Put Me in the Zoo

This Saturday we got to take all the children of New Hope on a field trip to the zoo! George rented a bus and were crammed in pretty tight, but the kids didn't seem to mind. It has been a long time since the kids have had an outing, George says they try to go to on an educational trip at least once every year, but haven't been able to in the past couple of years. You can imagine they were all pretty excited when we headed off to Bannerughatta National Park!

My group (from left to right)

back: Angel Mercy, Varun, Sudha, Ganga

front: Ajay, Nishmitha, Sneha

The kids had a blast! It was a perfect time to take a trip because we had extra chaperones. Each adult had 7-10 children in their group so it was not too overwhelming to keep track of everyone. After we saw all the exhibits we gathered together for a big lunch fellowship. Amma and Ramiah had cooked puliyogare with Indian pickle early in the morning and we had brought the huge pot along with a few jugs of water to feed everyone. After lunch, the kids got to play games and use the zoo playground until we had to leave.

Charlie, Ramaih, and the older boys bringing lunch from the bus

The group gathered to give thanks for the day

We only had one casualty, (of course it was one of my girls) who was pushed on the playground by another group of kids and tore a huge chunk out of the ball of her foot. (At the last second I had remembered to bring my first aid kit!) It looks painful, but she is really milking it for all it's worth! She is home from school today as she can't walk all the way there. I'll throw her a bone, everyone needs attention sometimes.

Angel and her wounded foot

The ride home was long and HOT, as I shared a seat with five other children including a hot and sweaty napping 5 year old on my lap. It was loud as the children played singing games and kept the joy from the day shining brightly. It was a little crazy with a busload of rowdy kids, but it was worth every second to see their smiling faces so happy.

Nina and some children napping on the bus

An Eyesore in Mysore

After a long week of hard work, George put us on a bus headed for Mysore bright and early Friday morning for a nice exploratory day trip. Situated at the base of the Chamundi Hills, Mysore is the second largest city in Karnataka, and was once the state's capital. It is known for its silk and sandlewood, as well as gardens and majestic palaces, grandiose and elaborately detailed. We stopped at several places along the way to visit beautiful temples and churches, shops, and enjoy speedy meals that were a welcome change from our various spicy rices back at the home.

It was the first time I have ventured out of Bangalore since I arrived and it was nice to get a change of scenery. We passed flooded rice paddies, palm groves, and markets along the way, really getting a feel for the country side. We observed Indian culture, admired their artwork and breathtaking architecture, and drooled over the street food that we were forbidden to eat. As we walked through the dimly lit shrines and the smooth stone of the temple floors cooled our bare feet, I really started to feel like I was in India.

The Palace of Mysore

Since I have been here, I have really started to feel what it is like to be a minority. Call me naive, but I honestly don't usually think about the color of my skin; I am blessed to have grown in a melting pot and lived in a land of diversity where there are people of all colors, shapes, and sizes. I am only reminded of my pigment when I see people staring hard at me with furrowed brows or pointing cameras at me like I am a circus side show. Or better yet, when I finally do see another white person and for a split second think, 'who is that goon?' before realizing I must look like that to everyone else. It is one thing when people come up smiling and ask me my name or where I am from, but it is another for them to blatantly stare inches away from me or point a camera in my face as I walk by - not because of what I am doing or who I am, but because of my milky skin and golden hair. It doesn't make me angry, just very aware. Aware that it is different here, that the diversity is slim and people are inquisitive because of that lack. In some situations it is more endearing, like when the children softly stroke my skin and poke my freckles with curiosity, or when parents at the park want to know if I will pose in their family portrait. (Benny says next time someone asks I should charge a fee.)

Mary and Nina politely complying to the 'white girl' photo shoot (one of many)

In the end, it's all just a matter of adaptation. Humans are naturally curious creatures and when something stands out, it requires a second look and sometimes an explanation. I am happy to be an experience for these people, because after all, they are surely one for me.

All in all, it was a really great outing, a break from the daily grind to enjoy some time with friends, seeing the beauty of the land and and the culture of the people.

Definitely the highlight of my day!

Wild monkeys outside the Sri Chamundeshwari Temple on Chamundi Hill, Mysore, Karnataka

A Bump in the Night

Our poor little Nakshathra fell off her bed in the middle of the night and split her chin open on a broken piece of tile that was laying on the floor. (Nithin often brings in rocks and broken tiles from outside to play with.) She was taken to the hospital this morning but arrived home without a suture. (I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure she should have had at least a few stitches.) The saddest part about it all was that she didn't tell anyone. It happened in the middle of the night and she didn't make noise, wake us up, or even wake up any of the other children sleeping nearby. We wouldn't have even known that it happened if I hadn't noticed blood splattered on her feet when I sat down to study with her this morning. There was blood on the bed and evidence that she had tried to clean it up without anyone knowing about it. It breaks my heart that these children feel as if they don't deserve to be taken care of. Just the other day, Maria refused to let us know that she was feeling ill, even when we asked, she insisted she was fine, until we heard her vomiting in the bathroom. Later today, Bendang, one of the other caretakers, told me that last year Nakshathra and her brother Ganesh (who were street children after losing both their parents and later their grandmother) were taken from their healthy home here by their older sister and her husband for 'a few days.' A year later, after living on the streets, she returned them, thin and sickly, to New Hope. I can only imagine the things that sweet, quiet, caring Nakshathra has had to endure in her short life. What other nine year old do you know that would take a fall in the night and not call for someone? I hope that we can instill some confidence and sense of self-worth in her, because she is a wonderful and happy little girl. If only she could act like it.

