"I like children without parents."

Almost every day we go to a gas station next to the orphanage to buy drinks or snacks. One of the cashiers, who speaks a little English, asked why we came so often. We told him that we were working at the orphanage. He gave us some candy to give to the children, explaining "I like children without parents." We understood what he was trying to say, but its just one example of the funny things that happen to us because of the language barrier every day.

We have been learning more things about the kids pasts, but with our limited Bosnian and their limited English it is hard. Two of the girls got into a fight the other day, and we found out it was because one of the girls told the other her mom was crazy. This girl, Lejla, is actually an orphan, so she responded violently. Many of the children at the orphanage are not actually orphans - instead, their parents are mentally or physically incapable of caring for them. The war inflicted so much damage on the adult population that the children who were born after the war ended are impacted as well. Another girl told us that her mom is alive, but in a mental hospital in Zagreb.

Although the orphanage provides clothing and food for the children, their upbringing is vastly different there. Many of the children are mentally challenged and the vast majority have emotional problems and anger issues, which is understandable consiering that they have had no regular adult role models or parent figures. The older kids try to keep things under control and will often separate the little ones if need be, but they are not a substitute for parents.

We are planning a movie night and a dance for the older kids sometime next week. We like to plug in Lauras ipod to speakers and sing and dance with the older ones which is a good way to teach them. We have also been listening to their music and having them translate it. One of the older girls, Merima, had never spoken a word of English to us. The other day she saw me without Aldin and came over and started talking to me. It turns out her English is pretty good. We have realized that some of the older girls are shy around Aldin, so Laura and I sit with them whenever we can and talk with them. Even when we understand things they say in Bosnian, we make them translate. This week we have definitely gotten to know the teenage girls better and we are having a lot of fun with them.

The little kids are still having a lot of fun and classes are going well.