Day Three

you might want to read day two first...considering day two and three were both posted on the same day. (i hate the internet here! it brings out the worst in me) 

today we woke up at about 8 to get the orphanage around 9. when we got there, we immediately went to miss vivians room. i thought the kids would be learning or doing some sort of class time but instead everyone was just running around. the only learning that happened today was when miss vivian would yell out the numbers 1-10 or the ABCs (A-E) and the kids would yell that number or letter back. it didnt seem very productive...but a few kids got the hang of it. when we walked into the room, i didnt recognize any of the kids at first. everyone had switched shoes, undershirts, etc. i didnt see koby at first  (i was looking for his pink tank top) but then found him a few seconds later wearing a navy shirt and shorts that were falling off his body. he ran to me and i held him for a while. again, when i put him down he would throw a fit and hit the other kids i was paying attention to. everyone just did what they wanted for a while until it was "snack" time, which consists of each child getting 2 crackers. then they get a ration of water and have to pee again. this is the WORST part. we have to get the little potty buckets out and hold them for everyone. it smells terrible... and the boys miss sometimes (ew!) i definitely saw more little boy parts today than ive seen in my entire life. 

the most dramatic thing that happened today was that the kids escaped- and im not exaggerating. they unlocked the door and about 10 kids just ran out into the courtyard. i had to block the door and keep the rest in while my mom ran around the school locating the escapists. (miss vivian wasnt there at the time. this would have never happened if she was because keeps them in order, unlike us!!) it was crazy though...kids were running everywhere, everyone was crying and im sure i stepped on a few kids while i was trying to push them inside. basically, we learned to watch the door at all times.

then it was lunch! everyone becomes patient when food is involved. they all sit on the floor staring at miss vivian, waiting for her to notice them. i was ordered to feed a little girl that had brought her own lunch. the kids who have homes bring fruit and chicken...food that actually looks edible. the orphans are stuck with the mystery mush. but they are all very grateful... one boy who is definitely autistic (and is by far the nicest, cutest, sweetest kid there) smiles SO much when he gets food. he can barely eat on his own but wont let anyone help him. he puts rice in his mouth, sucks on it for a while, and then lifts his head back to let it slide down. its like he cant chew or something...but its pretty depressing to watch... and he smiles the whole time while hes doing it! i learned my little koby is a troublemaker. he walked around shoving his hands in the girls' bowls and drinking everyones water. they all had water after this which meant more peeing (ugh...) but i was the water giver today which was not a good idea. the kids would come back for seconds and i couldnt refuse. miss vivian eventually yelled at me so i had to be stricter. 

koby actually ended up missing his face completely when he got his water. he soaked his clothes and kept hugging me (so i got soaking wet as well...) i had to go into the leftover clothes bin and pick out some new underwear (that was wayyyy to big) a new shirt and some shorts. the shorts ended up coming off because he took one step and they fell to his ankles. 

after water time came nap...more kids slept today actually. but two boys, james and joel, would not stop throwing shoes and hitting other kids. they were terrible!!! and they both have homes...i dont get it! i held emmanuela again but she didnt sleep this time. she just stared ahead and hit koby whenever he tried to come sit with me. she left at some point and koby of course came back. i held him until he fell asleep (which was a miracle!) and then put him on the floor with the rest. while i hold him, his underwear was partially off and my mom kept laughing because his man parts were on my leg. (gross....) i keep trying to block that out of my mind. my mom held "big head" (her favorite for some reason) until he dozed off. i truly love all the kids there but some are just so devious. 

we went to shoprite again, (a mini walmart but without the weird rednecks) and bought more things for the orphanage. we found south african olives as well, which i have decided to live off of. i was starving so i broke off a piece of bread we were going to buy...and some guard lady saw me and then followed us around the entire store thinking we might steal the loaf of bread. so dumb! but we bought lots of mops, brooms, etc. when we were walking out of the store, i was holding 10 mops and brooms, which drew MORE attention to me besides that fact im a small white girl in africa. it was interesting... 

and now were home...weve had 2 brownouts today and im sure there will be more. im eating dinner with my mom right now and i tried to order a toasted cheese sandwich, which apparently means an omelette here. and then they came back and gave me a cheese sandwich with tomato and mayo! i feel like the pickiest eater here!!

and currently our guard is listening to the new pink song "so what" and singing. hahaha it still amazes me that they actually like our music!!

many of the taxis here have stickers on the back window that say things like "jesus is life" or "my God" or "jesus never fails" im not sure why, but its kinda cool.

also, the way they vote here is they go to their local police station, get a sheet of paper which has all the runners names on it...and they put a thumb print on the one they want. isnt that weird? i thought it was so interesting.... 

and if your reading this kathleen, thank you SO much for raising all that money. they are so grateful! i wish you had seen janets face when we told her to make a list of the things she needs! i really really appreciate it!

until tomorrow!

-helene