could try with the cars at the back, giving us more chance to sell anything. Sure enough, soon enough we had sold a sticker each and showed it off to each other with pride. We had started to get the drift.
Of course, the knowledge of being plainly ignored always hurts a bit. But we knew there were people out there who wanted to buy stickers, and we just had to find them. Mr Elst drove by once to check on us, and noticed we hadn't sold much, which surprised him. Though we did manage to sell quite a few stickers, it was not like last year. Though, we definitely learned more and got to experience more crazy situations! One woman really wanted to buy a sticker, but she had no money next to her. Instead of then giving me an apologetic look like most other people, she hopped out of the car and opened her drunk. I could see she had gone food shopping because her trunk was full of bags. She started looking for coins, and I kept looking back and forth between her and the lights. I did not want to trouble other cars by holding them back if the green light appeared and she was still there. I felt my palms getting sweaty as time ticked on and she still had not found her 5 euros. I was almost tempted to tell her to let it go and just drive (though that would have been sad because I had "lost" a few customers that way, because of the green light) when she quickly handed me the money. Right then, the light turned green. I nearly threw the sticker at her, as cars in front started driving away and cars behind making scary noises. She quickly closed her trunk and jumper back in the car, while the cars behind her skipped her in the line. I gave her a huge, genuine smile, not one that made my cheeks hurt like the usual smile when I go up to a car, and waved at her as she drove away.
I realize I've thrown many things that day. Often when the green light went on I had to quickly find a change of money in my pocket and throw the coins in the car. This may not be very professional but I did not want to "steal" these people's money. Once, I threw in their change and almost forgot to hand them their sticker. That was really embarassing.
After a while Hannah came back with a bit of money but lots of stickers too, and we continued selling. Then it started raining. We were a bit dejected by this, hoping Mr Elst would come pick us up. I thought that we could not just stand there, getting drenched with our stickers. So we just continued selling, and I cannot say that working in the rain with a bright smile plastered on our faces worked to our advantage; I think we sold even less. Though this is understandable, as the people did not want to get wet themselves.
Soon enough, Mr Elst came to save us and brought us to a supermarket where other people were working. Though we ended early, I really believe this was one of my most "educational" Service activities for CAS, as it really improved my self-confidence skills, my ability to approach strangers and talk to them, to exchange something with them and to be ignored. I guess this is all part of real life, and I got a harsh but valuable experience by selling Red Cross stickers.
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