The Moot Colony

We took a trip out to a leprosy colony last Thursday with Doctor Kumar as he made his biweekly visit. They were waiting for us with smiles on their faces. Leprosy has not changed the love these people have for life or others. None of them have active leprosy and from what I found out they have to live together in these colonies because people will not let them live in their villages, they are kicked out and shunned as soon as people find out they have leprosy (no wonder they try to hide it). An American family that was with us brought mangos for them to eat as we waited for everyone to have their check up. There are two dancers with us that brought the famous song "Jaiho" from the slum dog millionaire soundtrack, they love it! They danced, well one of them danced. I think his name was Jajraj and he was one of the happiest people I have ever met. His laugh could be recorded and used as a way to create world peace. So kind and true. We all waited patiently while a woman applied red velvet bindi stickers to our foreheads. I was amazed that someone with so little would give us so much! I think she would have given us everything if we only would have asked. One man received a new board with wheels to use as transportation and he was so excited and grateful for it. Another woman invited us into her small home and wanted us to see "her birds". She threw out some of her own precious food to feed her beloved birds. They speak Tamil and I wish I could have been able to speak with them. I would have asked her if she had names for her birds, how long she had been living in this place, what her name was, how did she feel when she found out she had leprosy, how did her family treat her, could I help her be more comfortable? We brought some bandages that had been crochet by someone Bailey knows and they received them as they would have a brand new baby. I feel lucky to have been there to see that. I wish I could have understood what they told us in Tamil.

This one goes out to the one I love

When I first started this story of India travels I think I forgot to mention that it was my anniversary. I have been married for one wonderful year. Today we started singing "more than words" by Eric Clapton and I thought about the one I love, the one who supports me in everything that I do, reads to me so I can fall asleep when Im sick, makes me laugh every single day, the one who I can allways talk to and he never makes me feel silly for the things I do or say. Just before we got married I was watching an old movie with Cary grant that took place during the civil war and, wait it wasnt cary grant it was the guy on Mr Kruegers christmas, anyway this kid had just showed up to ask him if he could marry his daughter and the dad, Mr Krueger man, sat him down and the conversation went something like this,
Krueger "Well I know you love her, but do you like her"
Kid "Excuse me sir?"
Krueger "Do you like her, do you want to be around her"
Kid "Well sure I like her"
It may not sound profound to you but it was to me. I dont only love my husband, I really like him. and I really miss him : )

Dear Katie

Yesterday we had a bit of a scare. One of the girls here with us, Katie, a darling girl from Texas with curly hair, woke up unresponsive. . . or I guess I should say she didnt wake up. She is diabetic and after all of the work we did the day beforeher insulin pump got messed up and her insulin levels were super low (12). Dr. Kumar came to the rescue and they carried her out and put her in a jeepish car and drove to the hospital going a million miles an hour. Doctors in India are really familiar with Diabetes, and from what I was told it is because of all of the rice that they eat. So they took care of her, gave her a blessing, and she is back and better than ever! Here is a pic of me with Katie and Bailey.

