Lad and the cat

I have been gone for a week now! Thinking back, I have done so much. Not to mention that I am just chillin in India. Its great here and I am so thankful for everyone that helped me have this opportunity. Its funny now how pulling into Rising Star feels like home.


Check me and my sweet pants out! I was pretty excited to find them in the closet this morning. I could get use to wearing these clothes.


I was on tutor duty today. We were told that the ability for a child to read English increases their chance at getting a job by 500x. We read with 10 different students for 20 minutes each. It surprised me how under reading level some of the students are. Its really hard to find good teachers here. Many of them can barely read English themselves. I enjoyed reading with them, but got frustrated sometimes. I just had to hide it and keep encouraging them. Most of them are too cute to even think of getting upset with anyway.

We each had to teach a talent class tonight to about ten students. Did I teach first aid? No. Did i teach diving? No. I painted finger nails and made beaded bracelets. haha it was a hit! Some of the colors looked so cool next to their dark skin.

Tonight- Bollywood movie party!!

Sunday

We went to church in Chennai and it was great!

Mamallapuram

After working hard (for two days) we headed out on vacation! Our bus took us to Mamallapuram. It is a small town around two hours south of Chennai. There we saw the ruins and a giant rock that no one has been able to move- including a team of oxen. It reminded me of the boulder in Lake Powell. Then we did some shopping and hit the beach! I was having withdrawls from the pool, so this hit the spot. The ocean was so warm and full of trash. We called it the India Ocean (it only seemed fitting), but I looked it up. It was technically the Bay of Bengal.


My favorite part was probably the bus ride. I am so happy just watching people out of our bus window as we pass through rural and urban cities. It so great to watch other people's way of life. At one point we were stopped for a train, and the streets became so backed up. Then it started raining! They often put three or four people on a motorcycle. I even saw one man carrying two goats on his in the colony. We got some local Indian food close to the school. YUM!


It would have been nice to have Eric or another veteran barterer around to help me get some deals. I am way too easy with the vendors. The majority of the shop owners are from Cashmere and are very nice. The rickshaw ride was not so nice. The driver was being sketchy and I felt like we were going the wrong direction. He told us he was taking us to a bar. We kind of got nervous, but he was just playing and we got there safe. Phew. I just had flashbacks of Kevin, Brandon, Jon Jon and Blue Jay in Mexico.

Moot

What a day!

We started off going to a small leprosy colony called Moot. It only had 4 men and 1 woman while we were there. We didn't do medical work, but instead healed in other ways. We danced to Jai Ho, played Jenga and dominos, and learned the life story of the people. Jraj was hilarous and animated. He taught us Indian dances, became a "supa star" with a girls glasses, pretended to be drunk, and said he was king. One man was missing a leg, another was missing all his fingers. The woman was extremely emancipatd and had a sunked eye along with other deformities. At first it was a little alarming, but by the time we left, they looked whole to me. They were so much fun and very hard working. Two of them schooled me at Jenga even without fingers! I am excited for when they get to heaven and receive perfect bodies. They are going to have amazing stories to tell and such wisdom.

We went to the children's dance program this afternoon. They did some traditional dancing and also some Michael Jackson. The little guys were the cutest! I want to learn their dance moves. At the end the children sang the Rising Star song:
I am free to be all i can be
I love life and I love being me
I can choose to let my light shine
The world is waiting
Whose turn is it? Mine!
I am a rising star (x2)
Spread the word near and far
I will live like the sun shining light
I will shine in the darkest of night
I will laugh and learn and through any strife
Live a long, happy, healthy, and loving life.

It is a perfect thing to be teaching these children. Hearing them sing it really loud was a neat experience.

I helped Karen and Cheryl (the nursing instructors), Dr. Kumar, and a doctor from St. Lazarus give immunizations to the young kids. It took a full team to hold them still and give the shots. The girls all screamed and the boys made faces and walked out with a grin. You know its a good thing I'll be a nurse when I was so excited to give shots.

Sometimes its hard to see all the saddness with leprosy, but tonight I learned something that made me feel a little better. Rising Star made a deal with some companies like Dell that outsource workers from India. If the children from rising star do well in school and graduate, they have a really good chance of getting hired. Working for those companies makes around $1200 per month. Doctors here earn $600. So, in a round about way being born as a child of a leprosy-afflicted parent could be a blessing.

