Today, allow me to introduce you to Kakoli Bala, one of my grade one students. She is a energetic, smart, sweet little girl. Any time she sees me, she runs full blast at me and I always have to say "astay, astay" in order to get her to slow down even a hair. She is one of the fastest kids at math and is always so eager to show me her carefully formed letters.
Kakoli will be 7yrs old this June 21 and arrived at Bangla Hope six days after birth. Her mother was a maid for a rich family in Dhaka. The driver for the family took a fancy to Kakoli's mother and soon she was pregnant. When he found out, he suddenly disappeared. Kakoli was born with a severly clef palette and no one wanted her. The mother was able to keep her job as long as she gave Kakoli up when she was born. And Mrs.Waid had the privilege of taking her into the organization.
Kakoli has been one of the fastest to pick up on English and she is always trying to put together sentences to talk with us. She has a great sense of humour and seems to really love life--even if that gets her in trouble more often than not. She is very adventurous and loves to push her boundaries of what's okay. Nonetheless, her smile makes me smile. She loves with no limits and has captured a piece of my heart that is hers for the keeping. I'll miss her but I know God has great things planned for her.
When I logged into Facebook this morning, I couldn't believe how many times I saw "Canada" or "gold" or "proud" in everyone's statuses! But after hearing how the last day of the Olympics unfolded, I couldn't help but beam with pride for my home town and country. I can only imagine how "O Canada" must have rung throughout the arena. Not only did we beat America in an amazing game, but with that win, we broke the record for most golds won at a Winter Olympic Games. I'm so proud to be Canadian--not that there was any doubt really. I wish I could have been there to fully experience the spirit of it all but such is life. I savoured every moment I was able to catch a quite highlight snapshot in between cricket matches so I probably enjoyed it more!
21 days. I can't wait to see my dad at the airport. I can't wait to see his face on the ride back to the dental clinic. I can't wait to see his face even on the road to the orphanage. I hope I haven't overexaggerated things... I can't wait for him to see the newly planted rice fields. I can't wait for him to meet my kids and be able to put faces with all the stories I've written about. I can't wait for him to see just how many BUGS are here at night. I can't wait for him to try Shati's cooking, which will explain why I haven't lost weight over here. I can't wait for him to ride in a rickshaw and rickshaw van, things that have become such a way of life for me but are so completely foreign to him. I'm just excited to see my dad, someone familiar, someone who can now see a piece of my life the past six months and hopefully understand better the person I've grown into.
21 days. Crazy. Five months ago I couldn't see the end in sight. Now I can. Deep breath. Let's see what we can do with these last weeks...
ami tomake bhalobashi
Awww, I love all your posts so this is just one more that touches my heart once again. :D What a great idea to write about the different kids! That will keep the memories alive for a long time to come.... Great idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it'll be SO fun to share all this with your dad. I'm just a tad bit jealous that I couldn't experience a taste of it too, but c'est la vie! Its been fun to walk through it with you everyday. My, whatever will I do now once you're home and I don't need to stay up to talk with you??? My body won't know how to handle getting to bed earlier. lol
Well, I can't wait to see you get off that plane, to be able to squeeze you and know that you're home safe and sound, to 'catch up' with you in person and not worry about the internet acting up and cutting us off in mid-conversation, to just enjoy you around again for a little while at least - which is better than nothing.
I think how hard it will be for you to say good-bye to all those adorable little kids. And I feel for the kids - ppl coming into their lives and leaving with a piece of their hearts. I'm sure they're maybe getting used to it by now, no? Perhaps you can write them letters and send pictures - they'd probably really enjoy that.
Its been an amazing experience - one that I hope will stay with you the rest of your life.
I love you to the sky and am SO proud of you Jenana. :D xxxooo