A lot has been happening the last few days. If you have e-mailed me and I haven't responded yet, it is because the power here has been off quite a bit lately. But I will get to it.

We spent Saturday night in Mahalibalipurum, the seaside town I visited with Kerri 2 years ago. It was good to get away for a night, to eat some good food and read on the beach. What was most surprising to me is how glad I was to get back to the orphanage, after the 3 hour skeleton-rattling bus ride. It was great to see the kids and see how excited they were that we were back.

The heat here the last few days had been amazing. I put my alarm clock/ thermometer outside one day and is said it was over 120 degrees. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I do know that I sweat constantly and my hair feels like hay. I'm looking real cute these days. The terrifying part about this heat, though, is that a certain creature loves the heat and comes out of the ground to enjoy it. I am talking about scorpions. Yep. Huge, poisonous, angry scorpions. I was playing with the kids yesterday and all of a sudden they were everywhere, right by where the kids were playing. People braver than me very matter-of-factly smashed them with bricks. They seem to have gone home after yesterday's rain, but I'm keeping and eye out.

In happier news, I have been able to teach more classes. I really love reading to the little ones during evening study. getting a bedtime story should be a fundamental human right, and I'm sad that they go most nights without it.

Last night, we visited nearby villages and ran into a funeral procession and the preparations for a wedding. We went to the villages that some of the kids at school come from, and they were so excited to show us thier houses. We also visited Sarah, a student in 7th grade. Her mother had leprosy a number of years ago, and lost both of her legs and her fingers. They have lived in poverty since her father died. When we arrived, she was shelling nuts to give to us to welcome us to her home. I think the beauty of this gesture goes without explanation.

I am doing much better, and they days are full. Having the students from England is nice because we get to tag along with their excursions and do things I wouldn't normally be able to do.

I hope everyone is doing great.