Guests at a Hindu/Seekha wedding

In India, to be of a white race puts you as the highest caste system in the Indian society. It causes a lot of disputes, racism, and unfair profiling. When talking with Brother Bassa today, one of our tour guides, we were talking about the treatment that we have received, and the constant invitation of people wanting to take pictures with us, or to hold their children, or even to give away their personal belongings to us. He explained, that even though he is a very successful and well established person in his city, he is denied a lot of services and opportunities because he is Indian. We told him also, that we had attended a wedding the night before and how accepted and loved we felt from people we had never met before.


He replied, saying that if he and I were to walk into a Hindu wedding, and even if I am covered in paint and don't know a single person at the wedding, I will still be able to walk in and be encouraged to participate. He on the other hand, can be sharply dressed, perhaps know 1 or 2 people out of all of the guests and be denied entrance. I asked how often that happens, and he replied "nearly every day of my life." Since he is a tour guide, he goes to places with white people fairly often, and he is allowed to go into places that if he would try and enter alone, he would be immediately turned down- no questions asked.

It makes me sad that a culture puts so much weight on that. We have those issues in America also, I am well aware of that. But, it is taken to such a higher standard here in India -the mantra is as if whites can do absolutely no wrong.

After explaining that sap box, I want to elaborate on this Hindu/Seekha wedding that we attended last night at our hotel in Agra.

The event was amazing and such a beautiful way to celebrate the communion of marriage. We do not own Saree's (nor could we figure out how to wear them if we did!) so we wore our Chitigar's, which is like street clothes here. All the women at the wedding had AMAZING silk Saree's and wearing all types of sparkles, gems, bangles. They all looked so beautiful and festive. We arrived in the middle of the groom's party and we stood as close to the wall as we could so we could observe what was happening and try to figure out who the bride/groom was. We saw another white female at the party who was wearing a Saree and had long blond hair. We eventually made our way to where she was standing as we watched a Indian drum circle parading and dancing up and down while certain members of the wedding party were charaded and dancing in the middle of the circle. Bali is a style of Indian dance, and the women who were part of the drum circle were wearing such elaborate outfits and moving so gracefully with their bodies and hands. We found the groom- who was wearing a red turban with a decadent veil of silver chains coming down to cover his face. The blond girl (who was from the states and was staying with a friend of hers from college who lived in India) explained that before we had arrived, the grooms face had been covered and a turban was put on to indicate that his personal part of the ceremony was about to start. It takes nearly 2 or 3 hours for the actual turban to be fixed in place and then have his face covered. Suddenly, the friends parents came running over to where we were standing and grabbed our hands, explaining that we had to dance. She led us to the middle of the drum circle and the women dancers grabbed our hands and began moving back and forth- instructing us how to dance Bali. We were all so unsure of what was happening, but quickly became at ease at the pace and the beating of the drums! It was like a festival where you just move and experience life one moment at a time, trying to take in everything that you can.

We danced for about 5-10 minutes before exiting the drum circle and everyone started to walk out of the room, and fromed into a moving trail outside towards the road of the hotel. We followed the moving crowds, and at the end of the trail, the groom had been placed in a very decorative carriage, along with the youngest male cousin on his side of the family. People were approaching him and giving gifts, congratulating the still veiled groom, and then leave to line the path that they were to take back to the hotel. The dancers led the procession, parading the groom so that all the guests could see him being pulled by a white horse carriage. Dr. Kumar had told me last week that the grooms are paraded around their home towns during receptions, its done as a manor to parade the groom but also so that the townspeople can keep him accountable in that they have to speak up in case anyone has been to his wedding before.) These weddings can last from 3-10 days and the actual wedding ceremony is done at the very end of the set number of days allotted to celebrate. The dancer's/drummers soon after starting their procession, again grabbed us to continue dancing in the middle of their circle. A girl explained that the more people dance within the circle, the happier the marriage is believed to be. Therefore we danced the whole way back to the hotel and witnessed the two families placing ropes of jasmine around the necks of their equal counterparts. The grandfather of the bride would place the flowers on the grandfather of the groom (and vica versa) the dad of the bride would place the flowers around the neck of the father of the groom (and vica-versa). This happened for nearly 30 minutes. Then we were all released from a small room into a larger one lined with hundreds of dishes to eat. Pita, hummus, Italian, Lasagna, breads, desserts, Mango Ice cream, Jelibea (amazing!) rices, sauces, soups! We were all encouraged to eat, while the groom sat on a couch on a stage and either was presented with gifts, rituals, or conversations with close family members. While we ate and observed everything that was happening for almost an hour, the bride finally appeared and she was escorted by about 4 or 5 people who were holding something that resembled a square canopy above her that contained woven ropes of jasmines. The groom walked down the steps of the stage, excitedly grabbed her hand and brought her onto the stage with him. We all watched with anticipation, as ropes were placed around their hands, boxes of smoke were swung in front of them, chants, music, noises, and ritualistic movements were perfomed. The bride and groom then sat down on the couch and spent the remainder of the evening taking pictures with all of the guests at the wedding.

