Aloy, aloy, aloy

Swimming in the Mekong River!
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I have taken the morning off from the crazzzzy children to visit Nongkhai.  They are on the go all of the time and I don't think I have laughed so much in ages!  Marita and I managed to find our way in to Nongkhai on the bus.  The buses here are like party buses, with music and lights - a slightly strange journey on a Sunday morning!  Especially after getting up at 6am for mass!

The past week has been an amazing experience.  There are few stories which I have to share with you!  I am really experiencing Thailand...no tourists, no constant pestering ffrom tuk-tuk drivers...just Thailand.

A well deserved snack after swimming.
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On Thursday I planned to spend the morning at Sarnelli and then visit one of the other orphanges.  When I arrived the children were all very excited because they were going swimming!  The carried their change of clothes with them all day, even though they weren't leaving until after lunch.  I had planned to go home for lunch but at the last minute I decided to go with them.  I could have joined the kids for lunch but they were eating fish...everthing excpet the spine!

Son and I - he is just like a little old man!
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The first step was getting all 50 children plus 10 adults on a bus which would only legally hold around 20 children in England.  I had children on my lap, around my feet and there were children hanging off the back of the bus!  All kinds of crazy!  We travelled the bumpy roads (oh, for a cushion) to the Mekong River.  On the other side of the river is Laos...if i didn't have my backpack I would swim across to meet Emma!  As soon as the bus stopped the children piled out and ran down the hill onto the beach and virtually straight into the water.  The children that did have swimming costumes wore them under their clothes.  In Thailand white skin is considered beautiful,  the girls and boys frequently put on white powder to whiten their skin and always cover up when in the sun.  It seems crazy..in England most people use fake tan or sunbeds to be brown!  Anyway the swimming was fun...I was pulled into the water and ended up soaked through!  The kids found it hilarious!  They were playing with huge rubber rings and loving the water.  The photos are great!

Pat - a House of Hope favourite.
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Friday was the day of tears!  I think the children are becoming a little crazy after a few weeks off school.  I now know what it is like for parents in the summer!  The boys were all play fighting and throughout the morning I had 4 different children on my lap needing a little cuddle.  There is a little 6 year old boy called Son who is the cutest thing.  He is always covered head to toe in dirt, he hasn't any teeth and makes the strangest of noises!  He had a fight with a little girl because she had stamped on his sand castle and was inconsolibale for about a hour.  He sat on my lap wailing!  He is also the boy who freaked out when a cow was running down the road towards us.  He wrapped himself around my leg and wouldn't budge.  He is part of a little gang of boys who are always getting in trouble and pickeling about.  Adorable!

Oi and Pat.
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Everyone at the orphanage has been really friendly and they have made me feel like part of the family.  The cook, Da, invited Marita and I to a party the other night.  The party was held in town so the first hurdle was getting there...Da and her younger foster daughter Nan took us on the back of their motorbikes.  All of the ladies seem to have extra children living with them,  they take them in and treat them as their own.  The bike was a bit of a hair raising experience holding on when the roads are just dust tracks through fields!  We arrived safe and sound and were introduced to around 50 Thai people (none of whom could speak any English!).  The entertainment of the evening was kareoke...thai style!  After eating (not entirely sure what the meat was) the kareoke and dancing began.  The Thai people took it in turns to teach me traditional Thai dancemoves and I have to say...I am a pro!  Several of the guest invited me to there houses (it seems to be the norm in Thailand) and they were all very bemused that I was not drinking beer.  They seemed to be drinking enough for me too!  It was a very interesting party!!

The children wishing Hans good luck.
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Yesterday was party day for the children.  Hans and Natasha held a party to celebrate their new house!  I spent the morning making sandwiches ... they were a big hit with the children!!  The children set up camp on the mats in groups of 4/5 to eat their dinner.  The little ones from the House of Hope came in their best clothes...so sweet.  The babies are now letting me hold them...challenge complete! I had liitle Pat attached to me all afternoon.  The children played all afternoon and I was able to meet some of the boys from St. Patricks.  I walked the Sarnelli kids back for there medication and had planned to watch a movie and go to bed but I ended up partying the night away on the field with the builders of Hans and Natasha house and some of the Mas and Pas from the orphanage.  More thai dancing...fun, fun, fun.  Although getting up at 6 for mass today was not so fun!

The children having lunch with Father Mike at Hans and Natasha's Party.
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Unfortunately I left my camera lead at home but promise to put some photos on next time.  The children are completely obsessed with my camera and over the past few days I have only taken 2!  My nightly ritual is to go through and delete most the photos.  They love taking photos of photos on the wall and I have a photo of every child wearing my sunglasses in a cool pose!

xxx

p.s. Aloy is one of the only few Thai words I know...it means yum!