24 hours left!

Only 24 hours left before we depart the great city of Yangon!

In the AM, we went to an orphanage to visit about 1000 kids; it was a 45 minute drive from our hotel so we got a ferry (big taxi). Arriving at the orphanage, we were introduced to the main monk, the “papa” and then we were free to do whatever we would like. Being the energetic bunch that we are, we rounded up the kids and taught them REPOH. We didn’t just teach them the words and actions, but also the meaning behind it. Their celebratory move at the end was amazing; they all went crazy and had the biggest smiles on their faces. Then we played other games, the best was musical statues!! Our speakers didn’t work that well so you couldn’t hear the music but they just  copied us and went crazy; it was great to see them come out of their shells and express themselves. They were giggling, dancing, and clapping like never before, it brought the greatest joy to me! 

Their energy did not stop there.... they wanted to play some more so we went outside and played catch and dodgeball. One HUGE magic moment for me was when some of the little girls and boys grabbed my hand and took me outside to play with them; they held onto my hand throughout the games. IT WAS SOOO HOT OUTSIDEE.... definitely broke out into a sweat, but it was worth it. Next came the goodies! Giving each person a snack and a piece of candy. They all lined up along the staircase and came one by one. As they came i gave out some high fives [[some hit quite hard lol]]. 

LUNCH TIME FOR THE KIDS. Before we knew it, it was lunch time. The kids rushed to the room where they ate and a couple people served them rice, fish, and curry. Harry, Ajay and George wanted to serve so they took over... it was a job well done. By this time, me, Fan, and Chris are walking around. We had the opportunity to see where the orphans live... their rooms. The older girls/boys would have a separate room while most of the youngsters shared with each other.

I reflected on the way back home; so many thoughts ran through my head at one time, i asked myself a million questions like “Is that how a real orphanage is? Do they get beaten? How often do they smile like they did? Do they play often? Fed everyday?” I didn’t want to be negative but sometimes you just can’t help it. Looking at the bigger picture helped, these kids are better off being in an orphanage than having NO food, NO parents, and living on the street. The fact that the kids are so innocent and continually smile show their pure heart and their drive to still have fun. By the end of it, i was proud of me and my whole team that we could make a difference to them, whether its one day or a million.

It’s all about manicures.com! That’s right... having a little down time left, Fan and I decided to go to the spa and treat myself for a manicure! it felt great to relax. Didn’t think anyone could fall asleep while getting a manicure until i did; i was awoken by my head dropping lol. Somehow, 2 hours go by!!! Fan and I lost track of time and it was 6:15... we had promised the boys to be at Diane’s hotel by 6 to help cook dinner! WHOOPS. It all worked out in the end like it always does; we got there and helped with the last minute things, and then cleaned up afterwards (so we made up for it). Dinner was magnificent as Chef Harry and Chef George was put to work; they cooked for 16 people and had a big variety of food! The process was quite hectic as the proportions came out wrong.. somehow at first we ended up with only 8 portions of rice. We all sat by the pool to eat, have drinks, and have a laugh.

Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up! What a task!! So many dishes to do and the kitchen was a pig sty, vegetables everywhere, pots and pans scattered etc. What seemed to be an eternity later... the kitchen was spick and span, except for the floor but thats a whole other story! Two reserved tables were waiting for us downstairs at the bar so we could “mingle - at - the - bar”. The football was on, the lights were dimmed, disco lights were on, and live band was on.... couldn’t of gotten any better! We all chit chatted for an hour or so until the adults wanted to sleeep! we said our good nights and all that was left was George, Fan, Chris, Ajay and me.... and some other random table of men! The entertainment had stopped for a little becasue they were on break but we wanted to sing so we created our own karoke session where we sung I’m Yours by Jason Mraz and Lean on Me! Unforunately, by our dearest friend Chris, the Gupta’s were boo’d off the stage while Fan was called for an anchor! George stepped up to the plate and presented a poem/ rap (I don’t know how he does this on the spot - still amazed). The night was coming to an end, it was 12:30 already and i had to get up early to catch a flight (standard), so we paid the bill and left. BUT.... here in Myanmar, they are quite fussy with the types of notes you use, they cannot be BENT, WRINKLED, MARKED ON, in any form or shape. Our bill had a red line on it which is usually marked by the bank while counting, but they created a huge fuss saying that they wouldn’t accept it. Twenty minutes later, we were still arguing but eventually figured it out. As we were leaving, they had said that we only gave them 1 note instead of 2!!!! At this point we were like woah, what the heck are you talking about!! After “discussing” and going through everything, we came to the conclusion that we were just tired and couldn’t be bothered to do anything, so we just paid it again. Karma - what goes around comes around.

1:30 AM - I started packing- had to wake up in 4 1/2 hours! Procrastination at it’s finest.