Festive, fun, and something that was so impactful! It was not a complete Hindu wedding, but it is one that we have refered to as a HIndu/Seekha wedding. Both rituals were apparent, but they appeared to be somewhat blended.

We were later told that if a foriegner is present at a Hindu wedding, then it is considerd a sign of good luck and will actually raise the standing of the couple who is getting married (Kind of like their social status is raised). We were encouraged to take a picture with the couple on the stage, which 3 of us did, and the bride and groom were so amazingly dect out in beautiful jewelry, gowns, and India fashion. The wedding had about 400-500 at it, and that amount was significantly small compared to many Hindu weddings that can have the upward amount of 2,000 people attend.

A day well spent

We adventured to the Taj Mahal today! We were up by 4:30 and made it to the Taj by 6:15. Our tour guide, Miten did an amazing job explaining the history, the perfection of the symmetry, as well as knowing places that will produce the best pictures. Miten has also had the privilege to give tours to many ambassadors, actors, Julia Roberts, and prime ministers/presidents.

 

The Emperor and his wife conceived 14 children in the 16 years that they were married. Only 6 of the children survived childbirth though and with her last delivery, she became severely ill. The Emperor asked what he could do for her or if she had any last requests. Her only 2 requests is that he would always be merciful to their children and that he would not marry again after her death. He then asked what he could personally do for his wife- and not i regards to any one else. She explained that she wanted him to build a monument that would let everyone know how truthful their love was. It took 22 years to build the Taj, and the Emperor died 13 years into the construction of the monument. Every single aspect of the Taj is perfectly symmetrical except for the grave site inside the main building. The wife is in the center, and the Emperor was placed to her left. It was decided that it would be better for them to be buried together than to be separated due to symmetry. Also- the legend of the black Taj Mahal that was intended to be built is actually a world famous rumor that never had any roots.

We enjoyed hearing the history- but our fun really started when we were done with the tour and able to take pictures! The photo session was SOO much fun with jumping pictures, hand stands, cart wheels, and clapping from passerbyers (or even crowds)! It was great being able to sit on the back of the Taj also and look at the river and to feel the breeze on our faces.

 

We went back to the hotel to enjoy an amazing breakfast!! Which also had ice cold coffee that tasted amazing! (First coffee in nearly 3 weeks!). I left my swim suit in the states also, not realizing that I was going to need it for our weekend trips. When I talked to the tour guide about buying one at the market, he said that "swim costumes" would be for sell at the hotel fora bout RS. 400 ( = $8 U.S.). Sarah and I adventure to the place that had the "swim costumes" and we were excitedly suprised by how original they were!

We then had an adventure of riding an elephant! It was soo awesome! The elephant even got up in the middle of us "loading" onto the ride and it was really cool being able to get that close to such a huge animal. The owner had even painted with some chalk material onto the elephants head creating a crown look. It happens to be that riding an elephant was something that Sarah has on her bucket list- so she was EXTREMELY excited through the whole thing!

It was deffinantly a fun and full day. We are also going to end it at the hotel by attending a Hindu wedding! Apparently, being white, makes us almost "good luck" to have at a Hindu Wedding so we get to party all night!

