TheBanyanTree: May 14, 2009

[Pat M]

The weather is hot now and sweat pours off me. Today it was 35 Celsius. It
makes me lazy. I want to stay in my room with the fan on. I am the only one
with an air conditioner but I’ve only used it once—one day when I had mild
heat stroke.  It doesn’t seem right I can be comfortable and the others here
can’t.  This is only the beginning of the heat wave I’ve been told so I’m
likely going to have to use the air conditioner again if I am to function.  I
find it hard to tolerate such high temperatures.

In the past month, I’ve enjoyed doing some different things with the
children. I taught them how to make friendship bracelets, showed them how to
make beautiful vases using tissue paper, glass bottles and shiny glue, and
have also done some art projects with them. They’ve never done crafts before
and they really enjoy doing them. I also bought some popular (in the west)
movies and every Friday and Saturday night I watch them with the
children.  Last
week we watched Peter Pan and Beethoven’s Big Chance (the St.
Bernard).  Although
the movies only had Chinese subtitles, the children loved them. I remember
wanting my parents to watch TV with me when I was a child, and I know it
means something to the children when I watch movies with them.

The teaching is going well. The English games I’ve created are popular. The
children are learning English and don’t even realize it—they are having too
much fun!  I know my classes are a big success when the children express
disappointment that class is over and by the number of children who come to
me asking when I will teach their grade. I think I have found my true
calling.

The language barrier continues to limit what I can do.  Sometimes I want to
throw my hands in the air because I am so frustrated.  Luckily, those
occasions are rare.  Most of the time, I get Peter to help me out, even if
only for a few minutes but lately he is having trouble concentrating and
hasn’t been as much help as usual.  He says he is tired and I believe him.
He is a very dynamic person; he moves quickly and gets many things
accomplished every day.  Although he is no longer the official leader, he
seems to be doing most of the things he did before.

The new leader, Timothy is in his mid thirties but he has something wrong
physically—I don’t know what but I suspect it may be MS.  He walks like an
old man. I first noticed how weak he is when he brought me my jug of
purified water and was unable to lift it onto the dispenser.  I had to step
in and do it. He is a quiet person, not at all like Peter.  Nevertheless, he
has been taking on more responsibility all the time. I’m very happy because
he recently bought a machine to crush soya beans so the cook can make soya
milk. Now, every second day, the children get one glass of soya milk. Some
of them aren’t too impressed with it but I tried it and think it is quite
good. Until now, water has been the children's only beverage.

The children can be quite picky about what they like and don’t like. It
seems they like what they’re used to, even if it isn’t tasty (by my
standards)  or nutritious. Over the months, I made several bean dishes and
the children appeared to like them (except for once). After my cooking
failure Alex and Peter suggested I always cook a small batch of something
and let the children try it first before making enough for everyone.

Recently, I made sweet and sour chicken on the hot plate in my room. I was
so pleased with it that I decided to share it with some of the children to
see if they liked it. They all told me (emphatically) that it was delicious.
 Finally, I thought, I’ve found something they love.  As a treat, I'll make
it for everyone.

Some days later, I provided the funds so Peter could buy enough chicken
breasts for 80 people as well as 20 pineapples and just as many green
peppers.  I made a huge batch of sweet and sour chicken, and was excited to
be giving the kids such a delicious, special meal.

To my disbelief, most of the children didn’t like it. To add insult to
injury, they chose boiled cabbage over the sweet and sour chicken.  I was so
disappointed that I decided I wouldn’t cook for them anymore. I’ll continue
to buy chicken for everyone once a week but the cook can make it.

Last week was very eventful. Timothy received word his wife had their baby
three weeks prematurely. He was on the plane to Shanghai (where she had the
baby) the next day, having handed his position as leader back to Peter.  I
don’t know if or when he’ll return.

That evening, Auntie Hua, the long-term worker (with the bad temper) left to
join her husband in Sichuan province where he is overseeing the building of
another orphanage to house victims of last year’s horrendous
earthquake.  Although
she is hot-tempered, she has been kind to the children and many of them love
her.

She left in the evening in the dark. As the van left the compound, a
terrible weeping started that did not stop for a long time.  In the west we
hold back when we cry. That isn’t true here.  Imagine for a moment thirty or
more orphans standing next to the gate crying their hearts out, wailing out
the despair of another loss.  It is an experience I will never forget—so
much raw emotion, so much pain.  My heart ached to hear it. I put my arms
around some of them and held them; it was the best I could do.

I thought to myself, I hope they don’t do that when I leave. How will I
cope?  The difference is that I plan to return (as long as the eye surgery
goes well.) I’m going to leave all of my things at the orphanage except for
a small suitcase of clothes.  Knowing I'm coming back should make my
departure easier for everyone.
-- 
Pat

Pingguo China 2008 photos can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/Ms.Pat.Martin/Pingguo#