(My apologies for the graphic photo, but it does look like she needs stitches right?)

A Happy Nakshathra!

Meet the Children!

Nina has put her computer skills to good use and re-created our Picasa web album with updated photos and information about the children of New Hope Children's Home. (I'd like to say I helped, but I am not the most tech-savvy one in the bunch.) Thanks Nina!

So without further ado, please allow me to introduce you to the children! (This has also been linked as 'Children and Their Stories' under the 'My Trip to India' tab.)

Compliment of the Day

'Sister, you are looking very dull today.'

-Charlie

Go Fish

Today I learned that Go Fish can really lose its simplicity when you are teaching it to someone who doesn't speak the same language. Also, it makes me realize that I'm not sure I know all the rules..

The Other Akka..

I am so inspired and wholeheartedly agree with Nina in this eloquently written reflection of our lives right now. Keep it coming Sister!

Cake and Crafts

Yesterday was a long and fun-filled day! Nina and I crawled out of bed shortly after 3am to go with George's nephew Benny to pick up our newest volunteer, Mary. What a blessing Mary is! She is a teacher and works with my friend Tessa in Italy, at the American School of Milan. When Tessa told her what I was planning to do here, Mary decided to get involved. I was able to meet her for the first time on my way to India when I stopped in Italy to visit Tessa. I cannot say enough good things about Mary! She is a sweet, kind, spiritual woman who's smile never leaves her face. She was able to get her visa just in time to come here for her week of February vacation. And she came bearing gifts! She brought educational games and teaching aids, craft supplies, books, and toys! These kids have nothing more than a couple of old cricket balls and a soccer ball to kick around, so you can imagine how excited they were. Sometimes it is hard to fill the space in their weekend days when there are little resources; one can enjoy throwing rocks in the dirt for only so long. The children took to her immediately! They could sense her genuine love from the moment they met her and have been stuck to her like glue since her arrival. We finished off the night by making some beautiful macaroni jewelry creations that even the boys loved!

We had some sponsoring visitors during our lunch hour that were kind enough to provide lunch and even cake! (They don't generally have oven's here in India, so their sweet treats are a little lacking.) We got to eat with them and introduce Mary to Indian style dining, on the floor, eating with your hand, right hand only. It is a lot to take in right away, especially since they heap your plate with food no matter how hard you try to prevent it, and I feel for her, having been in her position just a few weeks ago.

Some of the boys enjoying their sponsored lunch

I am looking forward to learning from Mary, as sometimes I don't really know where to begin when working with the children on their English studies. It is definitely harder than I imagined, since all of the children are at different levels. Some are very good at reading and speaking, but the comprehension isn't quite there, so their understanding doesn't match their reading level.

Mary dying pasta to make jewelry with the girls

We only have Mary for one week, but she has brought with her so many tools for growth that her presence will be be with us for a long time!

Angel showing off some of her beautiful creations

A Chance Meeting

Sometimes life presents you with a person so appropriate for your setting, here and now, that it really just blows you away. Someone with as may similarities as differences, that you can teach as well as learn from, creating an effortless friendship that seems fluid and comfortable from the get-go. It's like God decided a long time ago that further on down the road, you two would come together in a somewhat obscure situation, so he began planting your little idiosyncrasies to match one another's in the years building up to this. We may not have known we'd be here a year or even six months ago, but He did. Right now, Nina is that person for me. Though we grew up only six states apart, it took half the length of the world for us to meet. We were born seven years apart, but the difference doesn't seem great. When we each found out the other would be here, we were relieved that we wouldn't be completely alone in our endeavor, but of course held our reservations about living with someone we've never met for an extended period of time. Through emails we seemed like two totally different people. (She used phrases like 'your efforts would have been futile,' and blogged about politics, and thought I was a hillbilly because I grew up on a farm) I've dealt with my fair share of incompatible roommates, and though I hoped for the best, I prepared for the worst. Upon meeting we realized we were both a little more human than our preconceived notions and had a lot more in common than we could have imagined. From our deep love (and swooning) of little-known artists, to encountering the exact same sports injury (on the same knee!) to our taste in music, and obviously the fact that we had both been led to this exact place....to come here, to these children, at this exact time, in this exact house, in this exact little neighborhood, all the way across the world. We could have gone so many other places.

Nina and I have realized that we were brought here, to do this together, for a reason. We will change our lives together, and hopefully, together change the lives of those around us.

Click to view Nina's blog, An Abundance of Samosas.

(Also linked as 'The Other Akka' in the right-hand margin under 'My Trip to India.')

