17 January 2010

I am starting to get into the routine at the Baby Home. I know the schedule and what I am supposed to be doing at the different times of the day. I also know the names of all of the kids (minus the tiny babies because I don’t see them often). My favorite time of the day starts at about 4:30pm when I help feed the Big Babies (7-14 month olds). After dinner the mamas change and wash the Big Babies, and I dress them in their pajamas and play with them until I am need to help entertain the Big and Little Toddlers. The rest of the evening is spent dressing and playing with the Toddlers until story time at 6:45pm. I am usually out the door of the Baby Home by 7pm to go home and make my dinner. The end of the day is so great for a few very simple reasons. 1) Everyone is clean and smelling good. 2) All the kids are tired from the day so less likely to climb all over me. 3) The mamas always put a movie on at 6:15 during which a few kids cuddle up on my lap and give me kisses.

I am also finding myself a lot more confident with the children already, especially the special needs children that I didn’t really go near for the first couple of days. Last night I feed Katy for the first time. Katy has cerebral palsy. She cannot sit up on her own even though she is somewhere between 3 and 4 years old (I think but I’m not sure). She keeps her limps very stiff and straight and basically just flails around on the floor all day. We are not sure how much she can actually she because she does not focus on anything. I have been terrified of feeding her because she slides down in her chair and needs to be repositioned quite often. She also flails around when she eats and gets the food everywhere. You have to be careful that she keeps her head tilted properly, or else she can choke on her food. Needless to say I was a bit worried that I would do something wrong. But yesterday I finally did it, and it actually went quite well. A lot of the mamas and volunteers don’t like feeding Katy because it take between 45-60 minutes to feed them one bowl, but I don’t really mind it. Just like Katy, I enjoy eating slow (I believe food should be enjoyed not swallowed whole), so I don’t mind that she takes her time. Plus, feeding Katy means that I get out of playing with the Big Babies after dinner but before they are bathed (so they are covered in food as well as the grime of the day).

Lynn and I went to the Saba Saba Market for the first time today. It is a Sunday market that basically sells thrift cloths and little pieces of junk. I will admit that after about an hour in the market both of us had had enough. We were the only Muzungu (white people) there, so we were getting an insane amount of attention. A teenage boy came up to me, and said his friend really needed to talk to me. So another teenager came up to me and kept saying “I luf you, I luf you so much.” At first I didn’t understand what was going on, but once he repeated himself a few time I realize I had a suitor. All I could say was “You don’t know me” and “Hapana” (no) and “Kwa nini” (why). It’s the type of situation that I have found I just have to walk away from because the boys here are very persistent. I would have guessed that being such a hot commodity would be nice and fun, but it actually isn’t. I can’t even walk between my house and the Baby Home (about two blocks) without getting asked for my number or proposed to. The funny part of it is that give me your number is one of the few English sentences that these men know. The only other things they can say is hi how are you and I’m fine.

Now I am off to take a cold shower because I am sunburned to a crisp from the market.

I have put some pictures up on facebook because it takes so long to put pictures on Blogger. The address is http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=192183&id=505738097&l=cc26eb1efc I hope you enjoy.