Stickers!!

So today started out a little rough. I ran my foot into a cement block...no surprise there....and I busted the front of my big toe and tore off part of the toenail. Needless to say it is less than comfortable. In America the problem would not be so bad, but here it is a different story. I not only had to put 3 bandaids on it but I also had to wrap the bandaids and the whole toe repeatedly with tape just to keep the dirt out. I also can not wear my shoe so then I had to wear a sock with a thong flip-flop, which is not the most comfortable thing. Even then that is not too bad but have to walk 3 miles to work with it on rocky roads is not the easiest thing and those 3 miles were with taking the dalla dalla. Then on the way back I had to get into the dalla dalla which is a 16 passenger van that had 22 people stuffed in it and i hit my toe again trying to climb over everyone. Even that is not too bad but I cannot get it wet with the water, which I guess is pretty easy to do considering that we never have water. I am not complaining at all, but rather just trying to show how many more precautions are required and the difficulty of having an injury in a 3rd world country.
After my rough start the day got a lot better. I decided to go back to the same orphanage today because the children looked like they just needed the love and attention My mom advised me before I went to bring stickers to the kids. At first I looked at her and was like "okay mom, stickers, that makes perfect sense," but I must say sorry mother because that was the best idea ever. I brought about 700 stickers to the orphanage with 10 children. In about 1 hour all the stickers were gone, and even the sticky part that is left after you use the stickers. The kids used them for a variety of things including fingernail coverings, earrings, necklaces, to cover there mouth and all over their bodies. It was so cute to sing. They started counting their stickers and then dancing and singing around the room. After sticker time we brought a surprise for the children. We brought a laptop with a Harry Potter movie on it. Even though the movie was in English it worked out because we are working on English with the children. They may not have understood everything but they were mesmerized by watching a movie on the computer and all the special effects and magic that was in the movie. They organized the benches in a way so that everyone could see and they sat so still during the movie, minus a few bathroom breaks. When all the magic and different scenes came on their faces looked in awe. It was amazing to them, and it was amazing for me to watch them. I wish all of you all can experience they simple joy with children. I never thought stickers would be such a big hit, and it is something so simple, but I guess if you are not used to them or if you have nothing than anything is a big hit. I am kind of sad because the weekend is coming and I wont be able to see the children for a couple of days. It is shocking how fast someone can grow on you.
I was thinking about how this trip is going to effect me when I get back home. How will I see the world we live in and all the luxuries we have? Will I complain less? Will I learn to leave the small things alone? How will I view the healthcare system? How will I be when someone complains of a headache at the hospital after witnessing all these births with no medication and no noise and no support? Will I view people and their pain the same way? Will I change my spending habbits and my view on material things? Will I even want to stay in America? I think about all these questions all the time and I do not know the answer yet. I guess it will show when I get home and I hope my trip makes a positve impact in every aspect of my life. I have seen and experienced things that I never would have imagined and have a new found respect for many things. Its crazy that my time here is almost up. I really do not want to go home at all, but I know and realize I have to. Life is just so much more rewarding when you are doing good for others because you want to, rather than always taking!