Jennifer look!

They say the sweetest sound to anyone's ears is their own name. When the older kids started saying my name I thought it was the cutest thing, especially with their accent since it doesn't quite come out the same. I have to remind myself of this cuteness when I hear three of them saying at the same time "Jennifer look!" as they show me their latest trick. haha. One thing I have to be careful of is who is getting what attention. If I pick up one of the kids and swing them around or give them a piggy-back ride they alllll want one! It becomes either "and me, and me" or "again, again." It is def a good work out though! Spending time with the older kids has been wonderful! My days are now complete with babies in the morning and kids in the afternoons.

After the kids eat lunch they change out of their school uniform. They go into this room where all the cloths are on different shelves and they just grab anything and put it on. I love it! No one cares if they are a boy wearing pink pants, if their top doesnt match their bottoms, or if someone else was wearing the same thing two days earlier. Only once did one of the kids shake his head five times until he got the sweater he wanted! haha.

It has been getting cold here since we are in their winter. It is actually a bit chilly but for them its very chilly. The kids were all in snow suits the other day. I got a huge kick out of this of course because they were all bundled up but still wearing their crocs for shoes! With the cold has come colds too. There are sooo many runny noses! Three of the older kids got malaria. I swear its like the flu here. No one freaks out about it. They get it and then take meds for 3 or 4 days and are fine. Apparently some people get it a dozen times in their life. I just pray that everyone gets better because today I dodged baby throw up twice during feedings, wiped many noses, and am hating the sad look on their faces that is accompaning their lack of energy.

Two of the girls that have been coming to the orphanage with me leave at the beginning of next week so I am sad about that. The number of people at the house has gone from 26 to less than 10! Its a crazy change but I really feel like your mind knows how long you personally are gone for and prepares you for that. I am still going strong and loving it!

This week I went to the Maasai Market for the first time. It is crazy!! People haggle you and try to get you to come to their stand. Everyone wants you to buy their stuff which is all beautiful! I am not use to bargaining and talking down prices. It is truly an art that I have not perfected but am learning from some of the other volunteers. We'll see if I can get some good deals. When you convert things back to dollars everything is a good deal but my mind has adjusted to shillings very well.