April 17th....taken from my journal

Our power went out today. We have no running water for the day....It's incredible how spoiled we are and how humbling it is to see how little people can actually get by on...not just get by, but thrive and enjoy life more than I could have imagined. It's the only way of life they know...nothing new. It's interesting, I was convinced this place would numb me more because of my lack of communication skills, but it's doing exactly the opposite. I'm not numbed or distracted by the comforts I have at home, most of the time I have no other choice but human interaction. I'm having a much easier time than I anticipated learning the kids names. It's easy once you have the personality to match up with the name. There is Mikey (who loves pictures...hes much smaller physically than most of the other boys although he may be the older of the bunch) Moses (who always carries around his little radio...the fact that it makes sound at all is the most fascinating thing in the world to him) - As I'm writing this, Mikey comes in to just have some company and I hand him two double A batteries for his music player...I don't think I've ever seen someone more thrilled - Benny who seems to be the youngest of the boys, but definitely stands out....Plilali who is by far the most trouble and yet I find a soft spot in my heart for him. He hijacked my camera the other night, when all of the little ones came into my room to play with me, took his own picture, then turns to me, shows me the picture and says " Look at how beautiful I am" he is always touching what he isn't supposed to and being where he shouldn't be. He will make direct eye contact as he is doing something mischievous almost to see how far he can go or how much he can get away with. I'll return to names later. Last night one of our directors Maddie and GG (short for Guarav) did some salsa dancing for the kids. Dancing really is a universal language, Ill have to take some dancing lessons into some serious consideration as soon as I get home....Sometimes with these children words are completely unnecessary and superfluous. Most of the time they just sit next to me, hold my hand, rest their head on my shoulder....no words...just being there....they just crave that connection....more than anything....something we have in common....