We saw monkeys today! On the side of the road, eating bananas. Tomorrow we are off on a trip!

heavy lifting

We did some manual labor in the colony this morning. The goal for today was to move a huge pile of concrete bricks from one area to another. We started off doing it by hand- well head. I took note from the locals who effortlessly transported the bricks on top of their head. My head feels kind of flat now. Later in the day, a truck came that we could load up.
Jenny told us that the work that we were doing could be done faster by others, but that was not the point. Although the caste system is illegal now, the feelings and prejudice is still around. As white, Americans we are automatically seen in the highest class. The leprosy-afflicted are seen in the lowest of low class. It is meaningful to the residents to see that people in a higher class would do manual labor for them. These people are wonderful and I feel bad they have to live with an unfair stigma.
RSO set up an art school in the colony. We got to go see some of the leprosy-afflicted while they were painting. They were actually pretty good; I might buy some and bring them home! The neat part is many of them did not have all of their fingers or did not have full vision. Their artwork is a way they can help sustain themselves.

I feel like I have lice. The majority of the young girls have it, so their hair is cut short. The kids just run up and jump all over you. I can just feel the lice jumping from their hair to mine.

PS- tell Carly I met her sponsor. He was so excited to tell me all about her.

TII

TII= This is India, a phrase commonly used by Americans here when something is strange or does not go as planned. It is usually accompanied by a fist to the sky.

We made it to RSO (Rising Start Outreach) this afternoon. After we tried to sleep, we got up and had our last real breakfast and shower. Then we boarded a bus and drove for three hours. It was actually really fun to watch out the window. Its an odd mix of old and new here. A car will be riding next to a cart pulled by animals. Cows are roaming the streets. Women wear their cultural attire and men wear normal clothes or a loincloth. Bikes and motorcycles are all over the place with people honking every five seconds.

This place is almost as hot as Jerusalem. Who knew you could work up a sweat playing badmitton? Luckily we get to wear the cooler (in both senses of the word) Kurtas. After orientation, we got to meet the kids! They are just as cute as I imagined. They all come running up and ask "What is your name? What is your name?" One of the girl's name is also Tricia so we instantly bonded haha.

For dinner we ate of off banana leaves with forks optional. Before bed we do homework or read with our "family." I was assigned with the boys around 8 years old. Tonight we did multiplication and read poems. When it was time for bed, the boys pulled some straw matts off the shelves and put them on the concrete floor and instantly knocked out. Probably 12 little boys slept right on the floor in an area 6ft by 8ft. The boys are smart and loving. Their favorite is to take your camera and snap pictures.

Today was a lot to take in, but its great here. There is so much to learn and understand about the culture. The kids are so adorable. Our group seems like it will be fun. Tomorrow I get to take my first bucket shower and improve my squatter toilet skills.

I'm in India!!

Yes, we made it in one piece all the way to the other side of the planet. We are currently 12.5 hours time difference from SLC…. Something about India having its own time zone. The flights were long. SLC to Chicago (3 hrs), Chicago to Brussels (8 hrs), and Brussels to Chennai (10 hrs). In the last three days I slept probably 8 hours, but I feel pretty good. My clock was pretty off and I went to the gym at 3 am haha. We leave to the school in the morning.

On my last flight, I sat next to a man who was born in India but moved to the US when he was four. He was super nice and gave me some tips for my time in India. They included getting use to poor hygiene and bad smells. Dad, you were right about no one wearing deodarant. There are some strange smells here (most are not good or bad, just very different).

Well, all went smoothly. I met some girls in the airport to travel with. It would have been kind of scary by myself. We even got all of our luggage! Funny enough, two of my nursing instructors are here at Rising Star Outreaching feeling it out for N400 next summer. I wrote during fall and said we should go to India… I guess I was just one year too late.

My luggage is full of things I have never taken while traveling before: malaria medication, just six white “walmart tees”, two huge bags of cereal, work gloves, peanut butter/jelly, bug repellant, and anti-lice shampoo. All of which will come in very handy.


Quick lesson on Leprosy FYI:
Also called Hansen’s disease, it is mildly contagious. It is characteraized by nerve damage, skin disfigurement, and body sores due to the lack of nerves. It affects primarily the poorest people, especially those found in India, South America, and Africa. The disease is not very contagious and requires prolonged, intimate contact for it to spread. Although with proper drug treatment the disease is curable, the stigma associated with it is very detrimental. Those with the disease often deny infection and put off treatment as long as possible to avoid becoming ostracized. They lose their jobs, become alienated by their families, and can be legally confined to a leprosarium.