"Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster."

Day 8
       Yesterday was a more low down work day. I started off by picking up some medicine from the pharmacy with Lisa-Marie (but they spell it pharmacie), then we went to the orphanage where I swept and cleaned the stage and the tables. After that I helped peel the greens that would be used in that day's lunch, until finally I got to play with everyone until lunch time. Seeing as though he works all day non-stop, I was expecting Niron to scarf down his lunch, but to my great displeasure he shows up with only a banana. I ask him if he's already had lunch, when he said he hadn't and that he's not hungry I tell him that if he doesn't eat I'll eat him- but he remained stubborn.
          When lunch was finished the kids taught us a new game that I'm not very able to go into depth on, but it was really fun nevertheless. Still laughing from the game, Camryn pulled out the nail polish and it was all downhill from there. Everyone was painting everyone elses' nails whether they liked it or not. I finished painting Ret and Roy's nails when after about twenty minutes of asking, Niron finally let me paint his nails with a blue overcoat, but I laid it on so thick that it looked like actual nail polish. I was still laughing at these recent events when I was informed we were leaving half an hour early, that wiped the smile off my face pretty quickly. We all jumped in the tuk tuks and took off, the kids chasing after us even further than they usually do.
           The Olympic Stadium is literally only a minute's drive away, so we decided to pay a little visit. Once we got there, I knew this place was something else. A steep walk up a hill lead us to the sweeping stadium, where people were doing aerobics, and a soccer field and track sat in the center. We ran down the stairs and onto the track, where Bret and Zoe began to run a mile, and the rest of us just walked our way around. Our laps done, we headed up to the top of the stadium where we started aerobics. The whole time I was smiling like a doof but I was having so much fun. We seemed to have ended up in the group with all the old people, so it was fun to see them barely doing the movements, and us overdoing them. All too soon we headed back to the Guest House and I was out like a light.

Day 9
           I'm going to miss it all so much. The now familiar scent of lice shield and shampoo, the smell of fish paste, the aroma of a weird spiky nut-fruit-thing that it sold in all the markets, the sensation of someone throwing warm water in my face when I step out of my air-conditioned room, and most of all the excitment that swells in me when we turn down that bumpy dirt road, and that heart-stopping sound of the kids' laughter ringing out over the orphanage. They can sense it coming. For the past two days now most of the kids have been asking me, "You leave Saturday?" I've gotten attached to one 19 year old boy named Ret, who teases me just like my brother does :) Whenever we play volleyball together we're on the same team, but when I spike the ball and miss he does a ridiculous imitation of me swinging my hand around in the air. I think the words he's said most to me are, "You fighting?", "Just a little bit.", and "Are you happy?" Ret sells papers to help his mother buy what she needs, he doesn't live at the orphanage, but he comes everyday because we come. As I read to some kids on the stage, Camryn ran over to me and said, "Ava I need you." So I jumped up and followed her to a 14 year old boy named Cheu who had a bloody scape all down his hand from a nail. So I went totally Ape Doctor on him. I pulled out my first aid kit, rubbed it with an antiseptic towel, sprayed it with neosporin, and put about five bandaids on the scratch, Cheu and I are tight now :)
          We were all fooling around when a moto drives in carrying a large basket with something fat and pink inside. Everyone chases the moto all the way to the pig pen, where the orphanage's new pig, Lola, is now staying. I manage to recover from my excitement at the sight of the pig in time for lunch, where I nearly burst with joy when I see Niron eat two servings of rice, vegetables, and small fish. I finished lunch and as Rot rubbed chalk on my face, music began to play. I was pulled up by Ret and told that a little girl named Srey Neath would be teaching me one of the dances they do at performances. In case you haven't been able to catch a hint yet, I have the hand-eye coordination of a rotting squash. So delirious to what the plum she was doing, I tried my best to imitate Srey Neath as best I could, nearly killing everyone in the process.
         I sat down after our dance and promised myself I would never try it again, for now at least. Then the next dance came on, and I willingly sat out. Niron performed in this dance and every time he caught my eye, he would smile his big smile and laugh in his little boyish way (and a little boy named Sok Heng fell asleep in my lap). I was laughing and enjoying my time with Rot, Ret, Cheu, and Bret when we were told it was time to go- I nearly cried. I zipped up my bag as slowly as I could and gave everyone huge hugs goodbye. As the tuk tuk roared into life and began to roll down the dirt road, the kids chased after us, waving and laughing and smiling; that was the last time we could say we would see them tomorrow...

"Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster." Theodore Roosevelt