God will give

I am very interested in the school that gives these children such amazing opportunities. The children and most of the teachers live here on campus. There is the hostel, where the kids eat and sleep, and the school. Some of the kids are as young as 4 years old. Many of their parents live in the leprosy colonies and some have no parents at all. You would never know how many awful things they have seen in their lives, let alone the way some of them may have been treated by people in their communities, especially if someone in their families had been afflicted by leprosy. What kind of education can a school in the middle of the jungle offer these special ones? I have not seen their test scores or their report cards, but I have listened to them speak, seen them type, and watched them study. They work hard to get a good education. Like most schools, not just here in India but around the world, art is a subject that is neglected. They have a supply closet with paints and precious as gold paper, but no one has access to them. On Tuesday I am going to present on art integration to a group of the teachers. How can you talk about history without art? How can you teach about science or biology without models to look at? Art enhances all other subjects and life itself. I can’t wait to talk to the teachers about how they can use art to help the students understand material and as a way to assess their understanding, and use their creativity. Paper is precious to these children. When I taught my class on drawing they sat and waited for me to tell them more, and very diligently copied what was doing on the board. After the class the house mother, hER son, Karl Marx, was in my class,thanked me for coming to their school and teaching art. Then we talked about children and she asked me how many I have and I told her that didn’t have any yet, and then I joked about wanting twins and she said, “Just pray, God will give it to you.” Right on! That is so true. I wonder about all of the millions of prayers God answered to allow these children an opportunity to have a better life. Last night I was hanging out by the sinks in the bathroom (I was a bit sick) on the girls side of the living quarters and got to see the girls brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. They were all brushing and staring at me with smiles on their faces wondering what I was doing in there. I told them I wasn’t feeling good and made a puking gesture and motioned to my belly. Next thing I know all of the girls are filling their mouths with water and pretending to throw up in the sink and laughing their heads off. This was all followed by a water fight. It’s like a slumber party with 20 girls every night in our room. I love it!

Lets go fly a kite

What do children all over the world love to do? From Tamil Nadu to Utah County making and flying kites makes it to the top of the list every time. Two times a week each of the volunteers gets to teach a class (a talent class). Today there were classes where students made rice crispy treats; flower clips friendship bracelets and a course on how to make French toast. They were all a success. I taught the kite class. The boys really wanted to learn how to draw people, flowers, and animals, but they flew their kites proudly and I promised to teach them a drawing course on Thursday. I was the school photographer today! I took class pictures and a portrait of each darling student.

Dani, Bailey and I

Its so nice to see old friends in such far places.

"Chase me Auntee!"

Imagine being greeted by what seems like hundreds of smiling faces, reaching hands, and trusting hearts. That’s how I felt today. We made it to the Rising Star Outreach campus today which includes school, room and board for children who have not had it easy in life. Some of them have parents who had been afflicted by leprosy and therefore are not accepted by some people here in India, some don’t have parents at all. I can’t believe how resilient they are! The journey to the center was a long, bumpy, cow infested, crowded road (minus the trip to Fabindia, mom I got you a beautiful Indian top), but it felt so good to get out of the city. Finally we are seeing the real beauty of India. Mango and coconut trees separate the earth from the sky. It feels like you are going to see a parade of Elephants marching by any second with Mogli on their back. But unfortunately, no elephants, not yet. I met up with my good friend Dani who has been here for a few months. She is one of those people you wish everyone was like. Always looking out for other people, and making people she meets feel so special and important. She helped me get where I am today. After we got here we ate a delicious Indian meal then we each chose a modest Indian outfit to wear around, and Dani put some sweet smelling strands jasmine in our hair. It is so humid and hot that our clothes are drenched within minutes. With the sweating profusely problem combined with using squatter toilets I don’t see a way to not get in better shape during my stay. We reached the school just as the children made their way to the freedom of play time. This involved answering their question of “what is your name”, telling them my husband’s name, pushing swings, chasing them, and creating mutiny with my “strawberry water”. I should have learned more from the movie The Gods must be crazy! I introduced the crystal light flavored water aka the “coke bottle” and the next thing I knew chaos ensued. “One more sip, one more, just one more!” Ten open mouths waiting for me to fill them with my Blender Bottle filled with crystal light. You can imagine the problem this began with only one Blender Bottle and many more mouths. I did what I could and I won’t do it again. We ate dinner on the roof and talked about our highs and lows while lighting that looked like Sanskrit writing flashed across a cloudy gray sky. After dinner Bailey and I headed to our “family” of children in a room with bright blue walls. We help them with homework and read to them before they go to bed . . . . Theoretically. They were wound up! Some of them showed us pictures of their families, some wanted us to read, some wanted us to sing. The, “If you give a mouse a cookie” books were really making sense today. I am teaching an art class to the children tomorrow, I can’t wait to see what they can create!