6-12-2010

Me and Claudio ... he has grown a lot by the way!

Aldair eating cheese tris.

Julio saying ´hi´!

Lemar´t playing the doctor set.

Cheeky smirk who wanted to have a lollipop.

After my 3-week long ´loving Colombia´ journey, I´m gladly back to see my kids. When I stood outside of the home, it felt just like when I went back to Hong Kong when I finished my studies in Canada, even though it has only been three weeks. The first kid who saw me was Yoanka who screamed my name loudly from afar. After I settled down with my luggage, I went straight to kinder where they were having dinner. When I walked toward the room, Franklin already came up and gave me a hug. Lemar´t was taken by Tía Laly out. He looked at me as if there was an aftershock, but a few seconds later he ran towards me and gave me a big hug. Since then, his hand never let go of mine. The other kids came to hug me one by one. Lemar´t forced me to sit next to him at dinner, and he jumped up to me and kissed my chin like a hundred times. I almost burst into tears to see them. It was such a warm welcoming. Then I gave them the treats I got in Colombia, and they were so excited. When I was in Medellín, I lost one of my wallets. I almost couldn´t buy anything else for them. But thank God somehow I managed to do that. It makes it all worthwhile to see them so happy.

This week has been really crazy, as there were many things going on. First, Cristina was leaving, and she planned to have a meeting with t he management which didn´t work out at the end. Also, NPH Perú will celebrate its 6^th anniversary this coming weekend, and everyone is preparing for different events. There is a beauty pageant during the celebration (can you believe that there is actually a beauty pageant even within an orphanage! No wonder Latin culture is so crazy about it.). There are five candidates, and each of them is supported and guided by a tío or a tía and a group of kids. Tío Roger asked me if I could teach his candidate, Ayita, to catwalk. I was surprised that he asked but I guess they know that I studied fashion design before. I also initiated to help another candidate, Leticia, who is one of my favorite girls in the orphanage. When she heard that I can help her, she was so excited. I am currently helping her with her evening gown, fantasy costume and catwalk. Hopefully it will turn out alright.

This weekend is supposed to be my weekend off, but I chose to stay here before I don´t feel like moving after my holiday. And I could spend more time with the kids. On Saturday after I made breakfast, the tías at babies asked me if I could help taking the kids out with them. So I went out with them, had a walk and showed them all the flowers and fruits that have been growing during this springtime. Then we stopped by a shop and we had juice and chips. Sunday morning, I planned to make pancakes and eggs as usual. As soon as I walk down the stairs, Mr. Lemar´t called my name and ran to me. He wouldn´t let go, so I took him with me when I made breakfast. He was so happy to be around me, even though I was busy cooking and he just had to entertain himself. While I was cooking, he sometimes ran up to the stove, so I had to stop him and tell him that it´s dangerous to run around the stove. Then I told him he could stay behind my leg, and he stayed there for a little while before he ran outside to play. I made some extra pancakes and some milo drink for him, and we had breakfast together. At first, he wanted to eat it all! But I told him that he needed to share with me before I hadn´t had breakfast yet. He was so funny, and yet still has a lot to learn about life. Even though he was a handful, it felt quite alright and I felt exactly like his daddy spending a morning with him and making breakfast together. It´s a pity that I didn´t have my camera with me at the time, but this will stick with me in my memory for the rest of my life.