The Orphanage!

Hello everyone,

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog...the internet was off for a bit, and I didnt know how to get it back! Well a lot has happened since my last blog, but let me try to recap it a bit for you.

Monday I started working with the kids at the orphanage. Needless to say, I have fallen in love with all those kids there! They range from babies to kids about 15/16 years old. It has been quite an expereince. For the first week, many of the kids were still in school, but the ones that were not, I got to bond with quite a bit. There is a lot that we have done, but I can't write a novel here, so I will keep it on the short side. First of all, I am known as Auntie Amy to all the kids. They call all the woman aunties, and so its real cute to have them all come up to me hollering Aunty Aunty. There are two babies there, Jonelle and Fayben (I have to check the spelling of those names). They are absolutely adorable, and I love playing with them! There are also about three boys around the ages of 4 and 5 who just always want to be held. Well they aren't that light! So I keep having to remind them that I only have two arms, but God gave them two great legs to walk on their own! Joshua, Keelen and Orlondo are their names. Then there are about many boys between the ages of 6-12. Let me try to name them all here, although I may forget some! Alvin, Akem, Sherhan, Shawn, Dalien, Levi, Amos, and Noah. I think I got them all! Then the girls are a bit older there...they are Belinda, Donna, Annika, Annik, Nelda, Natalie, Luanda, Sollea. I dont think I spelled all their names right, but I will get them all eventually! Anyways, the older girls definitely took a little bit longer to warm up to me. A lot of them have trouble trusting, so its been good to finally be able to talk to them a little bit more. Today I told them lots of stories of home and bonded with them as Annik "platzed" as they call it...my hair. Needless to say, my hair does not actually look good cornrowed, which is to be expected, but the girls really want me to keep it. So for now, I shall humor their hard work, and cover my hair with a hair band when out in public! haha.

We have been doing arts and crafts the last couple of days. There are many behavior issues here with a lot of the kids and sometimes it is difficult to deal with. Especially since sometimes I don't think the kids take me as seriously because I dont believe that I shoudl be screaming at them as some of the other Aunties do. It is difficult for me sometimes here with the way they deal with punishment with the children. They are pretty strict with a lot of the discipline, and I have even witnessed some hitting going on. As a future social worker, this is hard for me to witness. However, it is not my place to try to change the discipline system that they have had. The aunties however, are extremely loving and kind, and the kids really love them. they are their own family here. Its really nice to see them taken care of so well. The kids have enough to eat, and they try their best to give them a space of their own. However, what they can provide is limited, and I often feel discouraged by the fact that there are not enough supplies or things for the kids to do and make because of their lack of funding. Once the packages are delivered, I am looking forward to doing more hands on activities with the children.

We have been doing a lot of learning from one another. the kids have been teaching me some of their songs, and trying to teach me some of their local dialect, Patois. This is a version of french, that actually apparently has not that many similarities to french, and lacks pretty much any language structure. So when the kids try to teach me, I just have to laugh, because I have no idea how to remember all the words they teach me. So far I know, Where are you going? "I am not your friend" (in the event that someone shoudl try to take advantage of me as the kids said!) and Never (taught in the event that a boy is trying to go out with me and I am not interested). These are the pharses that the kids have deemed necessary for me to learn! They also have taught me their favorite song which I am then begged to sing everyday about every twenty mintutes. Mostly, I belive, so that the kids can make fun of me for trying to sing Carribbean! The lyrics go something like this..."Not nice, tell them a rhino, a rhinooooooo ooooooooo. AHH AHH AH Ai. Money have to make" I really dont understand how this song even makes sense, but the kids love it, so I do too!

The kids have also been shocked that I have never tried so many of their fruits before. For instance, wax apples are a hit over here. They literally feel like wax, but look nothing like an apple. The taste is hard to even describe. Much like biting into chapstick, and then getting a nice juicy apple like bite. They kids also love throwing rocks at the magno trees and eating them. They get me a mango usually everyday to eat off of those trees. Its so fun, because we get them down, and then really, just literally eat it right off the tree. A little wipe on my shirt, and then I bite into that skin (which is edible, but not all that tasteful) and peel that baby with my teeth. Then I get nice mango juice all over me as do the kids who feel that yes, I am comfortable with 3 of them to sitting in my lap. It is sooo yummy. I will definitely be missing the food when I leave.

The aunties also make me lunch everyday. I have, given up being a vegetarian while I am here. Ever since Alcina invited me for dinner, and i ate a meatish stew, I realized that I cannot escape trying to not eat meat while I am here, especially since that is what they serve the children, and I do not want to look like a spoiled brat when they are trying to teach them to eat properly. So anyways, i have eaten some questionable meat. by questionable, i mean I dont entirely know what kinds of meat it is...but eek. I eat it all the same. Today I closed my eyes as I ate chicken neck. I have to stop writing about it, it makes me queasy!

Anyways. The orphanage is great. The kids really are amazing, and I am truly learning how to appreciate. Appreciate the little things, like sharing a small tube of paint between 15 kids. Or appreciating all the little ants, even as they crawl around my food. And appreciating just the joy and the peace of the silence when I sit in my room at home.

As for my free time...My friend Unatha has pretty much made it her mission to make sure I am having a good time here. Her and her boyfriend pretty much pick me up everyday to do something different, whether it be going to visit some of our friends in the city, or going to Anse La Raye for the friday night street party. That was a lot of fun. We met up with Magnus and sang karioke, and then went to Unatha's counsins bar/restaurant. It played a mixture of local music and country! Haha, it was a fun night of dancing.

Anyways, hopefully this week I will go see Magnus' youth group again, and also attend the streeet party. Then on Saturday, I pick up my sister Bailey and my counsin Lauren from the airport, and they will join me for the rest of the time here! For now, this is all I have time to write. I have to get up early to go to a farm with the kids! Should be exciting! Hopefully...a fruit farm!

Love

Auntie Amy :)