Today was tutoring day for us. I helped a few kids write their sponsors letters and took a small group of 2nd standard kids out for a reading group. We read "One Fish Two Fish" and I've never heard it so cute. Their little voices with that Indian accent is so adorable there are no words.

There are journals in the Mango room(one of the common rooms) for each of the kids, organized by families. They were put together as memory books for all the volunteers to write in, kind of like a scrap book since none of them have one. I had the chance to write in all of my girls memory books today. It was a special time, and I loved seeing my love for each one of these precious princesses written down in words. They truly are all goddesses in the making.

Play time was SOOOOOOOOO much fun. Reagan has a water balloon sling shot and we filled a bunch of balloons. The kids were so adorable taking turns launching the bright orbs higher and higher into the sky, and cheering when the burst with fireworks of water. They would all run as fast as they could to try and catch the rubber so the cool water would refresh their faces. After the balloons were all popped, a full on water fight began. Buckets were brought out of nowhere and I got soaked soaked soaked. It felt so nice in the dead heat of India. Our rain dance worked well because during dinner a full on rain storm suddenly started dropping on us. We all ran into our families houses for shelter and it worked out well because we got more time with them. Dinner was fish anyway so I didn't mind not having time to gorge myself.

Most of the volunteers are leaving in the morning so tonight was hard. Derek and I planned a few extra days for touring after but have decided to spent the next three here anyway, so I feel fortunate to have a little more time with the children. Plus we will have the chance to go to another colony and help tomorrow with medical attention. I received a full blown makeover again tonight only this time they even did my hair! Pretty sure I'm going to be needing lice shampoo at the hotel before I get on the plane-so worth it though :)

I'm going to go hang out with all these amazing friends I've mad over the last two weeks and try not to cry saying goodbye. The adventure is not over for me though...more to come!

The girls put make-up on Megan and I again. Abisha also took part in the fun. She is a natural!

awe my girlies! how I love them so

Yesterday I helped Dr. Kumar at the school, doing checkups on the new students. Most of them were little 5 year olds (with serious earwax buildup). It broke my heart to hear them cry when their tini fingers were pricked in order to find their blood type. We also helped make bandages and gauze pads.

We painted on a section of the wall behind the elephant house, using our hand prints. It turned out really cool. Play time was super fun. I danced with a bunch of the girls and we mad little movies with my camera. Naturally I will always cherish them. Dinner was delish, of course, and after homework time we headed back to the house.

All of us are split into three groups, Scorpions, Cobras, and Shakti. These groups rotated through construction, medical and tutoring. Our Scorpion team came up with a song to help us get through a particularly hot a tireing construction day. We decided to propose a cheeroff-slash-dance off. Once we all got home the three teams tool their turn and we ROCKED! There were also a few other little ditties performed and Derek and I had to have a dance off for the trophy. It was so much fun. All of us were just going nutso dancing and singing and playing until nearly 2 in the morning.

I love it here so so much. Even though the day was pretty chill, it was another perfect day. Each one is just wonderful in India.

Abisha & SagayaMary

My lovely makeover tonight!

What a day! I was on construction today. It's weird to think that it will be my last time working construction. I bought some paintings from a place in the colony called the Bindu School of Art. It is an art school where the leprosy affected paint and paint. There were hundreds to choose from and all the money goes directly to the colony. It's incredible to see the talent of these people, most of whom have lost their fingers. They paint souly from their imagination and maybe a few books they have seen in their life. Incredible.

The sun was blistering hot today and as i was literally pouring my sweat into the foundation that I was dumping cement into, I heard a commotion down a little side street near by. There was screaming in Tamil and dogs started barking in warning. Victor, the foreman, came running over saying there was a snake in a families house. Within a minute a snake charmer was there on a scooter and in the house rumbling around. He came out and many neighbors, including us, watched as he held a 6 foot snake in his hands. He told us it was a poisonous snake but that blowing in it's mouth caused it to be lethargic. He kept blowing in the snakes open mouth and asked if we wanted to hold it. I'm embarrassed to admit I was super nervous at first, but Courtney held it with her work gloves on. Then I had to. I took my gloves off though for the full experience. I even kissed it! Aggghhhh!!! My brother Mike would be so proud :)

After construction I came home and made cute little butterfly crafts with the kids. After another superb dinner I went to the girls room to help with homework. Once Suvetras math had stumped me with a headache, the girls all crowded around me and decorated my face with bindi paint. I can't even explain what a sweet memory that I will be keeping with me for the rest of my life. They were all buzzing around, their quick Tamil chatter echoing off the bare blue cement walls. They kept dotting, then wiping, and dotting with a new color. Any time I would open my eyes one of them would say "no auntie, trust trust. you will be lovelyer." It was beautiful, and I felt stunning when they were through.

