Session 4 day 1: Adventures in Construction

Today is the first full day of session 4. The new team has arrived and as small as our last group (the tight knit group of 7) was, this has been an interesting change of pace. We welcomed in 16 new girl volunteers, 2 guys, and a family of 4. It is fun to be able to watch them form their perspectives of India and to see how they view their vast difference of the India culture to that of the quick pace in America. I think it is an honorable thing to be able to watch a person's view of life suddenly change and take into account how different lifestyles are lived and yet still accepted.

I am a person who does not like sudden drastic changes, yet at the exact same time, after the change has occurred, I am often thankful for where the experience takes me. I was asked to become a coordinator for this session, and I happily accepted the offer. With that being said, I am now the "Coordinator of Construction" and will be able to take teams out throughout the week to different colonies and to help build a community center at one colony, and perhaps bathroom's at another. Jennie at first was going to go with me and help on my first day as a coordinator (the person in charge) but she ended up getting sick this morning and I went out as the leader of a team solo. I had anticipated that I might have started off by myself and I honestly did not have any worries or concerns with how the first day started.

Each volunteer groups are split into different teams, 1. Medical, 2. Tutoring, & 3. Construction. The team members will stay the same throughout the session, but their jobs will vary from day to day. So today I had team Shakti, which is Tamil for Power. And power they had! It was so amazing to work with the group and to get to know them, all the while throwing bricks from a 6.5 ft. stack and moving it to where the builders could finish cementing the bricks and build them into an outer wall for the community center. We took fun action shots (the workers kept insisting that we throw the bricks to save time) and even though we were hesitant to throw at first- we developed an awesome system that got the job done while also being fun amusement for the Indian's.

We also had a man approach us while we were working at the colony, and I knew by the way that he dressed and the manor that he held himself that he was a visitor to the colony. I approached him, with the Tamil greeting of "Vanakum" with my fingers touching one another in the shape of a house directly below my chin. This is the manor that you greet someone with much respect and an encouragement of welcome. He quickly started to spout out English words that he knew and pointed to the sun exclaiming " Tamil Tamil Tamil Sun hot Tamil Tamil Tamil" **Tamil are words in their language that I have no clue what they mean)** I called a water break after listening to him talk for a few minutes, attempting to understand his explanation that the sun was hot and the shade was better and it was a good time for rest. As we walked to the car to get our water bottles, a group of about 19 men and women dressed in very crisp red Saree's and mens tunics walked off the streets and towards this new man (who had explained he was a d river of a VW whitebug that he kept pointing to). A man dressed in red approached us who spoke English farely well and explained to me that they were from a Tamil Temple 65- Km away. They came to the colony to help and to bring blankets and pillows to those affected with leprosy.

The red dressed temple people beamed with excitement and wanted to express that they had helped and that they were people with good intentions. This act was huge for them. Bigger than I think anyone can imagine coming from this culture. The Hindu caste system is the one that declares those affected with  leprosy as being untouchables. But to have one temple working to make a difference for those lives is amazing.

The world changes everyday. People change everyday. Life brings new perspectives and new opportunities everyday to make a person's life different.

The constant thought here at Rising Star and in India is:

Did I do enough to make the change that needs to be seen by others that can cause a ripple big enough for the world to change.

Everyday, we are reminded with an enthusiastic "YES." We touch those who are untouchables, we work for and under the direction of a community in need, and we teach as well as love children who were raised as beggar's, never expected to advance in life.