Day 3: "Firsts"

Wow! Today was a busy yet great day! We went straight to the orphanage this morning and began work. When we got there we were told that upstairs there were two sick children. They both had fevers and seemed to be dehydrated, so LM gave them hydration packets. LM told me to get some Ibuprofen and when we gave it to her she immediately threw it up. This was very gross and weird. I was kind of scared. So, for the first time in my life I had to crush up an Ibuprofen and put in her drink. Lots of firsts happening here! Ha! After she was feeling much better we went on with our day!   

All of the supplies donated from you at home we are bringing little by little. Today we brought medical supplies and arts and crafts. Mrs. Gutmann and I organized their medical supplies into a locked cabinet and explained what they were to Nalin, one of the directors. The children at the orphanage do not know what the supplies we gave them are, so they will just go into the cabinet freely and take the items. Gutmann and I gave Nalin packages of underwear we were given and she wrote each kids name on them, and created a line and each kid was handed out their own pair of underwear. The boys had girl underwear on with hearts and stars. It was so adorable!

Also, today I de-liced the children. This I have to admit was pretty gross but it was o.k. because I made sure to de-lice my self really good when I got home. Not all the children had lice but the kids who did had it bad, really bad. When you put lice shampoo in, you have to leave it in their heads for ten minutes and it cannot get in their eyes because it stings really bad. So, when the shampoo gets in their eyes it hurts me to see them hurting and all you can do is put water on them which does not really help. For this reason, I had to take a few breaks and let myself breath and take it all in. On one of my small breaks, I got in the Cambodian Hope Association tuk-tuk and sat with the boys who were going to school that afternoon. Taupe, Cheat, David, and Kea all told me I was their "puma" which means friend in Khmer. They would tell me I love you Anna and then ask me if I would be back tomorrow. I say ÿes and I love you. I got out of the car a couple of minutes before they left and Sok-Nee a fifteen year old boy said Anna how do you spell your name. I told him how to spell my name and he said A-double n-A and I said yes. He then  showed me his wrist and it had a bracelet on it. Yellow, blue, green, string bracelet that had my name on it with two hearts on the sides of it. Sok-Nee had made it the night before and gave it to me. This moment brought tears to my eyes and it was so sweet!!

Then, we left for the our lunch break like we always do because the kids have to sleep and eat. We went to the VIP Sports club and I swam an ate my favorite delicious banana smoothie. As much as I want to spend every single moment with these kids, sometimes a little relaxation and time to take everything in that I am experiencing here, is worth it. After this we went back to the orphanage. Lisa-Marie popped out one dollar Wal-Mart bubbles and gave them to me. Blowing these bubbles in the air and letting them chase them around and blow them is one of the happiest and funniest things you will ever see. Some try to keep them in the air by blowing them, some try to pop them, and the two together cause the most hilarious moments! Ha! We also pulled out chalk in the afternoon and we drew pictures and wrote our names. Mrs. Gutmann thought this was the perfect time to pull out the learning utensils we brought. To your surprise and mine these kids are actually pretty smart with their English. They know a lot. After this we went back to the chicken coop with the new supplies LM picked up and began working hard again. This was some hard manual labor! We had to take off the roofing of one and add a whole new set of roofing. This includes nails, rocks (used for hammers), bamboo, and grass to cover it. By working together we finished! The pictures are priceless of the mud, chickens, all of us looking as dirty as could be, etc.

I cannot thank my parents, my brother, my friends and all of my supporters back home in Vail, because I would not be here without you any of you! Thank you so much and I love each and every one of you.

Sorry for such a novel!
Love
Anna