After a ten-hour ride back to Vientiane and six hours of sleep, we were all up yesterday Morning to start the VYDA day Camp. This was going to be a long day, and I wasn’t fully mentally prepared for the challenge. The VYDA camp takes one hour to get to, which we do via tuk-tuk on a bumpy road each morning. The camp starts at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. As a special welcome back gift, we had an AFESIP session from 5 to 6:30 right after. Yay life.

So I was up and ready to leave at 8 in the morning. I had gulped down some Lao coffee, and was fighting drowsiness with pure determination. When we arrived on site we came face-to-face with fifteen highly energetic, very excited children.

The day is a bit of a blur for me. Aside from the loud noise and the physical activity, I know that we had a lot of fun, I'm just too exhausted to remember it all. When we finished day camp we went straight to AFESIP and held a session there. Those girls always give me a boost of energy, so although I entered AFESIP tired and drowsy, I left feeling re-energized for the evening. After coming home, showering, eating, and trying to catch up on my writing a bit, I passed out and slept like a baby. By then it was already close to midnight. I woke up at 6:30 a.m. ready to do it all again.

The kids are awesome, but draining. It doesn’t help that we work all day in the hot and humid weather either. The noise and the heat worked together to give me a wonderfully aching head all afternoon. When I got back to the hotel this evening, I was tired, lazy, and a bit homesick. I wanted to do something I haven’t done in a month: watch television. I needed mindless entertainment. I needed mid-twenty year old sex bombs playing teenagers with White Girl Problems.

No such luck. The internet here is not strong enough to stream anything. After desperately trying for an hour, I finally gave into my exhaustion and frustration. I assumed the fetal position, went spiraling down into a mini depression, and ran for the chocolate stash my mom had given me especially for these occasions.

The stash, composed of four Lindt chocolate bars, was given to me with orders to use in cases of homesickness, loneliness, or sadness. Up until now, I haven’t needed it at all.

I settled into my bed with my chocolate and a book that was lent to me about a thirty-some year old woman who put life on hold to move to Paris and get engaged. I read about her gushing love story and ate chocolate. It was a really, excessively pathetic moment.

Just so you know, reading love stories and eating chocolate does NOT work. What does work is a short Skype session with my sister and nephew. Oh Jordan, thank goodness for the one boy who can always make me smile :)