Sunday 2 August 1998

Shattering day. I gave non-stop piggy backs. I made real progress with Shanti though. I am getting her speaking. With one to one attention she could be talking. It was great fun too! We ended up in the pool as usual which was brown and stank of poo and pee. We got drenched in it, getting the filthy stuff in our eyes, ears and mouths etc. I got lots of the kids smiling and laughing though - even Marian which was wonderful. I love working with physically disabled children and am very interested in physiotherapy which Bev is teaching us.

At one point I had to help hold Ghita while Sister Francesca cleaned his leaking ear. She screamed and threw a huge tantrum so it took 3 of us to hold him down. It was horrible. Apparently, sometimes the sisters stick the children with pins to control them which shocks me!

The truck came in the evening with a imbecile of a Romanian driver! We all - Bev, Lisa, Russel, Eilish and me went out for a beer in town to relax. We were constantly hassled by the usual grubby and pathetic beggars but no hoots. We got stuck drinking wine at the Chriac’s as usual too! So I am a bit tiddly now. Bev and I walked back in the dark and got surrounded by dogs which freaked Bev out but I dealt with it well.