It was hard to say goodnight to them tonight. I think it is getting harder and harder the closer I get to leaving.

Yesterday was another great day, surprise surprise. I was on the medical crew again and had the chance to go to a new colony. I walked up to a home with Reagan and Courtney to do the tests on a man who was too weak to walk down to the small comunity center with the rest. When we walked through the gate I saw an old man and an old woman sitting on the cement ground, and one of the most beatiful Indian women I have ever seen. She told us she was the mother of Gracie and Theresa, two little girls at the school. I was elated! They are both in the family that I spend time with. I love those two girls. I took pictures with the three of them and later, durring homework time, I showed the sisters the picture of me with their mother and grandparents. Their faces lit up with excitment and showed all the other girls. I can't imagine how hard it would be to not see your mother for so long. These children have such an advantage being able to attend this school but it breaks my heart that they don't have their families near. That is why it is so easy for me to love them, they need to hear it and feel it every day. They deserve the world.

After our medical adventure I wasn't feeling great. A lot of the volenteers have been sick and I was so affraid I was going to join them in their misery. After a nap and a dinner of almonds and red rice, I hunkered down with the group to watch Slumdog Millionaire. I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks!

I've decided that I am grateful for pain. Without pain we would not have the need for change, and without change we would all be BORING.

The Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Elephant Rides

Old Delhi

Delhi was PHENOMENAL! We left at 3 in the morning Friday and got home late last night. After we got off the plain in New Delhi we had a huge orange bus, with "TOURIST" across the front window, waiting for us. We all piled on and headed toward Old Delhi. We jumped off and all got in a rickshaw. Rickshaws are the little carriages that men pull on their bike. Derek and I rode through the craziest Bazaar in the world. Stuff was just spilling out of all the stores, and people were everywhere dodging each other. They would stop and we would get off and go running and dodging through ally ways to see the spice market, the chilli market and billions of people. I've never had my rear end grabbed so much in my life.

After an interesting lunch at McDonalds we got back on the huge orange bus and headed toward Agra. We didn't arrive at our hotel until nearly 9. It was the JayPee Palace and it was the nicest place I've ever been by far. A beautiful woman in a golden saree put a paste bindi on all our foreheads and a necklace of jasmine. They served us rose petal water while we waited to be checked in and there were plenty of smiles to make us feel comfortable. The marble halls were magnificent, and I got lost in them a few times. After a delicious room service dinner, I fell asleep in a huge down covered bed (with two pillows!)

We were up and back on the bus by 5 a.m. so that we could beat the crowd to the Taj Mahal. I'm glad for that as well as avoiding the worst heat of the day. The Taj was out of control. I've seen pictures and heard of it's beauty, but nothing could prepare me for the wonder it stirred inside me. Talk about the biggest token of a mans love for his wife. I find it ironic in a country that will throw you in jail for 15 days if you are seen holding hands with someone of the opposite sex. (interesting fact: Indian men hold each others hands all the time as a sign of friendship) We took picture after picture and had so much fun in front of the enormous white marble mausoleum, and I teared up just a little bit when I saw the inside. I was blown away by the talent of mankind.

Then we hit up Fort Agra and saw the old chambers of the kings and his queens and concubines. We got a great picture of all of us ladies sitting on the edge of the concubine bathing pool and Derek standing behind us. He was Loving being the only man in the group. We also got to see monkeys inside. They were adorable and I wanted to take one home so badly.