Hindu weddings are all about how many people you can have at the their weddings, and often consist of having 2,000 + people. They can often last up to 10 days also- but it depends on how long the Hindu's want to spend with their celebration. I have been told that they consist of a lot of food, pictures, and go late into the night. The actual Wedding ceremony will take place on the last day and starts before the sunrise. Tonight, at the hotel, there are 2 different weddings! :-)

Within the past week, we have managed to go to a late night Hindu Festival in the village near Rising Star, worked in 3 different medical clinics, tutored the children for 2 days, travelled to New Delhi, saw the Taj Mahal in Agra, and about to go to a Hindu Wedding!

What a beautiful and amazing week!

July 2nd- Welcome to New Delhi & Agra

The day started at 3:30 am on Friday- and within the past 12 hours, we have traveled by a plane, a terrifying bike rickshaw, 2 different travel buses, and we finally made it to Agra. The day was so quick and so many things happened that we either unexpected or established by our tour guide. One of our drivers, T.J. (the one who drove me to the hospital) started his college program this week- so he is no longer with Rising Star. Because we have only been using T.J. or Veil to drive us around Tamal Nadu, we are being exposed to new drivers- but none have the personality of T.J. or Veil. A new guy- who did not even say one word - drove us the 2 hour ride to Chennai where we boarded an Indian plane, called IndiGo. Because the height difference is so dramatic from Americans (and 2 of our girls are 6 feet tall) it was really tight and no one could mange to get comfortable. Between a little boy kicking the back of a seat, constant movement in the small aisles, people constantly moving their seats up and down, and exploring hands that would ALWAYS manage to touch my head, needless to say it was not a comfortable flight. We made it safely to New Delhi though and we instantly were found by our tour guide. We were given a quick tour of New Delhi, shown the presidential house, which is currently occupied by India’s 1st Women President! We also were taken to a large market to find spices, food, shoes, sari’s, temples, and all the while being driven by a thinly framed man on a bike operated rickshaw. It was like a theme park run away cart! Casey and I were partnered up and we were tossed from side to side and up/down for nearly 2 hours trying to cruise through the tight market roads.

 

It is Friday, and Friday’s for Muslims are equivalent to a Christian’s Sundays- so the masques were closed for tourists to view and the men had a call to prayer 5x throughout the day. We did climb 4 flights of a street building though and were able to look over the edge of the rooftop to see inside a masque and observe the cleansing techniques before prayer and different types of prayer poses. It was really cool to see!

I was taught how to make chai tea from Assam leaves, and also instructed how to make green tea ice cream by a spice shop owner, so I am excited to get back to the states, eventually, and try it out. Hopefully I can keep the instructions in my head for another month! I also took some type of digestive spice from the restaurant that we ate lunch at. It is a popular after meal spice that consists of a small amount of white licorice and some green leaf looking things that are good for digestion and settling upset stomachs.

The markets are notorious for being unsafe and a high amount of pick pocketing occurs. While looking at a bangles shop, one of the girls either misplaced her money belt or had it taken out of her pursue. It was not discovered thought until after had finished eating our lunch. Upon returning to the store- there was no sight of it. We had stopped by an ATM before going to the market, so a lot of cash was left in it- but even thought we searched throughout the shop and the shop owners personal areas- we could not find it anywhere! The tour guide felt horrible, and kept apologizing to her. We never did find it, but the tour guide let her borrow his phone to call home to cancel all of her cards. Thankfully, her passport was in a different zipper- so she still has that form of identification on her.

After the market, we spent the next 4 hours on a private bus ride to the great city of Agra, where the Tahj Mahal is located. The driving is very similar to Chennai (which is similar to the rough parts of Mexico), so there is a lot of sporadic honking, light flashing, and weaving that happens. I have yet to be annoyed with the horn honking until our ride to Agra. It felt as if every 5 or 10 minutes, a honking competition would break out, and these horns are high pitched and not taken well in large doses. But we made it to our awesome hotel and we managed to have our rooms upgraded to suites, so we are enjoying the use of western toilets, overhead showers, and the anticipation of elephant rides tomorrow and seeing the Tahj Mahal at 5:30 a.m.

