Chicken Feet and Lil' Babes

Yesterday, I had another day of traveling. My driver picked me up from the hotel, took me to airport to fly to Phuket. The flight was fairly short. I then had another driver pick me up and drive me to the orphanage, which was about an hour away. I arrived to the orphanage about 3pm. Allison showed me the room where I will be staying and around the entire facility. My room is a pretty good size with a living area, two bedrooms, a bathroom and small kitchen. I'm the only the volunteer for the week so I have the place to myself. Shortly after I had arrived, Allison took me to the market to get some groceries. I was mainly picking up breakfast type food. They serve breakfast roughly around 6:3am and it consists of rice and some sort of meat. I knew that wasn't my cup of tea.

There were some visitors later in the day. The children performed their cultural dances, which was the cutest thing. After the dance, two little girls grabbed my hands and showed me their garden and bedroom. I kept asking them questions, but they speak very little english. The communication factor continues to be an obstacle. There are 67 kids here and I probably only have met 15. They were all running around, doing homework and taking showers that it's hard to meet all of them. I'm having a hard time remembering all their names. They have put up a board with all of their names and photos, which has become a useful resource for me.

I was more emotional today than I thought. The atmosphere of the orphanage is welcoming, happy and full of laughter. I on the other hand, continued to think of how difficult it has been for them. The orphanage was built after the tsunami in 2004. They only started with 17 kids and now they are at 67 and have expanded into another building. All the children have a different story, most of which are all heart wrenching. I try to keep a smile on my face and think how lucky they are to have this place to grow up. There are two small children I am already drawn to. They came to the orphanage about 2 months ago. One of the girls in 5 years old and weighs only 25 lbs. She is the smallest 5 year old I have ever met and severely malnourished. Her sister is 2 1/2 years old and since coming to the orphanage has gained a good amount of weight. They both are so loving and happy. I definitely post some pics of them as well as the other children soon.

I sat in with the children during dinner and helped feed two of the younger ones. When it was my turn to eat, I went to try the soup and saw that their were chicken feet in the soup. I about vommed right on the spot. I am not a picky eater by any means, but that seriously grossed me out. I opted for a different dish, of course with rice. The rest of my night was spent sending emails.