After a varied brunch we all hit the pool! I even purchased a swim costume (which is what they are called here) at the spa. Don't worry it is the sexiest piece of clothing I now own. Not only does it have sleeves but the shorts almost hit my knees and there is a foofy little skirt as well. I can't wait to rock it in the states :)

The rest of the day was spent shopping. Carpet store, mall, and another Bazaar. The best place for shoes! It wouldn't be a true trip out of the country if I didn't come back with at least three pair of shoes. After another fabulous night sleep, we woke up and ... yes....that's right..... Rode an elephant!!!!!!! It was so awesome. I've always wanted to and I still can't believe it happened. The ride to the airport was long and I've never wanted to just get home so bad. I realised though as we pulled up to the RSO campus it wasn't home but I still felt like it. I love it here. I missed the kids and I missed the plain bed. I missed the nice people of the south in their traditional clothes. (Delhi is very westernized), and I missed the work we do at the colonies.

This is how dirty I get after construction. It's not fun if it's not dirty!

my pictures will not upload. I'll try again soon.

It's nearly midnight and we are leaving for New Delhi and Agra at 3. I need some sleep.

Today was a great day. My group went out with Dr. Kumar to another colony and did the usual tests, cleansing and wrapping. Everything was an amazing experience again. We also went with him to check up on the pre-K kids who are starting at the school either next year or the year after. Oh my goodness, words can not describe how cute they were. Dr. Kumar did find signs of leprosy in one of the little girls, with painted on eyebrows and orange jasmine in her hair. It is good to find it quickly because a few months of medication and the disease is gone for good. It's so sad that's all that it takes, when caught early, but these people are just thrown out of their homes and because of lack of knowledge and/or money, they don't get treated until the deformities are so horrible that it is irreversible.

Playing with the kids tonight was just what I needed. It felt like ages since I'd seen them and they know exactly how to cheer me up! Abisha fell asleep on my chest while I told her, and the three other wee ones (Sabashti, Jaya Mary, and Sagaya Mary) the story of Goldie Locks.

I will miss all the little sweethearts while we are up north, but I'm so excited to finally ride my elephant and make another dream of mine come true. I'm not going to take my computer though so I'll be back on this blogging kick when we get home on Sunday.

Life is good!

We just got back from our adventure to another state. Wow what an ordeal. It took us nearly 9 hours to get there, across the border and into the jungle to the leprosy colony. They wouldn't let us across the border in a private car so we had to back track and rent a driver and a .... PARTY BUS. Not even kidding. It was hot pink and had the sweetest X-files soundalike backup sound. There was magenta plush velvet all over the interior (except of course where it mattered, on the seats) and all colors of flashing lights and speakers and a T.V. We enjoyed a classic Bollywood movie on the way home. Once we made it across we had to stop and pay a bunch of policemen to let us go on. At one point T.J. one of the Rising Star drivers, and our translator had to get out and hike off the road and through trees so we could pick him up down the road since we could only have 12 passengers and he was lucky 13.

We pulled into the colony and were greeted like royalty. There truly is something so fulfilling about reaching out and touching the hands of the untouchables. They were so grateful and appreciative of us being there. We washed, bandaged, and tested blood pressure and diabetes of 80 different patients. They had been waiting for us with their families all day. The women put flowers in our hair and the children called us all auntie and kissed our cheeks. It was beautiful there in the middle of the jungle with monkeys and mosquitoes. One of the little girls with braids and jingles on her ankles, wrote "LOVE" over and over with her finger in the dust on the side of the bus. They cased us down the street yelling Namastae as we waved out the windows. I cried.

We had an amazing dinner in the city with the locals all asking to take pictures of us with our pasty skin. The hotel was called "The Grand Hotel" and made me appreciate my simple little bunk bed here in the volunteer Elephant house. I knew today would be another great day when they served me the best coffee I've ever had with breakfast! We arrived at the second colony, located in the slums, around 9. There was a building full of people waiting for us again and the children and families were outside in the rain waiting with umbrellas to cover us on the way in.

I was kind of all over the place with my duties, testing for diabetes, washing the feet of the patients, and recording their wounds with photographs. An old man came in the center crawling on the ground. I helped him hoist his brittle body up into a chair and started to unwrap his feet. His whole body was trembling violently with pain as I pulled the bandage off his open oozing ulcers on the bottom of his feet. Tears were rolling down his face and the stench is something I can not put into words. My heart was breaking as I tried to comfort him with my foreign blue eyes as I washed the dirt and old skin cells out of the sore, put the orange ointment on and re wrapped his feet one at a time. both of his feet had been nearly completely eaten away. I could see bone and Dr. Kumar told me the leprosy had gotten into his bones and that was the most painful stage that most people don't even live to. He was a fighter. After his woulds were dressed I took a photo with him, and he smiled. Once Dr. Kumar was in conversation with him, recording his medical history, I quickly went outside to get some fresh air and let the tears flow. I'm glad I held it together for as long as I did.

