final shots from the tibetan reception center

tuesday was a sad day as i said goodbye to the kids at the tibetan reception center. it's hard not to get attached to them (except the bratty ones), but i was warmed up to the inevitable goodbye from some of my favorites leaving for dharamsaala over the past week or two. i hope i touched their lives like they touched mine.
for those of you who love kids, you'll be sad to know that this is the final photos from the tibetan refugees. for those of you who hate kids, i'm not sure if there's anything i can do to help.
so here you go.
enjoy.
making funny faces
some kids beg to get their picture taken, but never smile. this older child for example.
self-promoting artist
playing with paper planes in the hallway
the kid in the middle has been at the refugee center for over a year, mainly due to medical reasons.
this is great. the kid on the right in monk's clothing, used to walk around dressed like a hip-hopper. he had the hat to the side, a track suit, and a chain hanging from his neck modeled after 22" rims with the spinny things. we used to exchange gang signs to each other, and he told the teacher he was a tibetan hip-hopper. then on monday, he walks into class and is now a novice monk. it blew my mind away.
this kid is a good kid.
one of the kids with one of the other volunteers from france.
reality. waiting in line for food.
on my last day, one of the other volunteers gave the kids leftovers from lunch. it was spicy chili chicken. here are two of them with their mouths on fire.
on the last afternoon, we dressed the kids up in costumes, and painted their faces. this girl (who we call the 'hullo, hullo' girl, since that's all she says to get our attention) would call us yelling 'hullo, hullo!' and then start doing a dance that looked half hindi, half hawaian.
my favorite kid getting glammed up
i think she wanted her photo taken, but i couldn't understand what she was saying.
the mosh pit at the costume party
a little one dressed up. this girl has been scared of me for the past 5 weeks, except on the last day. maybe she was glad to be out of there.
remember in 'goodfellas' when joe pesci asked if he was a (expletive) clown. i don't know why this made me think of that.
the moustache isn't real
the aforementioned good kid dressed up like a cat
it took 20 shots to get them to smile
this kid is rad. taught him secret handshakes and high fives.
my favorite looking like a showgirl
this girl is funny. she always leeches onto the volunteers and never lets go. she could spend a whole afternoon attached to you. see photo above with the french volunteer for a perfect example.
here she is disguised with a wig. she can be like a dog who protects her owner sometimes. when other kids try to play with a volunteer she's holding on to, she snarls and threatens to attack.
this little angel likes to cry a lot for attention. sometimes it actually works.
little pinkie
little red devil
the 'hullo, hullo' girl, and my favorite. when the teachers told my favorite that i was leaving, she didn't speak, but smiled to be courteous, in a surprised and shocked way. i told her i'd hope to maybe see her in dharamsaala, and my last image walking out of the refugee center was of her, her little brother, 'hullo, hullo', and the kid i taught secret handshakes goodbye. made me a bit sad. the next day, the french volunteer told me that my favorite was very quiet and calmer than usual. i guess the saying goodbye part isn't new to them, since about 98% of the kids make the journey across the himalayas without their parents or other family members. and most never see their family again. i'm glad my favorite six year old at least has her 3 year old brother to be with throughout the journey to the tibetan government in exile in india. free tibet.

i'm tired.
good bye
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