Morning

I'm going to start my entry with a quote that I find meaningful:  
Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself; I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.

Every day I walk through the town square to get to my volunteering. The first struggle in this excursion is the walk past the bakery. The delicious smell of chocolate berekas, honey croissants and white chocolate mochas is usually enough to drag me into the warm,inviting atmosphere of food heaven. I have tried walking on the other side of the square to avoid the temptations, but the smell pervades through the air for a good half a mile or so. Once I have successfully walked past the bakery without buying a bag of buttered pastries, Tokios, the best pizza place in town, is to my right. Although the smell isn't as torturing, big cheesy advertisements stick out and seam to mock my weakness for food. I'm proud to say I've only given in to Tokios a couple of times... My next battle is walking past the incense/hippi sweater store without buying a 10 shekle fabric or a colorful scarf. Mornings in the square are hectic- boys are skateboarding, parents are hurrying off to work, orthodox men are stampeding through (they always look like they're on such an important mission), and little muslim kids are walking to school,hands interlaced, with their Hannah Montana backpacks on. I finally get through the square and cross the street to the park where I see the same long bearded homeless man perched up on the bench. Everyday, he gives me a friendly wave and says, "Shalom,Boker Tov" which means "Hello,Good morning!". Even a small gesture goes a long way... without that greeting, I don't know if my mornings would be as superb. I know I can always count on him for that.

Today before walking into the apartment where the Sudanese daycare is run, I decided to buy lollipops for all of the kids. Although good intentions, this probably wasn't the best idea...  First off, the kids went wild. There were fifteen of them hitting and pushing each other to get to me, the lady with the candy. I handed them out as quickly as possible to squander any more possible chaos. After about ten minutes, all the kids faces and hands were shiny,sticky red, the floor and carpet was syrupy and one of the girls we call Nugget had the candy stuck in her hair. This was all cute and entertaining to watch untill later on, one of the older girls got to the center, smiled and said "mastik!" My eyes popped and panic washed through me because mastik means "gum".. and the most of the kids are three years old or less and could easily bite through the candy and choke. Me and the rest of the volunteers started running around chasing kids trying to grab the lollipops and squeeze gum out of their mouths. One by one we'd snatch a lollipop and the screams and crying would increase untill we finally managed to collect all of them. Crying didn't stop for a good half hour...Let me tell you that stealing candy from babies is everything but fun.... I still feel guilty seeing those sad faces. Lesson of the day is: Think more wisely before you try do a favor for someone because sometimes it will do more harm than good.