The ride home was a long one. Today we treated 111 people without a break or lunch. It helped me sleep the whole way back. I took my bucket shower, in the company of a frog, and now I'm lounging in bed having "girl talk" with my roomies.

More to come!

Today was insane. I was on the construction crew and am now SUPER tired. There are 6 in my group and today we had to carry nearly 300 cinder blocks (one at a time) over two regular city blocks to be used for bathrooms in the back of 2 houses belonging to ladies. One of the ladies has lost both her feet and most of her fingers. She scooched outside of her small hut to say Vanicum (hello in Tamil) and offer us all food. I ended up talking with her while the others got directions to the next house. Tears filled her eyes as she pointed inside to a picture of a man, then toward the sky. We struggled to understand each other but it was obvious to me that she had lost her husband and was feeling quite lonely. What a hard thing to go through. The only person these people have is their spouse. They are the ones who stick with each other through everything, including severe deformities and even losing parts of their body. I didn't have any words to make her feel better so I simply hugged her, but graciously declined her offer of food. When Hannah, a sweet girl in my group, took a picture of us she looked at it and it put a smile on her face to see herself in a photo. They all seem to love photos.

We came home and after a cold shower I took a nap. I woke up to chaos and excitement all through the elephant house. The security men had killed a cobra. Yes a real live cobra! eewwwwwe, and I even like snakes. Then we had a meeting with Dr. Kumar about our adventure for the next 2 days coming up. We are traveling 6 hours in the morning to a colony that has not received ANY medical treatment from the outside. It is in the next state so they don't even speak the same language. Dr. Kumar is excited because not even he will know the language and he seems to be a man who thrives off of challenges. We are staying over night and working there all day Wednesday too. I will do my best to nit get thrown in jail for some stupid reason. apparently there are a lot of "American hating Communists" in that state. It is truly going to be an adventure. This is the first colony in another state that Dr. Kumar is going to attempt to help. I am so excited.

Play time and homework time were both wonderful again. It started pouring rain, which felt nice after such a hot day of sweaty heat and humidity. But we all ran in with the children for prayer so they wouldn't get sick. prayer inside was nice because the kids were less distracted. Prayer is just a bunch of songs that they all sing, and then a prayer in Tamil and a Christian prayer in English before dinner.

By the way the dinners have been absolutely out of control. Padmina cooks for all the volunteers and coordinators as well as the 150 children every night, and the meal blows me away every time. She truly is a goddess!

I'm off to bed since we leave at 5 in the morning. I will not have Internet until Wednesday night, when we return, but I'm sure there will be plenty to blog about.

I got to wear a Sari yesterday! It was gorgeous. Calla, a house mother, wrapped it for me and I realized it is a true work of art to be able to do. It was another magical day playing with the kids and bonding with the other volenteers. The bus lost a window mid-trip and it was the funniest thing I've seen here. It just slowly fell out into the mud as we were driving along. Rodenden, the driver, reversed for what felt like 10 minutes so one of the boys could jump out and get it. All the cars here have little tunes going on when they are in reverse. It always makes me think there is an icecream truck near by.

I only have a tini break but I'll post more tonight.

by the way- potato chips have never tasted so good :)

Segetha, Devi, and Misba

this is Suvetha and Anitha

sweet Jaya

Another lovely filled-to-the-brim day in India! The Internet was down again yesterday and this morning but, of course, it's back now. Yesterday was a tutoring day for me. All the children I worked with came so far just in the 20 minutes I had with each. I can't believe how smart these little ones are. I've tried to learn some words in Tamil, their native language, but forget the words within seconds. I am doing really well with names now though. I have all the names of the 20 girls in my family down to a tee. After lunch three of us had the chance to teach 1st standard (1st grade) an English class. We decided to go through the alphabet and play games with the class. All the kids put a y in front of every letter they can so A in "yay" H is "yach" S is "yes" and you get the picture. It's super cute but it's a big goal to get them to pronounce sounds right so they are able to get better jobs out of school. Helping them was an absolute riot. I kept telling them to copy my mouth and exaggerated every sound. Their little faces were adorable, the whites of their eyes and their pearly teeth popping out from their dark faces. I couldn't get enough of it.