I have to be honest though, I do already miss Rising Star. I miss knowing the drivers, the fashion of the people in Tamal Nadu, and the small sleepy villages that line our route to and from the colonies. In Northern India, it is much cleaner, but it is also much more westernized and men will wear jeans, t-shirts, and polo shirts. The women are even more so covered, being closer to the middle east, but the fashion is not something that I am attracted to like I am in south India. I also miss hanging out with the kids in the evenings- and the loving anticipation that they all hold for us to be part of their lives.

Marked as Different

In India, if you do not blog every single day...there is so much that people miss. Everyday is filled with some new experience- a new idea- or a new perspective on life. I cannot put enough emotion into how quickly life changes here. And how quickly things can happen.

This past week- We split up our group and 4 of us went and worked the Medical clinics with Dr. Kumar in the colonies. We switched mid week and those that had been doing the Medical clinics went to the schools to tutor in Math and English. Both experiences had a lot to teach us- about being humble, extremely patient, and realizing that these lives we are working with and visiting, is a constant state of life for those who live in the colony and also the homes of where the children of Rising Star live a few weeks out of the year.

Every single person at these colonies has an amazing story- one that I could probably make an entry out of every single member persons story- and each would make you take a step back from your own lives and evaluate what you consider to be life changing or worth spending time on.

Dr. Kumar refers to all of his patients as if they were his family, and the passion he tells their stories with is one that you often find yourself being even more humbled. One man, who was blind for 20 years due to cataracts was denied the opportunity of having the surgery because they did not want to have complications. Dr. Kumar is an amazing advocate, and knowing the only reason the man was denied the surgery was because of his diagnosis of Leprosy- he took him personally to the hospital and fought  and argued until the man was allowed permission to be operated on. After the surgery, the man has been declared as not blind- and at 70 years old has been given the opportunity to see his grandchildren for the first time and to see his wife, whom he says is even more beautiful than before he went blind. The man is also so thankful to Dr. Kumar. When I met him, he told me an entire story in Tamil, but was constantly pointing towards Dr. Kumar and nodding with an enormous smile.

Another man, whose leprosy had impacted the nerves in his bones was in extreme pain and went to the hospital. The hospital denied him, and sent him away. The man was compeltly distraught and tired of being consistently denied the rights of even being human. He called Dr. Kumar, extremely upset and he immediatly went to meet the man and help him. The man was finally allowed permission into the hospital where he had to have his leg amputated, but at least taken care of. Dr. Kumar was later informed by the man that he had called Dr. Kumar while he was near a train station- and had already decided that he was going to jump onto the tracks if Dr. Kumar did not answer his phone.  

At the medical clinics, we the volunteers, would switch off between taking blood pressure, testing blood sugars, and cleaning ulcers and the people's feet. The disease of leprosy affects the nerves, so many patients do not have any feeling- so you can push as hard as you want and the patient will barely feel your hand pushing on their arms or feet. The scary part though, is if the patient does have feeling- then the disease has spread to the nerves of the bone and it looks absolutely painful. Being the diabetic, I tested blood sugar at the first colony- but rotated through all the different areas and only helped with the testing if someone could not get any blood. The calluses on the patients are also extremely thick, so sometimes we would even need Dr. Kumar's help to find a suitable place. 

I did have to go to the bathroom at the colony one day- so a women took me back a pretty long ally that was lined with people sitting in their door frames. She took me into a house (translation: through a single room) and to an Indian back yard. She pointed to a line of bricks and then left me alone. I looked around- being familiar with squatters by now, I knew to look for something that was out of the norm when it came to toilets. But this back yard- no bigger than a bricked 5x5 had nothing that appeared like a squatter. I saw a fence- a line of bricks.. and then the rest was in-laid bricks. I literally stood staring at the fence for about 2 minutes- with the women sporadically walking out, pointing, speaking in Tamil and disappearing. I ended up walking out- utterly confused how that particular "bathroom" worked. The woman kept motioning and gesturing quickly before stopping and adopting a huge smile- shaking her head and escorted me back to the medical team. Dr. Kumar asked when I got back to test blood pressure if the bathroom was ok..I slowly explained that I honestly couldn't understand how it worked, but I would be strong and wait until we returned to Rising Star. That story also counted as my low for the day. Thank you India for your confusing toilets..

