Amazing!

We finally made it to the orphanage - it's called Carmel. The bus ride
here was long but we got to see sooo much of the country. Some things
we saw a lot of as we traveled: palm trees, motorcycles (often with
two to three people on them, and only the driver wearing a helmut,
sometimes) free roaming cows of course, stray dogs, and women wearing
beautiful saris. As we got further out into the country we saw even
more palm trees, groves and groves full of them, and the most
beautiful countryside with rocky hills, lush green fields and lots of
sugar cane. People waved to us as we drove along. We finally turned
down a small lane and a few minutes later, we saw at least a hundred
kids lined up along the path to the school, just waiting for us. As
soon as they saw the bus they started singing and playing music. I
definitely got teary-eyed as soon as I saw them! It was a
heart-warming welcome! Some of the people have been coming here for
years and some sponsor at least one or more of the kids, so the kids
remember them and were especially excited to see the people they
recognized. As we walked up the path, we shook each child's hand and
they greeted us by saying "How are you, auntie? How are you, uncle?"
(Boys lined one side of the path and girls were on the other.) Some
asked me what my name was and told me theirs. It became a game later
for them to ask me if I remembered their names (at this point, I lose
that game a lot!) They love getting their pictures taken and to.take
pictures of us and each other. Then we had a little welcoming ceremony
- some of the kids gave each of us a large, gold-colored necklace and
a few of the little girls did a welcome dance. We were individually
introduced to all of the kids and there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony
for the brand new computer center. Then we had a little more time with
the kids and had dinner. Now it's definitely time for bed, but after
today, I can see why people keep coming back here year after year -
it's absolutely amazing!

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