Video Note: Wendy and I were goofing off at Heart to Heart. There is a big playroom on the roof of the building and they had these little bikes for the kids. We decided to be big kids and rode the bikes down a ramp. :)
Patrick and I decided to return to Xi'an. We needed to be able to sleep without worrying about what bugs would get us next. I was going to rough it out till the end of the week, but since he decided to leave, I don't feel as bad leaving since someone else is doing it too! :) The volunteers here in Xi'an thought I'd be the first one to crack, so they were completely surprised that Patrick cracked first. Whoohoo...I'm not the most high maintenance one!!! :) I'm sorry to disappoint you guys and not staying out there longer...I was really looking forward to spending time with the pandas...but life is too short to be miserable no matter how cute the pandas are!!! Since this is a vacation and I'm suppose to have fun...there's no sense in staying where I am not happy. I know, I know...I'm a wuss...after all the build-up, I leave the pandas after 2 days...I have tons of pictures and videos though (including one of me cleaning poop)!!! But you really have to see how nasty the rooms and bathrooms are. The other two girls stayed, but only because one doesn't like children and the other one volunteered in Ghana before, so she's use to the conditions...
I volunteered with Heart to Heart the last two days. As I mentioned before, this is a school for autistic children, but I also found out its for kids who are just mentally challenged in general. As far as the actual "work" environment, it is worst than the panda reserve. The kids are pretty dirty, the place smells like urine, and the toilet is just a hole in the floor...BUT I'm ok with it since I know I am making a difference!! I just keep alot of hand sanitizers with me! :) At the panda reserve, I was only helping to clean the cages...which the panda keepers would normally do if the volunteers weren't there. I didn't feel like I was really making an impact...whereas at Heart to Heart...I do feel like I am helping the kids out. The teachers there are a bit tough with the kids and they don't get alot of affection...so when the volunteers are around, the kids like to be hugged and touched. And they also like to kiss the volunteers. Shortly after I got there, I had a little boy come sit on my lap with his arms around me and he started kissing me (not lip kissing or anything inappropriate since they don't know any better...just innocent pecks on the cheeks and neck). It was cute....
The kids are divided into different rooms based on IQ. In the mornings, they have play time and exercise time. In the afternoons, they have sing along with the teachers and have more play time. It's hard work to watch after the children since they are mentally challenged...they are all over the place and can't sit still. There is one kid who will walk around and untie anything he sees. I kept him entertained yesterday with a shirt I had that was tied around my waist. Today, I was trying to teach one of the boys how to play the drums. We call him "monk" since he looks like a monk. I didn't have much luck with him...I was trying to teach him a beat and he would just randomly hit the drum. He is sooo cute!
We have a 2.5 hr break during lunch while the children sleep. That's really good so we can go to the Starbucks where they have western toilets!!! It's about a 30 minute bus ride, but well worth it to not have to use the toilets at Heart to Heart. Just think kids peeing all over the place and the smell...ugh! At Starfish (orphanage of babies with cleft palettes), they have a western toilets...the volunteers who were suppose to be at Heart to Heart all went over there and don't want to return to Heart to Heart now! They also have air conditioning...at Heart to Heart, we just have fans and those aren't any good!!!
I've spent the last couple of days re-doing my itinerary for the rest of the trip to meet up with people. I may go to Hong Kong next Tuesday to meet up with Wendy (another volunteer) and do some shopping for a few days before she leaves for the UK. I've also added Shanghai to my itinerary to meet up with my dad's cousin's son (does that make him my second cousin?) since he is only there until early August. I hear it's more modern and cleaner than Hong Kong, so I'm excited about that!!! Then I'm headed to Beijing around August 6-12 to meet up with Helen (another volunteer) for a few days (she's cutting her volunteer time short so we can hang in Beijing before she flys back). So with that new schedule, I'll actually be back in Atlanta a week earlier! It'll be nice to have some company while I am in those cities and I'll get to see more of China while I am here!!
This blog is a day late being posted...we've been having some issues at the volunteer house. We lost power twice since the staff forgot to refill the electric card...and internet has been extremely slow the other times. I think we are back to normal now. I also added more photos of the pandas to the Panda photo gallery...so check out how cute they are!!