There is so much to explain- to elaborate on- and to almost use as an opportunity to inspire and teach others. Leprosy still exists in America- nearly 200 people a year are diagnosed. There is an antibiotic treatment for it though, and the treatment process lasts about 6 months.

There is an art school at one of the colonies, The Bindu art school, and a few of the board members have been trying to get the artists to be able to come to America for an exhibition,. These artists are denied visas because of their Leprosy. Their paintings are beautiful! We were supposed to go and see them, but that happened to be the day that I was in the hospital, so it has been post-poned until this upcoming week.   But these painters, who do not have fingers- make the most beautiful art I have seen in a long time. The beauty of the world that they have imagined without having the ability to be exposed to mountains, rivers, or fall leaves is amazing.

But still... they are marked as different and denied the dignity of their existence. I want to see this changed in my life time.

History In the Making

In My dream, the angel shrugged and said, "If we fail this time, it will be a failure of Imagination" & then she placed the world gently in the palms of my hands.  -Brian Andreas

We talked about Charity tonight on the rooftop after dinner. About the meaning, the examples we see in our lives, and our friends and families lives. We talked about how charity is giving of ourselves and reaching out to help others- regardless of how it will affect us- charity is the ultimate selflessness. The fact is...we can be selfless in any environment and any place- not only India. Quotes, stories, and verses were shared- all about being charitable. Mother Teresa said (courtesy of McCall) that "if you are too busy judging others, then you do not have enough time to love them." Mother Teresa also said (read by Reagan) "We cannot do great things- only small things with great love." One of the basis of charity is also imagination, and I think that is important. The ability to see a need and to respond to it, change it, or work to inspire the change for it.

Becky is a board member for Rising Star and she came into town today to be able to spend a few weeks here and to see the kids, watch the dedication of the school that is being built right now, and to take care of some house keeping here. We sat on the rooftop after dinner and after our talk about charity we sat exactly as the children have been sitting all week to hear her stories. She explained the caste system in India. The idea that many people who live in India say that the caste system is no longer in effect, yet the way life is lived here declares otherwise. People who have been impacted with leprosy are still considered untouchables. People will scoff in their direction and refuse to acknowledge their existence. The law works in that a person is murdered, a price is owed instead of going to court and the price is determined by what caste the person happened to be part of. If a person murders a neighbors dog, the payment for that crime is higher than if a person murders someone afflicted with leprosy. Shame is brought upon entire villages who have one resident visit a leprosy colony. It breaks my heart... the children are treated the same way as their parents simply because they are associated.

We visited a colony this past week called the Moote colony. Their are only 7 residents- but those 7 make a lasting impression on your heart. One of the men, Girash, sang and danced with us for nearly 2 hours. He barely knows English, but his affirmation of acting like he knows what he is saying is clear. He and one of Steele's children, Oaks who is around 6 years old, had an entire conversation made up of going back and forth with strong facial expressions and babbling noises. These people are so gentle, and loving towards anyone who will pay them attention. The women would sit and smile for the entire time that we were there.

The children at Rising Star are from these leprosy colonies. They are learning English, which can promote them to a higher ability to be given jobs after graduating here. We were told tonight that a doctor in India will average about $500 U.S./month- and this is considered to be a high class job. Since outsourcing has been allowed within India's borders-such as those that work for Dell and other companies. Those people who are given jobs as an outsourcer average an income of $1,200 U.S./month. The children here at Rising Star, even with a high school degree and the means to speak English- because of the harsh caste system they will still often be denied jobs because of their role of being associated with a person suffering from leprosy. Rising Star has managed to build a relationship with these outsourcing companies, and as long as the children are qualified- they become eligible to get a job after they graduate. 

Imagine a child transforming from an untouchable to the highest caste system. Imagine their lives and those that they will influence! This summer here...this place called Rising Star is literally being part of history in the making! People will always say that our children are the upcoming generation to change the world. But LITERALLY- these children that I am falling in love with and spending my evenings reading to and the days tutoring with... These children are going to change an entire way of life because they will suddenly defy a caste system that declares them as an untouchable.

These children are powerful and Beautiful!

