Thursday July 16th

Hi- Last night after dinner, we broke out into groups (translators and kids, and volunteers) and got to write letters to each other about the week. For example, I have Mary and Nick so wrote a letter to each of them telling them how happy I was to meet them and to give them some words of inspiration. They did the same for me and then all of the letters were translated. We will be exchanging them tomorrow, the last day. Well last night was a surprise slumber party, we all (girls and boys seperately) dragged our bedding into a huge common room and slept together. The kids were beside themselves! Someone had purchased a ton of junk food from the grocery (cookies, candies, drinks, dried meat????, and cakes) and we all ate and shared. I was glad to try some new things so I know what I like and what I could bring home. We did nail polish, sang songs, told bedtime stories, and finally went to sleep. I slept extremely well, considering the comfort factor. This mornings breakfast...well you can guess... was not good. I had brought to breakfast some grape crackers I had purchased (although they did not taste anything like grapes or raisins!) and ate those. There was a huge platter of boiled garlic cloves, which I did try since I love garlic but it was cooked weird and my stomach was churning and I usually dont like garlic for breakfast. I also had a peach from the store, which I am sure is contributing to my rumbly tummy. After breakfast we did some dancing and singing, then we called some of the sponsors that had paid for the kids to come to camp. The camp had matched sponsors to kids, and we called those families to thank them for their generosity and also to try to speak to them. Unfortunately we got mostly answering machines but the messages are pretty funny. THe kids told them their names and ages and said I love you and thank you for camp in English. It was pretty touching. THose families will also be receiving letters from the children along with photos of them so the families can see the kids and the good that they have done. After the phone calls, we got into our family groups and did life charts. Its a chart that has its ups and downs in your life that you have experienced and wanted to share. You can find out a lot about the kids and what they have been through, it truly saddens your heart but every one of their ending "ups" was coming to camp! It puts things into perspective when you think you are having a bad day, I will remember this moment. We then had our "arts and crafts" time. We finished our scrapbooks we have been working on all week, today we had to draw a picture of our favorite camp memory. I drew (stick figures!!) a picture of my family group in the pool, as did most of the kids. They are now complete and ready to take home and they are really a treasure. Next we dressed up really silly and took a family photo. Knowing how much Lucy loves to play dress up this was really fun. Now the clothes were pretty old and weird but the kids loved it. I wore a purple satin ball gown with one black glove (thats all there was!) and Sarah and Lasia (translators) also wore ball gowns. Nick put on a Batman costume and Mary wore a funky hat, boa and feather scarf. We were really laughing at each other. Then we had a few minutes of free time so I took my family for ice cream bars at the grocery. What a cheap date, it is only $2.50 for 5 ice cream bars! It would cost me $20 at Carvel!! It was time then for lunch, good food with lots of vegetables and tofu but a good sweet and sour pork dish. It is now nap time so I may go take a walk or bike ride. I cant belive that tomorrow is the last day, the kids are already anticipating the sadness. They will be leaving sometime in the afternoon, depending when the buses get here. Not sure what is planned for tonight, I think we will see the photos and video taken all week by a staff member, which should be fun. Speaking of cameras, the kids are beyond fascinated by the digital cameras. Every night, I am deleting somewhere between 75-100 photos since the kids just take your camera and start shooting! They take pictures of everything and anything, especially themselves. Its quite endearing and heartwarming, they love it. Thanks to all who have been sending me emails of encouragement and kindness while I am here. Its nice to know that people are thinking of me and the kids here during their busy days. I will be home soon and will share many photos! Good bye for now....will write more later tonight!! Miss you and will see you in 2 days!! xoxoxo Laura lenglish32@hotmail.com