Wickets and Whiffing

It's been an eventful few days! Between dealing with one of our girls getting sick and vomiting all over the bathroom, to learning the rules of cricket, we have kept busy! There was no school today to recognize a Muslim holiday so we had the joy of sleeping in until 6:30 this morning and spending the whole day with a house full of kids! There are around 60 children living here now, and that's a lot of foreign names to remember. We are working on photographing each child and getting a little bio up so that all of you can share the joy of getting to know them too. Here's a few photos of the goings on in the past 48 hours, enjoy!

Giving Nithin his bath

Nina discussing the game plan with Charlie and the boys

Charlie teaching me proper cricket form

Angel and Maria sleeping soundly

(How I feel right now)

Exploring Cultural Difference

When people ask me 'So, how is it??' I am almost at a loss for words. All I can seem to say is DIFFERENT. In every single way, my life here is different. From the way I make my coffee in the morning, to what I see when I walk down the street, to how I interact with others, bathe, or eat my dinner, it is all so different. I am doing my best to embrace the extreme cultural differences and politely adapt myself as gracefully as I can. I remove my shoes at the door of someone's home, eat with my hand (not so gracefully, though I'm getting better), boil my bath water on a large gas stove before splashing myself out of a bucket, and try not to gawk in disbelief as I watch people drop their trash on the street with no regard or second thought. I have seen an entire family on a single motor bike - father, then daughter, then mother holding an infant - learned the Indian equivalent to blowing a kiss, potty-trained on a pit toilet and in a eucalyptus orchard, and tested my patience with trying to understand the infamous Indian head bobble (is it yes or no??) All in all, I am welcoming this challenge of adaptation, and think I am doing pretty well considering, as my mother put it, it is basically like I have been picked up and dropped on the moon. This has quickly become my life and I have begun to settle into a somewhat comfortable routine. Yes it is different, but where would we be if life never changed?

When you are through changing, you are through. ~Bruce Barton

Week #1

This has definitely been a week to remember. The first few days were rough, I'd say even painful, as I struggled to adjust to living across the globe. I was suddenly submerged and floundering in a culture completely foreign to me, in a time zone completely opposite from home, missing my family like crazy. Finally after what felt like the longest four days of my life, I have somewhat regained my bearings and am adjusting to Indian life. Thank God for Nina, the other volunteer here, for sympathizing with my discomfort and doing everything she could to make sure I was settling in. George and his wife Jyothi have welcomed me with open arms as a part of their family and have done everything possible to make me feel at home. Still, the first few days were anxiety ridden, I was already homesick and questioning my

decision to come here at all. Here I am, surrounded by children who have practically nothing, and I was the one feeling like an orphan. After getting a chance to talk to my family, I was reminded of the reasons why I am here, as well as the army of supporters I have surrounding me, and have since felt rejuvenated and ready for action.

The children here are incredible. They welcomed me early in the morning as I first arrived, and had a song and dance program for me the first night I was here. They call me Auntie for the most part, but sometimes Akka (big sister) or HannahAkka. They are responsible, respectful, and positive, though they are orphaned, abandoned, or come from families who cannot care for them. Here they learn to be self-reliant and to take care of one another. They do their own dishes, wash their own clothes, and wake up hours before school every day to sing praises to God. They have a genuine joy in their hearts and are incredibly inspirational individuals. They know that they are loved, and they want to love in return.

On Thursday, Jyothi took us to the slums of Chettappa Garden in Jeevanahali to visit the widows. These were slums like I have never seen before. Cows and stray dogs sifted through the mountains of trash surrounding the shacks and shanties that served as shelter for many of these people. This is where George grew up and where some of his family still resides, working to help provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. The widows who can work usually have domestic jobs in homes, and often have to come from far away to make it to the ministry. There they can find emotional and spiritual support as well as receive a modest stipend and a snack. They come to share their problems, receive counseling, and return home with a small Rs. 300 in their pocket, but with pride in their hearts, knowing they have the ability to care for themselves for another month. I was honored to be a part of such a humbling ministry, to share words of encouragement, and distribute their allowances.

I knew when I came here that I would return home a changed person. I knew that I would grow in ways that I could not foresee through helping those who need love, though I was unprepared to be faced with so many of my own shortcomings in just the first few days. I am here to teach these children whatever I can, but I know in the end they will teach me more than I could ever imagine.

My New Home

Arrival in Bangalore

My apologies for not updating sooner, it has been a whirlwind week! After a canceled flight in the U.S., I spent a few fast and furious days visiting my friend in Italy. It was a nice transition both leaving my family and adjusting to the time difference in stages. I arrived safely in Bangalore first thing yesterday morning and was welcomed at the children's home with everyone standing outside in the dark to sing 'Happy Welcome to You!' It is all so overwhelming right now, and I am feeling quite anxious as I attempt to adjust. My body and mind refused to sleep last night, partially from the time change, partially from anxiety. Everything is so different here! It is lovely, but what a culture shock. I have been given a few days to adjust and recoup before beginning work caring for the children. I have not been able to set up my own computer to the internet, but as soon as I do, photos and videos will follow. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!