Nandhri (Thank You)

Imagine this: Being a Diabetic, I have been trying to take different measures to make sure that my blood sugar would not go low in the middle of the night. I lowered my basal rate for my pump while I would be sleeping, ate a snack before getting in bed, thought about taking my blood sugar before going to sleep but thought it would be wise to save my supplies. I tried to err on the side of caution for the most part, and even set my pump to turn off for 2 hours so that I would not wake up with a low blood sugar.

I remember bits and pieces of the next morning...Like looking at my pump under the covers and being aware that I did not want to wake up my roommates, so I tried to shield the light as much as I could by hiding in the covers. I also remember Sarah talking to me- no idea what about, but I remember seeing her and having her be close to my bed. The next thing I know, I am coming out of a crazy dream surrounded by Indian men and women dressed in Saree's. I kept trying to close my eyes, realizing that what I was feeling is often what I feel like when I come out of a low blood sugar, but hoping with everything inside of me that I could close my eyes and it would not be real. Try as I might though, the world kept coming in clearer and clearer and I was still in the same place. I had an IV in my hand, 3 of the RSO staff were at the foot of my bed, and a man dressed in a blue shirt kept walking in and out from a curtain. I later was introduced to Dr. Kumar, the man in the blue shirt, who happened to be the doctor at Rising Star and the Leprosy colonies. I could not talk for a long time, and Reagan, a staff member with RSO, tried to inform me of what had happened.

She explained that my roommates had been concerned for me because I kept making really strange noises, at first they thought it was a bad dream and they were treating it as that. But after a few hours of it not stopping, they came to my bed again and saw that my pump had come out in the middle of the night. They immediately got a staff member involved who called Dr.Kumar and after hearing that I was Diabetic and not being responsive he got on his motor bike and made it from his village to RS in half the time.In the meantime Reagan had mixed some sugar water together and was trying to help me drink it. She smiled explaining to me that half went in my mouth and the other half either drooled out of my mouth or went on the person who was trying to help me drink. Dr. Kumar wanted to have my blood sugar checked and my kit was in my backpack - which was the ONLY bag that had not been searched. It showed that I was 14, and within 2 minutes of finding that out, I had already been carried to the Jeep and my medical bag had been grabbed. Reagen and Jenni, along with Steele, the Managing Director at Rising Star loaded in the Jeep with Dr. Kumar. I was told that Dr. Kumar checked my pulse every few minutes- and my pulse was very hard for him to find which made him even more concerned. The drive normally takes 45 minutes to get to the Changalputt Hospital,  but our amazing driver, T.J. made it in about 25 minutes.  I was immediately given an IV, blood was drawn, and within 45 minutes of arriving I was starting to be able to focus and acknowledge that I understood where I was at.

This is where my memory gets fuzzy, but I was at least awake and aware that I knew people and that the hospital was not where I had fallen asleep. The IV was huge and very painful, blood was drawn 3 times, and I was given 4 bags of fluids. With each change of the fluid in my IV, I would anticipate the movement of the IV from the nurse and found myself close to tears with every fluid change. The sting and the movement of my vein was close to unbearable. After my blood sugar was in a normal range, Dr. Kumar explained that my electrolytes were too low to leave the ER and I had to be admitted for a closer watch and for more fluids. At that point they thought that I would need to stay overnight. (Side note.. the ER visit upto this point was priced at 400 rupees which equals, $8 U.S. dollars)

Keep in mind, this hospital is in a very small village about an hour from Chennai- it was a friend of Dr. Kumar's who owned the hospital though, and he was a person that if Dr. Kumar trusted- then everyone felt at ease.  The hospital had an open airway between the halls, and when I was wheeled up to the 4th floor, I was taken to a ramp on the outside of the building that weaved in and out of the floors as we twisted up. Also, while my room was getting ready- Jenni, Steele, and Reagan had gone on a picture adventure and came back with pictures of monkeys along the sidewalls of the hospital, along with squatter toilets near the steet that Regan and Jenni had an intersting time explaining to the man who was in charge of them- that they were better than American toilets and that was why she was taking pictures.

Throughout the day, I had about 4 doctors come to my room asking very intently and concerned as to why I did not wake up to eat breakfast. The first 2 doctors I attempted to explain that I was unconscious and could not wake up to eat. But by the 3rd and 4th I started just complying and saying that I would do it next time and that I did not mean to skip breakfast.

