Day of Happiness and Heartwrench

Day 7

Nikko had a really good idea to build a clothesline so that the kids wouldn't have to use the fence to dry their clothes and so that we could fix the fence. Well, the work took longer than I imagined, though it wasn't harder than I thought it was going to be. It was very hot, hotter than any of the other days, and I lost more weight than I need to gain, in sweat. We worked through fire ants, hot weather, and drenched faces, but it was all worth it in the end. Why? The satisfaction of knowing that we helped improve their living situation, and that they thanked us when it was done.

After lunch, we split into groups, one to de-lice kids, and one to continue working on the clothesline ground. I was first de-licing boys for an hour and a half, and then went into the back and worked with the others. We finished in time so that we could go back and play with the kids. I got closer with Heng, a 12-year old boy who has the most amazing eyes in the world. I have no Cambodian brothers or sisters yet, at least not through words, but they are all my family.

Day 8

Last night, there was a room check, in order to make sure that our rooms were clean and there was no trash. Mine, Anna's, and Nikko's room was the cleanest, and as a reward, we got to go the Russian Market. It was a whole different story than the other market, which was open-air and unorganized and somewhat smelly. The Russian Market was indoors, very much organized, and the vendors spoke much better English. In one area, there was a clothing section. I got amazingly comfortable pants, and a Cambodian silk scarf. Both blue. We got the food for the kids a little bit easier than at the other market, though the prices were a little bit higher.

We went straight from there to the market to the orphanage. Today we had much more time to play with the kids, and there wasn't as much work to do today, at least for me, Nikko and Anna. We did work on the fence a little bit though.

We played a game called Frog, which is basically tag, but you are on the ground (stage) hopping like a frog. There was also another game, which was kind of like Heads Up 7 Up. You are on two teams, and  an older kid, either Red or Rot, covers your eyes and a person from the other team comes up and hits your hand, and then you have to guess who it was. It gets more confusing from there.

We made a slip-and-slide from a huge tarp and water and soap. It was so fun to see all of the little naked boys run around and push each other into the soapy water and laugh so hard they nearly started coughing.

Someone brought out the nail-polish, and we were doing that for hours. I did more boys' nails than I did the girls. Everyone was walking around with colorful nails and crazy, messy designs. It was great to see everyone laughing and comparing and pointing and laughing some more.

Today was also heartwrenching for me. My baby boy, Roon, has dark hair like the Cambodian he is, but on top, it looks like he got caramel-colored highlights. But it's not. It's a sign of malnutrition, and now, everywhere I look, I see a child with the same colored hair. Every smile I see on my boy's face, no matter how happy he is, I know that he is not getting what he needs. He doesn't eat his vegetables, not enough chicken, only rice and candy since I've been with him. No matter how many smiles I see on each malnourished child, I know that they do not have enough.