After a mere 5 days at the orphanage, I am already getting anxiety regarding leaving in a week. I don't know how to explain how these kids have become so important to me in such a short period of time, but there is no doubt in my mind that I love each and every one of them. Today, I kept having kids that I have yet to get to know come up to me saying my name. It's so cute how they repeat it over and over again until they know they have the pronunciation correct. It was an extremely fun day because none of the kids had school, so they were all home all day. We got to watch their dance practice, listen to Sopheak teach other students the violin, and play more than normal. All kids are good at inventing games and ways to keep themselves occupied, but to see kids who have never watched tv or held a video game, they truly have a different type of imagination. The boys have a marble game that, although we sat watching for about 30 minutes, Jamie and I could not figure it out.
We are slowly learning their little personalities and beginning to really get to know each and every one of them. Poor Nyron has a huge cut on his foot that Jamie cleaned the other day. Today he was limping and I noticed that his foot was so swollen and infected. He is a little hellion, yet when he needed to be washed and cleaned, he sits still and behaves so well. Yo Ma has to be 4 or 5, but he likes to think he is a big boy. He copies everything the older boys do, and he likes to boss around the kids his age. Srey Na, as much as I adore her, is kind of a brat. I've seen her be snobby to the other girls. She has a little attitude, she has this cold aire about her. She is going to be absolutely beautiful when she gets older. Srey Tok is starting to recover from her Dengue Fever and getting her personality back. She is so precious and sweet, I love her smile and how much she likes to cuddle and be held. I wish I could buy Srey Pi a ticket to come home with me. She is so beautiful and sweet, and she is so funny. She's a people pleaser and I have no doubt in my mind that she will make so many people happy in her life. I want her to experience everything life has to offer. Little LiLi was much more friendly today. She must be getting used to seeing my face because she has started to let me hold her, and she gives me little smiles and plays peekaboo with me.
This morning, Jamie and I took a group of students to the Russian Market to buy food for the kids. It was inside and super crowded, the smells were horrendous. Dead animals and meat was hanging from the ceilings, bowls of fish and shrimp sat out in the open. I was very disturbed by the way that the fish were still alive, flopping around and slowly suffocating. I think I will go back to being a vegetarian after visiting the market. I just need some time to forget the grossness that I saw. There are so many new fruits I want to try though. I don't know what they are, but I'm going to need to start buying them and eating them before we leave.
We gave manicures today which was super fun. Everyone, boys and girls, were so excited to have their hands cleaned and massaged. We even got Chean to sit down and get pampered! I helped her out in the kitchen the last few days, which was cool, but it was disturbing to me how unclean everything is. Even after the kids scrubbed the counters, there are just so many flies and so much dirt, its hard to keep the area clean. We have made so many great little improvements around the orphanage. Of course, we are building the boy's dorm, but we have also gotten them a nice water filter, a plastic cup for each one of the kids, as well as deloused them and given them their own personal lice shampoo. Meng is going to continue to come visit them once a month to make sure that they are keeping up on chores and keeping everything clean and functioning just like we are going to leave it. I am already planning to come back next year, but I want to stay longer, because this just isn't enough time.
My love for Cambodia is growing, despite the lack of modern amenities and cleanliness, it is somewhere I will always come back to.