At one point, I was talking.. well more so listening to Dr. Kumar talk about medical school in India, and about places he had worked since finishing school. But when my blood sugar goes low, I will often see double and triple of some objects or people. So I was trying my best to listen to Dr. Kumar talk, when suddenly his head split into 3 different heads! I started staring at the ceiling and apologized to him about not looking because at that point, I could not handle the movement or the 3 heads. By 5:30 pm I was released from the hospital- having been showered in all types of candied treats, strawberry milk, and banana's provided by Steele, Jenni, and Reagan along with an Indian nightie, and a day full of stories about their fun life adventures.

When I returned back to RSO, dinner had just started, and as I was walking to the rooftop- children were trying to huddle around me asking if I felt better and asking "why [had I] gone to hospital." We ate dinner with the other volunteers, and I took it slow for the evening.  When I went to my families room after dinner, all of the kids were lined against the wall. My house mother, Gandhi Marie, saw me, immediately, got stern with the children and talked to them in Tamal for a while. After she had finished, she looked back at me and translated what she had told the children. Her directions were that I was not allowed to be bothered, to move or rough house. I was only allowed to sit down and read stories and the children needed to pick out books to read. The children were amazing! They did just that. They sat quietly while I read and would constantly feel my hand where my monster IV had been placed, and asked if I felt better. They also had made me a poster that McCall had drawn on and the other volunteers had gathered the kids to have them sign it.

Even though it was a rough day, coming back to RSO felt so great, and being able to hear from everyone else their stories of how the rough start to the morning had impacted them (or made their low part of the day...we share high/lows at dinner..I happened to be nearly every ones low). It also helps, since I do not remember anything after going to bed at RSO and then waking up in an open airway hospital. We adjusted my insulin again- and I have promised as much as I am able within my ability to not let it happen again.   

I am extremely grateful though to everyone who was part of that day, and also to Reagan, Jenni, Steele, Dr. Kumar and Dani (who kept everyone at RSO closely informed of what was happening during the hospital adventure). I am etremely grateful for the efficiancy, concern, and the many stories that I have been told about and throughout that day.

A day told in Pictures

This is on top of the roof where we eat our dinner to watch the sunset. We also eat dinner on Banana leaves because people from India believe it to be more sanitary. We also have the privilege of having an option of the native Indian food (which is amazing!) as well as a fruit salad and/or cucumber/tomato salad. Dinner is so relaxing and really makes you feel like you are connected to something much bigger.

We get the Indian version of a siesta everyday from 2-4 and it is our downtime where we can relax, journal, hang out with friends, or anything that we choose to do with our 2 hour break. I hope when we get back to America that I can continue to adopt this down time, I feel like it will be hard to go back to the high expectation that you are worth how hard you work and how many hours you put into a job. I have never been an advocate of the "Rat Race" that many people try to achieve while living in the states. The mentality of "more, more, more" and still not being satisfied. After being in this country for 2 months though, it will take me a while to adjust back to the American culture. During one of our down times, the girls were all hanging out in the courtyard (except for Sarah who fell asleep!) But there is a hole in the middle of the courtyard, and Danni, who learned how to play the Ukulele in Hawaii, whipped out her Ukulele and started singing sings in the middle of the courtyard! We had such a fun time and ended up turning it into a photo session for the afternoon.        

The Children here are SO impressively sweet! They are the children of people who are afflicted with Leprosy, children who in the eyes of India should never receive an education or health care. The children are so very respectful of their teacher and of their house mothers.  They immediately love you upon meeting you, and they surround their lives with laughter and smiling faces. The children have prayer before their dinner, and all gather to listen to one of the house mothers talk. It is spoken in Tamal, which is the language of India and has 216 letters- all beautifully scripted and images of circles and swirls. All that I can make out of their letters is swirls and circles, but it is beautiful to see. The children love to play games, and pose for pictures, and they all LOVE dance. At night when I am with the boys in my family, they will do different dance moves and challenge me to reenact them. I showed them a few yoga moves, and they immediately started their own forms of stretches and imitation what I led with. I know that a volunteer last summer taught a yoga class to the kids, and they had loved learning it and quickly wanted to show off everything that they knew.