1) our kiddos finally finished their photo assignments (or their 'have as much fun as you possibly can taking pictures with an old film camera' project...see Britta's blog for an for more details), and so we dropped off the film and yesterday picked up the final results of hilarious self portraits/baby goats/baisi/modeling shots that included many of us..the children loved them-->success.
Ashish shows off his skills
2) Laxmi informed us last weekend that she wanted to buy us a present for our time spent at the orphan home, so our first day back we picked out fabric and a sweet tailor took our measurements for a Nepali Kurta Salwar (long tunic-type top that reaches the knees and tight ankle pants). It was the first time either one of us had had anything professionally tailored, and both turned out beautiful.
3) We found a small bakery with the most divine sweet bars (think of the perfect consistency of the inside of a butterfinger with pistachios on top)....and had to get our fill of dudchia (milk tea).
Besides days out on the town, home as been plugging right along. New mom (Samjana), her 15 month old boy (Manish), and 5 year old Manessa have snuggled in quite nicely after the initial crowdedness.
Babu, Samjana, Manessa
In fact, the more Samjana talks the more her voice reminds me of a young Lauren Bacall (the falling-in love with Humphrey Bogart at the age of 19 Lauren)...smooth and deep, and incredibly lovely. The older girls have been weening Baboo (baby boy) off of his mother's breast by including him in play time, and Manessa is an adorable free spirit, who, when we gave her a camera yesterday (she was excluded in the first batch because she wasn't here), and I took the first picture of her grinning, she cooed, giggled, then grabbed my face with both hands and gave me Italian kisses.
Tomorrow we take our five to the wildlife. Should be more than fantastic. Stories to come.
The spotlight now turns to Sarswati, our 8 year old servant intellect whose fashion taste makes the most of her village life, and whose smile makes you believe in peace.
Barnone, she gets the gentle spirit award for our crew. In fact, just a few weeks in when Britta and I were getting a little tired of the stares and laughs, we focused on the night when we waited for the lights to go back on in order to eat dal bhat, and as Britta and I were sitting on one of the children's beds, Sarswati snuggled in between us and held our hands. We sat there in complete silence for about 15 minutes. There was so much warmth, protection, and love in those 15 minutes that it muted every annoyance we could have imagined.
Sarswati with best bud, Sima
Her signature red hat
That is the perfect picture for this child. She is so rare that I can't even compare her to someone I've met in my lifetime (maybe a Lauren Plummer...quiet, funny, gentle, smart, etc. [don't think you're not, lady]). Everyone loves her but there is not one ounce of pride or rudeness. Recently when the other girls have been slacking on washing dishes with us, there she is scrubbing away at the nastiest pots and pans without one complaint...just that smile that brings peace. And yesterday, after much compost and dirt was dug up, she found a nastier toy that was caked in dung and neglect; therefore, she took her hands and the toy to the well where she scrubbed away the muck with a toothbrush and gave the toy new life. She pays attention to the small things all day long, and makes it her purpose to comfort and encourage. I love this child. We're bringing her home too. Not to mention that she was the girl who got one of the top 3 awards at school for her exam grades. All around.
I hope to be like Sarswati when I grow up.
1 comment:
I believe you are more like Sarswati than you give yourself credit for...
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