Orphans, orphans everywhere...

Wow, can't believe this is my last week in Arusha! Really not even week, just three days if you don't count today because we leave for safari Friday morning. I am so excited about the safari. We had a little safari appetizer yesterday because we took the kids from the orphanage where Caroline's mom is working (Farasha) for a day trip to Arusha National Park. we had a big bus full of the five of us, 22 kids, and 3 teachers from the orphanage. The kids were absolutely adorable and very excited about seeing animals. We saw lots of zebras, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, and water buffalo. The kids were definitely the most excited about the monkeys. Two of my favorite kid moments... first, one of the littlest kids was wearing a three piece suit (vest and all) and didn't take any of it off the entire day! He wasn't really an orphan, he was the son of one of the teachers and had been to church that morning, but I have no idea why she didn't have him change! I was filthy with dust by the end of the day and there he was in his tiny suit with his fancy church shoes on! He also was a little performer, he tap danced for us and Caroline even got it on video. Stay tuned for it being posted on facebook or YouTube when we get back. Second favorite moment, another one of the little guys (about 4 years old) ate more than I have ever seen a small child eat in my life at lunch. The teachers were LOADING up the plates at lunch (rice, meat of some sort, french fries, fruit, cucumber salad) and we were thinking there is no WAY any of these kids is going to be able to eat that much, even the older boys (about 13-14 yo). Well, were we wrong. It was incredible for any of them to do it, considering I'm not sure I could have eaten that much, and I'm used to stuffing my face with large plates of food... but most of them finished it, and then this little four year old cleans his plate and then goes back up for seconds! Then, not only did he finish that plate, but started finished off what all the older kids around him had left on their plates. Before you start thinking "oh, poor African orphan, he probably hasn't eaten in weeks...", he looked like a well fed child. Plus, I'm pretty sure to eat like that you have to be USED to eating like that. His name was Johnson (great name for an eater, huh?) so now instead of "Oh, give it to Mikey, Mikey will eat it!" we're substituting "Johnson" instead. It really was one of the craziest things I have ever seen. I told Caroline's mom she should take him home and start training him to be a linebacker now. (She's always tempted to take one home, but she's pretty sure Caroline's dad would object... this is the perfect solution though, who can object to a future NFL linebacker?) The day was lovely, the kids were incredibly well behaved for 22 kids who don't get out much on a big bus all day.

We also have the kids from the other orphanage where we volunteer at periodically (Paradiso) over for our barbeque last Wednesday. Again, same story... incredibly cute, very well behaved, and just breaking your heart continuously the whole time. Caroline's mom caved in and decided to sponsor one of them. Of the kids at the orphanage, 5 of them are old enough to go to "secondary school" (I think like middle school) instead of just getting taught at the orphanage. But only 4 were sponsored so the pour fifth little girl had to just stay at home because they didn't have the money to send her to school. When they came to our house Caroline's mom asked her if she wanted to go to school and she got these big sad eyes and said "yes... very much!" and so clearly she couldn't not sponsor her. I think it's somewhere around $700 a year to sponsor one of them, which literally includes everything - food, clothes, school , school supplies, etc. Can you image fully supporting an American kid for $700 a year?! Mom and Dad are thinking of sponsoring one of them now too. I'm so exciting about it, I think it's such a fantastic idea. It's such a concrete way to know that you are really making a difference in someone's life who is SOOO incredibly less fortunate than we are. They have this book at the orphanage that has a page for each kid that has a picture of them and gives information about them like what happened to their family, and some of the ones that are sponsored have a picture of the family that sponsored them. And they are so very proud of it, showing off the pictures and saying, "oh, my sponsor is from Australia... or oh, that's my sponsor... she's from Canada" etc. The secondary school they go to is actually supposed to be really good (as evidenced by the fact that the older kids who do go to school speak very good english and they're only 9), so it's hopefully a ticket out of poverty in the future.

I'm so glad I have gotten to do this kind of stuff while I've been here (both being at the hospital and working with the kids) because it's a very different experience than most people get just coming and being a tourist and staying in nice hotels and going on a safari. The people here in general are just so friendly and welcoming. Sad to be nearing the end of my trip, but ready to be going home at the same time... I can't decide if my first meal back is going to be Chipotle or a big salad (can't eat lettuce here because of the water... drives me crazy!)