Play time last night was a blasty blast as usual. I heard the whole story of Belle and the Beast from Sagaya Mary grinning voice. She was so excited to play Auntie Andria and tell a story instead of listen for a change, that she would talk faster and faster and start throwing in Tamil words. The story was just as enchanting as ever, if not more. Then we had a amazing dinner on the roof and all the volunteers really bonded over talking about the various activity's of the day. An interesting thought came up. There always seems to be such great things that come from crappy situations. This whole organization was started because a mother lost a daughter who had secretly been sending money to an Indian orphan. She wanted to see why her daughter was so intrigued with India and traveled here to honor her memory. She was so touched by the people inflicted with leprosy, she started the outreach program and now it is working wonders. If that daughter had not died, these thousands of lives would not be what they are now. If these children's parents didn't have leprosy, they most likely wouldn't be receiving the education they are that will help them go serious places in life. They are receiving a better education than 85% of Indias children, which prior to now was unheard of for "untouchables". Now even parents in nearby villages are begging to have their children enrolled at the school. This is on such a large scale but I realised even in my own life, such beautiful things have come out of the hardest times I have gone through.

Then it was homework and story time. The kids are all studying for midterm exams on Monday so studying was serious business. Again I have to say the intelligence of all the students is incredible. I told the 4 little ones a few stories and sang them to sleep laying on the hard floor. I was so comfortable with the ceiling fan and four sweaty, probably lice infested, heads resting all over me, it was hard not to fall asleep right there on the concrete but I managed to pull away in time to kiss the older girls goodnight. They call me Auntie Butterfly and the love is as thick as peanut butter.

Abisha, who is only 5, has stolen my heart fully. In fact I've decided to sponsor her. These children only need $30 a month to cover ALL their living expenses and being here with them I've decided it's affordable for sure. I always thought those commercials with the slow zoomins on sad starving faces of skinny children on T.V. were bogus and a huge scam. Some of them may be, but I'm so glad to know that this organization is as real as the sun.

Today was a different day. It was our day off. We all piles on the bus and went to Mamalapouran for a day of shopping, sight seeing, and the beach! We saw some ancient temple ruins that were incredible and crawling with people. There is a gigantic boulder they call the butter ball that is positioned on a slope of rock so it looks like it should be falling, but it's been there since the beginning. It was amazing to see. We all shopped till we dropped too. I have to say I have become quite the little bargainer. I can't believe how much you can get for such little money here. It feels like your spending a lot because of the rupees though. For example: I bought a pair of shoes (of course) for 250 sounds like a lot but actually they were less than $5. screeeeeeeeamin deal I know! We unfortunately missed the beach due to lack of time, but I'll have another chance to see the ocean for sure.

As soon as we got home I ran over and kissed my girls goodnight and now I'm in my new night dress that kind of looks like a mu-mu only HOTT, typing away with blurry eyes. Joyfully Fatigued.

The internet was down yesterday so I din't have a chance to post. I spent the day yesterday on the construction crew. We went to a colony where they are building a community center to lend our helping hands. It's amazing to see how fast they can create a whole building using only the supplies they have. We helped carry cement, which is huge chunks of stone mixed with sand and water, 100 yards away to dump on the ground to be compacted into a floor. An old skinny man would load up big bowls and we would carry them up a hill with the most beautiful woman in a teal sari. I tried carrying them on my head like she did but it was quite the recipe for disaster so I stuck with my serving skills and carried them like a tray. After that we all carried cinder blocks a block away and into a tini backyard to be used for the foundation of two squatters or outhouses. the house was a dark and dank small little thing but the door was open and I kept catching glimses of an Indian soap opera, quite entertaining in that horrible heat.

