Settling into the Orphan Life

Dear America,

Having spent the past hour or so continuing to set up my blog, I'd like to take a few minutes to share with you my experiences. I have been doing the usual sly things like back-dating my posts so that they are time-stamped to the time I actually wrote them (at which point, in a pre-blog incarnation with a few more typos, they were updates to my parents confirming that I was still alive), and of course making a few customizations to the color scheme for the benefit of my gentle readers. To say "for the benefit of my readers" is entirely accurate, since I myself cannot actually read my blog. While China's censors allow me to uperate all aspects of the back-end of my blog (including a complete "preview" option), it stops short of letting me view the finished product. As such, I feel a little like a voice shouting out into the voice, never hearing quite how I sound. (Which is probably just as well, because I've been astonished at how tinny and nasal my voice sounds, those few times I've had the misfortune to be exposed to a recording of it; while I do not operate under the fantasy that my voice is a rich bass or a full baritone, the voice in my head -- so to speak -- sounds at least tolerable. The extent to which my speaking aloud must contribute to the world's sound polution is disheartening -- but I digress.)

It has now been a full week here at the orphanage, with time passing both quickly and slowly. While my two mission trips to Belize were thoroughly planned, rigorously scheduled, and fully explained (in some cases perhaps even over-explained), my time here has been almost the opposite. I was given an introduction to the half-dozen kids in theorphanage kinderdgarten the morning after I arrived, and after that left to fend for myself.

In the days following, I have discovered that it probably was a good thing that I had not planner some elaborate English-learning camp for the orphans who would eagerly hang on my every word, as at one point I had imagined the experience (in my defense, I was led on to this belief by a woman who had been involved here and was my contact most of my time back in the US), as most of the time the older kids are not in school they have homework to do. The amount of time they sit around idle waiting for some foreigner to swoop down and teach them things is, as you might imagine for any normal kid, actually rather small.

Barring grandiose plans, and also lacking any major flaw or project that I could tackle (like felling trees, painting schools, installing plumbing, etc.), I spent the first few days just getting the lay of the land on my own, as I was essentially abandoned to my own devices by Nathan, the head honcho here. In my quest for knowledge, an invaluable aid materialized in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Godard (mentioned already in the previous post). They have been great help in explaining not only the mundane aspects of life here (such as the Chinese people not wanting me to use the sink designated for the kids with hepatitis and what the schedule of meals is), but also much of the history of the people and place. They also have been very willing to help me out with any material needs I may have (such as helping me purchase a time piece) and to relay to me some of their own stories of adjustment. In short, they have been a remarkable assistance and great blessing in preventing my visit here from being excessively confusing and discourage, in many different ways.

My days gradually have fallen into a holding pattern designed to maximize interaction with the kids. I wake up between 5 and 5:45 am to breakfast before 6:10, when all the elementary and middle school kids leave on their bus. I then read my Bible, practice Chinese, or the one English book I brought (already finish, alas!) until 7, when the kindergarten kids get their breakfast, and begin their day at 7:30 with the two kindergarten teachers doing morning calisthenics with them (once I even got roped into it, complete with ridiculous hand gestures and twirls). At some point before the calisthenics begin the three Godard children and their mother arrive to join in the fray. From 8 until noon, I help out in the kindergarten (which itself warrants more treatment than I have time or spirit to describe in full here, though I think my many years as a seasoned babysitter of Korean Bible studies were time well spent in preparation!), after which I bail for lunch with the big kids, who have returned from school for their two and a hlaf hour lunch break and siesta. It's sometimes a good time to help those who have English homework with it, or chat with those who don't. After the kids pack up and go back to school sometime after 2 pm begins the long hot stretch of afternoon inactivity;; some days I catch up my e-mail and write updates (today, for instance), other days I nap. One day the chaos in the kindergarten was bad enough that I heard it down in my room with my doors closed, so I went back up to help for the afternoon too. When 6 (though recently the schools changed something, so now its 7 pm) rolls around, the bus comes back again, dinner is served and scarfed down, following by evening homework, sometimes basketball, and more conversations. An early bedtime between 8:30-9:30 ensures a healthy night of sleep, and the day begins again!

Coming soon: The weekend; orphanage gruel; character sketches; and more!

Cheers,
Chris