Mountains!

On Friday afternoon, as I was walking home, I glanced up and for the first time, I saw mountains! There are obviously mountains surrounding the Valley (the Himalayas, in fact), but due to the fact that it's still monsoon season, it's been too cloudy to see them until now. When I saw them, I actually gasped audibly and could not stop staring for several minutes. The only description I can really thing of is "majestic" over and over again. Majestic majestic majestic. They are huge and they are everywhere. It's incredible. I've never seen such beautiful, gigantic, majestic mountains in my whole entire life. Of course, the next morning the clouds came back and now I can only see the faint outlines again. But soon, I'll be able to see them all the time, and that will be awesome.

In response to some of the comments I've been getting about work, I think what I said may have come across somewhat too strong. All the children are really sweet and adorable, the issues I'm having are only minor. Yes, they don't always understand the concept of sharing. Yes, sometimes the moms (although they are rarely around when we are) stand up for their children with some bias. And yes, it's difficult to communicate to the children when they don't speak English, HOWEVER it is possible and it's still enjoyable being with them. The other day they were playing with the one and only bike, which is usually chaotic. I tried really really really hard to communicate to them that they had to take turns and tried to police it. AND they actually understood! While two children were trying to climb on the bike, I said to one "It is this child's turn. They have been waiting. Then you can go." And the child backed off and let the other kid on!! I found this very exciting. In just a week I can see that they are starting to play together more. Plus, we've managed to get them to say "please" instead of just pointing and whining.

On Thursday, they were really rambuncious, so we took them inside to watch a movie. It's shocking how much they pick up from a movie in English. They can tell when to laugh and what the emotions are on the screen. I wonder if they understand more English than they let on...

The best part of working with the children is that they're ridiculously affectionate. When we arrive they all come running and scream "Didi!" (which means older sister). They all want to hold your hands and sit on your lap. Sometimes they get angry when you tell them not to do something, or take something away from them, but in a little while, they are all smiles and kisses again.

I had a bit of a scare on Friday though. This supports my suspicion that they don't really know that they are sick or different from other children. One of the girls, Ghenisera, was sitting on my lap and playing with my locket. I wasn't really paying much attention. All of a sudden, she slumped over in my arm. My heart stopped. I started shaking her and saying her name. Suddenly, she started smiling, popped up, and opened her eyes. Apparently she found my reaction absolutely hilarious, and decided that "playing dead" was her new favorite game. She did it about 5 more times. After the first time, I caught on, but oh man was it scary that first time. She's a bit of a trickster that one, but I don't think she realizes that it she actually passed out or worse, we would be terribly sad, but not in a state of shock. It's starting to dawn on me that these children actually are very very sick and probably won't ever live to be my age. I still don't really fully realize it though, I think.

Toni, in response to your comment, websites with songs and games for children would be great. I'm going to try to teach them some songs and stuff, although the biggest difficulty is getting them to sit still. We may just continue on with the coloring and playing with blocks that they love so much.

Anyway, today is my day off and you can bet I'm not going to spend it all inside an internet cafe. I miss you all so much and I love to read your comments!

OH! And next weekend I'm going to the US embassy to register for my absentee ballot!