More fun with the FLO kids

Hi Folks,
We returned yesterday from a beach trip with 51 kids and nine staff for two nights and three days. It is about a four hour drive each way from the orphanage so most of the kids had never seen the ocean before. We awoke at 6am on Sunday and the excitement around FLO (Future Light Orphanage) was intoxicating and contagious! Most of the kids could barely sleep that night and they all had their new backpacks prepared and were ready to go soon after they awoke.
All the kids and staff squeezed into three vans to make the journey. April and I followed in a relatively comfortable land cruiser along with my foster son Reaksmey and the director of a second orphanage who joined us with several of his kids. He (Mr. Pole) was quite an entertaining tour guide, showing us some of his orphanage property along the way where they are teaching the kids farming and building a beautiful farm. Good land now sells for about $500 per acre.
He had interesting stories about his days trying to survive during the Pol Pot regime having lost many of his family among the two million that died during those horrific four years.
On the lighter side, he was involved with arrangeing many adoptions including Maddox for Angelina Jolie. "Mr Bob (Billy Bob Thornton) was very funny man, he always make girl laugh and smile. All girls love Mr. Bob" He also said that Angelina was very compassionate and is very dedicated to the Cambodian people. We also visited the orphanage where they found Maddox. Hopefully the U.S. will open up adoptions with Cambodia again one day and these kids and others will be adoptable.
There are now over 12 million people in Cambodia and half are under twenty years old. Too many are orphans with no support.
Back to the beach! The name of the beach we spent our first day was...Hawaii Beach. What else? Not quite Hawaii, but lots of atmosphere! Lots of fresh seafood sold on the beach. After lots of swimming and enjoying the beach we all enjoyed huge platters of fresh shrimp and the obligatory rice.
Our hotel was about two hundred yards from the beach and each room which held four to six kids was about $10 a night. The next day was filled with beach activity and walks with a great cookout on the beach for sunset. It reminded me of what Hawaii must have been like about eighty years ago.
The kids always were busy playing group games together or swimming. All the vendors on the beach selling fresh seafood, cold beer, handicrafts and just hanging out with us provided great entertainment. The very first blossoms of a soon-to-be burgeoning tourist industry were beginning to be seen with a few Europeans, Asians and even the brave American or two.
Our last day we all headed to the mountains on our way back and spent most of the day swimming in the rivers and waterfalls followed by a big barbecue lunch for 61. It was a blast as was the whole trip. And thank goodness no one got hurt!
Three more days planned here and every day is an event! Big party on our last day. Really enjoying it and will miss all these beautiful kid as always.
Aloha for now! Rob