Leaving

Greetings from Indiana!

We have three days left here at the orphanage and we are all feeling it in different ways. Though we feel a pull to come home to long showers and McDonald's fries, we have all come to see the orphanage as a home away from home. We have fallen into our rhythm here and it is hard to imagine leaving.

We've found our own responsibility here at the orphanage, painting benches.Having our own job gives us a sense of purpose and accomplishment, though the children are quick to do our work for us.

However, as Kathy says, we came here not to paint, but to fall in love with the children. Everyday the time we spend with the children is our highest priority, whether it be playing cricket or thumb wars, learning a new dance, or eating alongside of them.

Though the initial shine of our arrival has worn off, the children are still willing to drop everything to spend time with us. Gradually we have all formed bonds with our own groups of children and gotten to know them better individually. Several children have also given us their nicknames which are not only easier to remember, but also give us a better idea of their personality.

We all agree that leaving the orphanage will be the biggest challenge of this trip, but we know all that we have learned and experienced here will stay with us.

We will live these last days here to the fullest, but in less than a week...
ready or not here we come!

Katharine Herman