New Kids on the Block

When we first arrived at the orphanage this morning, none of the kids were there yet. I thought it might be a slow day. That didn't last long. Within half an hour, the three regulars arrived along with three new children. The first was Clara Lucia, but she is called Clarinhia, which means "little Clara." She is a little over a year old and is very quiet and shy. She has been in the daycare, but her mother decided to put her in the orphanage. She has three siblings and her father died before she was born. The mother just couldn't manage all of them. Sister Passandra says their house is so sad, she has never seen Clarinhia smile.

Next came Kailane. She blew in like a storm. She is a semi-regular, but doesn't come consistently enough to develop a routine. She pitched a really big fit for about half an hour. Once she settled down, you could tell she and Davi were good friends and they played together well. The others are too young to really play together.

Jocko came next. I don't know his story, but he was teary-eyed and frightened. We spent a lot of time with the new children trying to ease their anxieties. After breakfast, everyone had a bath and the morning went by in a blur we were so busy. On the right, Larry is helping Felipe with his bath.

Davi liked the counting book I made last night with pictures of dogs and numbers. He can count to seven. We also decorated crowns for everyone. Kailane made hers, one for me and one for Jocko, who was taking a bath at the time. To the left is Kailane modeling her crown.

This afternoon we had an unusual educational activity. Fred talked to us about candomble, the religion that originated in West Africa and came here with the slaves. It is very strong in Bahia. Then he took us to a candomble house, which is like their church. They are very private and he had to get special permission to take us there. I got very confused with all the explanations of the various orixas, which now correspond with Catholic saints so that their religion would be more acceptable. A high priest from another house arrived, someone Fred knew, and we got permission to go inside for three minutes. First the priest poured water on the doorway, I'm guessing to cleanse the area.

Next we went to the beach to the "home" of one of the orixas, Yamanji, who is the keeper of the seas. Her image is like a mermaid. While we were there, two women came to give an offering of thanks. They placed a big fish on a platter of greens on the rocks and a big wave immediately washed it out. Then they tossed a bottle of champagne into the sea.

I think I have lost about 5lbs in the last couple of days. Something has upset my stomach and every time I eat, I get terrible cramps. But during orientation, Laura, one of our excellent cooks, said if anyone had stomach problems, she had a tea to fix it. She wasn't here yesterday when we got back, but before breakfast I managed to tell her I had a stomach ache. She went out back and returned with a handful of leaves and brewed them in a pot. Bom chai, she called it. It didn't taste bad, but I have no idea what it was. When I got back from the orphanage, she asked if I was better. When I said only a little, she brewed me another big mug. Now I think I'm cured.
Judy