After a nap and a bucket shower we played with the kids and took lots of photos. Dinner on the roof was FANTASTIC and then I helped my girls with their homework and put them to bed. That has to be one of my favorite parts of the day. They are so sweet and patient with me trying to learn all 20 of their names, hard names at that. They all call us "auntie" so it's easy for them to remember. A few of them are starting to remember my name and it is quite entertaining to hear them try and pronounce the DR blend :) There is one little girl, Abisha, who is probably 5 who looks exactly like a mini Halle Berry. She always grabs my cheeks and kisses my forehead. I already know it's going to take all I have not to cram her in my suitcase and bring her home with me.

This morning I woke up and headed off in the medical van to another colony. The doctor, who is only 28 and a pure genius, is Dr. Kumar and his two nurses are Pushpa and Nenglini. The van is ghetto, to say the least. It actually broke down on us today and a bus had to come and pick us up. We loaded all the medical supplies on the bus and were on our way to treat leprosy patients. The whole way there Dr. Kumar gave us a run down on all the facts of leprosy as well as his background. He has quite the story and a HUGE heart. Most of his original patients will not come to him any more since he's been treating the colonies. I started by washing the feet of a few old people so the Nenglini could dress their ulser wounds. I concentrated on trying to properly pronounce all their names rather than the smell of all the missing toes and rotting skin. It was actually a lot easier than I thought.

Then I took a turn testing the patients for diabetes. The only time I fainted was pricking my own finger and pushing out blood to get my blood type in high school, so the thought of pricking fingers to aquire blood freaked me out a lot. Again, I just chose not to think about it and smile and hug the people. They all laughed every time I would finish writing the results in their char (a folder with lined paper and their name on front) I would say "TaDa" and flash a cheesy pose. It was my way of asking their forgiveness for making them jump at the prick of a needle.

After recording at least 30 peoples blood sugar levels, Dr. Kumar asked me for a favor. He led the way out back to a cement room with cement slabs and vomit and dries blood on the walls. Sitting on the middle slab was an old woman with an IV in her arm. He explained to me that she had been so sick that she couldn't get up to use the bathroom, so her very own people put her out there three week ago. She was extremely dehydrated and in a lot of pain. She needed someone to sit with her and I was honored. Her name is Jaya. She is a painter. I held her crippled little hand in mine and sobbed. She just lifted my chin and kissed my forehead and the tops of my hands and would grin a toothless grin. I helped her pass the time by taking photos. Indian people LOVE photos. They love looking at them right after on the screen. I suppose we all do. I even got her to do a kissy face pose and I know she thought I was crazy. I hope she is sleeping well tonight.

After having a dance party in the woman sleeping quarters, it was back to campus to play with the kids. I brought a bunch of beads to make necklaces and they had disappeared in the first 10 seconds. I had a mountain of girls crawling on me, "auntie auntie auntie. you help me, auntie auntie auntie', It was overwhelming but needless to say, the jewelry turned out exquisite! I feel like I know all the girls in my familys' names now. Tonight during homework I made them all write their names somewhere on my palms. It helped to see the names spelled and Rosy informed me it was MY homework to memorize them all when I went home to the elephant house. I feel confident tomorrow I'll remember most of them.

Now I'm laying here, so happy the air conditioner is working again, needing to get some rest. Yoga on the roof is promptly at 5:30 a.m. :)

This is the toilet, bucket shower and my bed is the top bunk.... needless to say I'm slowly getting used to all three :)

YAY elephants
This is the volunteer house, home for the next month. The kids call it the elephant house.
This is the track they run on, bare foot.
This is the new school

I helped Pavine with his math today. Yes, that's right MATH! his pencil was literally [this long ]

I just finished my tutoring day. This is Abi writing post cards to her sponsors in America. She spells her name "yay bee eye"

I am LOVING the clothes we get to wear! I can't wait to buy my own. This is Danielle and Courtney and I in our stunning Chudidars.

Story time last night. These little darlings sleep on the concrete floor.

Cankles

Check it out... this is my fat foot :) you'll be pleased to know that now they are back to their original state of perfection!

im here with fat feet. after the 32 hour flight and 3 hour bus ride, combined with the heat I have serious cankles :) The house we are staying in is increadable, there is even air conditioning that works "most" of the time. What an amazing place. People are just stacked on top of people and more people. There are cows running through the crowded streets and horns beeping beeping and beeping. The litter is EVERYwhere and the smells are stunning to say the least.

Well here I go... Leaving for the airport in twenty minutes and in only a few (32) hours I'll be landing in Chennai India! Born free :)