Oh boy, it’s Friday, the weekend is right around the corner. This seemed to be the theme at all levels at the orphanage. We arrived to find the locals moving at just above idle speed and not really having anything important for us to do. Eventually they taught us how to put together the rebar assemblies that will be going in the concrete forms above the stem wall. They use four long lengths of ¼” thick rebar arranged in a rectangular formation. Short lengths of rebar are bent into a square which are wired in place to help the long length keep their rectangular formation. We finished this in short order, and spent the rest of the morning visiting with the staff and other people lingering around. All the troops (children) returned just prior to lunch, which was the usual circus. After lunch we engaged with the children as they did their various chores and tasks. One item of business was the airing out every mattress in both dormitories. As usual the children made a game of it by running into each other, jousting or diving on to them when they got to the grass. The most notable part though was when Exel, only five years old decided to carry back the whole lot of mattresses to his room. He hefted them one by one and made nine little trips to and fro. It was like watching a worker ant through a microscope. Each mattress was right at the limit of size, weight and dimension for little Exel. Once he got the thing over his head, he could only go at a certain speed, anything faster would induce an oscillation like that of a ship in high seas. Exel was always moving at, or just above this critical state which at more than one occasion had us running to help him. He would have none of it though, for his true motivation was to have an audience. As the afternoon progressed, the dance instructor showed up to teach her usual class of Balinese moves. Some of us decided to participate, most notably our uncoordinated leader Tommy. His years of gymnastics provided only a bare minimum for what he challenged to perform. Words cannot do justice but we can say it looked like a happy gorilla doing yoga and then chopping celery. You need to see the video. Our stomachs hurt from laughter and it was time to retire and prepare for the weekends adventures.
DWC Team
Tommy, Bob, Mary, Jen, Arnaz and Gregory
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