A Camel Ride!

Today we had planned to go to the fair, but it turns out it is damaged from the Cyclone and not re-opened yet. We went over to Victory in the morning. Chelsea is working on having the kids paint/decorate greeting cards as a fundraiser for SCH. I stayed downstairs and pulled out the pool, as usual. I really look forward to pool time with the little kids. They have so much fun and it is a great way for those who need physio to get it, and for the others to just cool off and have fun. We usually have water shortage so can’t use much water, but today there was plenty of water so we could fill the pool up to a decent amount. There is a leak in the side, so that, combined with water shortage, usually leads to a short pool time. Today the kids stayed in until they were prunes! We went upstairs to the girls room and brought down some of the girls (Zoe, Lily, Ginger, and Felicia) who we often don’t include in these activities. To be honest, we forget as there are so many kids downstairs who want to swim. With 66 kids, we have been focusing on one of the four bedrooms, but sometimes branch out a little and bring in some of the other kids in the fun (Aaron, from the boys room, usually comes for a swim too). But we included the girls today and they loved it. When we put the kids in the pool, we take off their diapers because they flake in the water and the kids end up with big white diaper chunks in their hair (not good!) We take their diapers off and put their clothes back on, then put them in. Having no diapers does lead to problems sometimes. Little Andrew has been officially banned from the pool after pooping in it two days in a row and ending pool time!! I couldn’t help but laugh today as I was trying to discipline Victoria. She is the oldest of that preschooler group and acts like a little mother. She is also very mischievous! Today I was unloading the kids one by one and putting them on a towel and then putting their diaper back on and sending them in for a nap. As I was leaning down to put a diaper on one of the kids, I looked over just in time to see Victoria stand up, pull off her pants, and PEE on two of the blind girls!! They are blind, so thought it was just water dripping on them, so they started smiling and clapping and splashing around in it. Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard, but I of course had to pretend to be really angry as I got poor Jeanette and Jasmine cleaned up, emptied the now pee-filled pool, and sat Victoria in time out. She knew exactly what she was doing, she is such a little troublemaker, and she laughed the entire time she did it and the entire time she sat in time out. That kid makes me laugh with her mischievousness! She’s adorable, even when she is being naughty!

There are 2 physiotherapists here, a male and female. I have talked to both of them before, as they gave me tips on working with April in the pool one day, but today I sat in on April’s physio session. The kids who need it go get physio daily. Sujana Priya, the female worker, is the one who works with April. She is beautiful, so sweet, and the kids love her. I really enjoyed sitting in, and she taught me a lot. She confirmed that April does have CP, but that it is not severe and she thinks she will walk. She said she has had delayed milestones but that she eventually sees those accomplishments. It was nice to hear that, and to see someone working with her so lovingly. April, just as she does with me when I try physio exercises, screamed through the entire thing! As soon as she was done, I sat her up on my lap, and she quit the yelling and sat calmly. She has quite the temper! The kids really look up to Sujana Priya, and I love them having a female professional to look up to/have as a role model. I was really impressed with her. And speaking of April’s temper, she has started clawing her chest when she gets upset, to the point that her stomach and chest is covered in marks. I hate seeing that. I wish there was a way for her to express what she is feeling when she is upset, but I have a feeling that she will be able to do that one day- she is going to go far.

Since the fair was cancelled, we decided to go to the park instead, at 4:00 when it opens (yes, parks here open and close). We took about 20 kids with us. It turned out well, actually, because more kids were able to take part in the fun, as opposed to only taking one child per adult to the fair. We loaded up the car, and then came back and loaded it up again. Some of the kids had a blast (Victoria, Hannah, Phoebe, Lily, among them). Others didn’t seem to know what to do with themselves, as they haven’t been to play at the park very often. Most of them were scared and timid, as it was something they have only experienced a few times, if at all. Most were not brave enough to stay very long on the swings, but the slide was a big hit. The ayahs are so funny. Some of them are quite young and you can tell them didn’t experience much of a childhood. Because of how young they are, these 2 ayahs in particular sometimes frustrate us with their lack of maturity/motherly instinct in dealing with the kids, but on the plus side we decided they would be perfect in helping us with the park, so we brought them along. They were like 4 year olds when we got there. Running, screeching, and clapping at the sight of the swings and slide, and calling over at us to watch them as they played! Really funny. They are 16 and 18 years old, I think, so to see these grown women acting like that was entertaining, for sure! We did eventually tell them to play WITH the kids instead of by themselves, and they did do a good job of it, especially with Lily. She cannot walk, so they put her in their laps and went down the slide many, many times with her laughing the entire way. It was adorable. I bought the kids ice cream and a few lemonades to share and then they headed home. It was a great night.

After they left, the real fun began! We rode a camel!!! We saw this guy with a camel on a leash type thing walking around the area. Later, we saw two people riding it, so we decided we wanted to ride it too! For 20 rupees each (less than 50 cents) we got a ride on the camel around the neighbourhood! It was really funny, because I have a feeling it is equivalent to a children’s ride at home, and here were these three white girls riding this camel! But no one was laughing at us (for once!) and it was really fun! We came home after as Bujji needed to drive some of the kids with fevers to the hospital (Aloe, Monica, Yemima, and Keren are all sick right now, and Aloe and Keren needed to go to the hospital with fevers spiking to 105). We were energized from our camel ride, haha, so we went for a walk to get banana juice, and then took a rickshaw to go out for dinner at Ramya’s. We just got back now, and we are going to sleep on the roof tonight! We always see people sleeping on the rooves of the buildings around us, and we have been meaning to do it all month. We figured tonight, being our last sleep in Ongole, would be perfect!