March 6th 2008              

The beauty of children…although I myself am not ready to have children of my own, today was such an eye opener on how precious life is. I was able to go to an orphanage today with babies who are affected by H.I.V. It was life changing to see these young babies who range from infants (as young as one month) to toddlers who have been left behind because either their mother died at birth or there family cannot take care of them because they have H.I.V. I looked at these adorable babies and thought to myself that at such a young age why do they have to suffer? I learned today that with the proper nutrition and care these babies can fight the disease and live longer as long as their immune system is strong. Touch is very important, these babies need to be held in order to survive. I believe that touch is so important but only when there is trust….I love hugging my friends and I love to cuddle with that person I am intimate with. Many people deny themselves of this feeling but after today I understand why it’s so important in life.

The energy of children is spectacular! I got a chance to play with the school kids at the campus I am staying at and to be honest I’M WIPED! I thought I had a lot of energy but these kids out numbered me and I totally met my match. It reminded me how keeping your youth is so important. This is why you should surround yourself with kids and feed off their energy. I never understood why people didn’t like kids…I’m guessing that they didn’t like themselves to much as a child.

An interesting thing happened today which showed me the difference between North American culture and African culture. A little girl about 4 years old came to me and said “Look at my muscles” and she flexed for me. I was so amazed and said “Wow they are big”. In the African culture women thrive on being strong and fit which is everything I teach. In North america women (I find) are more concerned about being skinny and having flat stomachs. I don’t think I have ever heard a little girl say to me “Look at my muscles” I found this interesting and it made me smile…..there is hope for our women of the future.