(no subject)

[arisha]

~ A couple days ago I received a letter from Ma.Fe. She writes to me in English but this time she also included a short list of Filipino phrases ("good morning," "thank you," etc.) and their English translations, so I thought that was pretty awesome! :D I mentioned my interest in languages, I think is why she did that. I adore her letters, she seems like such a sweet girl. <3

~ Children International is having this bizarre contest where if people sign up to sponsor children through your Lift One page, you could win a trip to visit your sponsored child. I mean, on one hand I think that's really awesome and I admit I'd be up for such a prize; on the other hand, I say it is bizarre because where is this money coming from?? I mean, a contest??? Ahaha it kind of confuses me. :P Speaking of my Lift One page (and how I should probably update it at some point), I nearly had a heart attack a few months ago because of the meter saying that someone had sponsored through my page. WHO IS IT WHO IS IT??? I cried frantically as I logged in and fiddled with the page so I could see the name. Guess what, it was me. :P Apparently when I started sponsoring Kelvin, I did so through one of the links on the page. I AM MY OWN PROJECT'S SUPPORTER hahaha don't tell anyone. xDD;

~ CI's latest eNews was sent out today, and in it I found two links I found sorta interesting: this page compares some of the most popular sponsorship organizations in a way that is so unflinchingly biased as to be almost funny (but I admit it's still a useful idea), and this blog includes entries about the author's (and the author's children's, which is pretty cool) sponsored children. And I apologize for bringing this up, but to me, the most remarkable thing about this blog is that for a header it uses a photo of Anastasia. (For a time I was OBSESSED with the Romanovs, is how I can recognize her so easily.) And maybe this is stupid but it kind of unsettles me that this blog is all "yay child sponsorship!" at the same time as it's pimping out a photograph of a duchess who was murdered when she was seventeen. I mean, it just doesn't jive, or something ... But like I said, maybe I'm just being dumb. :X I kind of suspect the blog's author chose the photo for the knitting aspect rather than the political aspect, anyway ...

~ Okay on to the good stuff! :D Continuing the trend, after I received Kelvin's Special Gift report, I sent a Special Gift to Keyly, the first child I sponsored. :) I decided to sponsor a child from Honduras because in my eleventh grade Spanish class I had done a presentation on the country, and I remembered reading about the large gap between the poor and the wealthy. And I really like reading her letters in the original Spanish, though I have not yet been brave enough to write a Spanish letter in return. xD;

Okay that is neither here nor there. ^^; Today I received Keyly's report (srsly, for the past two weeks I have woken up each morning and darted out to the kitchen to see whether or not it had arrived ... ahaha oh gosh I'm awsm), and as I opened the envelope I thought, "Oh lol, I bet they got her clothing, because they always get her clothing," but man! They didn't get her clothing - they got her FURNITURE! (Photos hosted by Photobucket, as usual. :3 )



Here she is standing in front of the plastic wardrobe in which she'll be able to "store her clothes and personal accessories." Whenever I get news of items that my sponsored kids have recently received, my first reaction is often "Ah well, that's not a big deal." As in, a wardrobe? Pfft! I've had a wardrobe AND a dresser in my room for as long as I can remember! But then it's like, oh wait ... maybe this is the first time she's actually had a proper place in which to put her clothes, or her toys, or whatever. Maybe to her this is a big deal. And then I'm just like ... dang. And it makes me want to do even more.



The other two items bought were a pillow and a folding bed "that will help her to sleep comfortably and safer." ("Safer"? She had a bed before but maybe it was busted up or something to the point where it was horrible to sleep on ... ?) MAN it's CRAZY to think that they bought furniture with the money I sent. Mercy and Kelvin got a backpack, clothing, food, and I wasn't really surprised by any of that ... but man! I don't think I've ever even bought furniture for myself, so it kind of blows my mind that I bought it for someone else. I mean, it blows my mind in a good way, of course. :D Like, because of me, Keyly has a new bed. That's pretty substantial, right?



Keyly and her mother (I'm assuming, but I think it's a pretty safe assumption) with the bed and the pillow. For the record, I think that is the most adorable mattress ever. xD; I am also very happy to see Keyly even just kinda-sorta smiling in these photos; she never smiles in the annual photos, so I dunno, it's just nice to see.

And since I was already scanning, I went ahead and scanned the picture she drew on the back of her letter ...



What amazes me most about the drawings my sponsored kids send me is that they are drawing exactly the same stuff I used to draw when I was their age. Sun in the upper left-hand corner? Check. Funky-perspective house drawn the exact same way every time? Check. Like, you'd think there'd be more of a cultural gap here or something, but there isn't. I swear I could throw this drawing in with some of my old drawings and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

YES this is that fascinating to me. D:

In conclusion, I hope Keyly enjoys her new stuff. :) <3

~ Round-up of other news: later this month I am going to Calgary to meet my cousin's baby boy, and in preparation I bought him a baby-sized shirt that says "I [heart] UVIC"; this fandom!secret makes me stupidly happy only because of the Cate and Jude characters in my novel (this is the only reason why I ship it, too xD; ); this article about the phrase "the customer is always right" makes me happy because it's someone outside the customer service world recognizing how much it can suck to be inside it; and, after hearing it on my manager's iPod last night, I am now rather obsessed with Kelly Clarkson's "Haunted," despite the fact that it's exactly like every other song she's ever released. :D