Flipping for Cricket

Its been really nice having my mom here the past few days. Not only have I really missed her, but she has helped me to see things through fresh eyes again. Sometimes it's easy to become jaded to your surroundings when you've been submerged in them for a while. It's also really fun to be able to show her what my life is like these days. I could go home and tell everyone all about it, but it's not the same as her being able to see first hand what things are like here. Right off the bat she was able to witness me lugging buckets of water from next door (we had no running water again), hold a vomiting child over the pit (true, it was my fault for bribing her with candy before breakfast) and show off my polished Indian eating skills. She nearly had a heart attack while Nina and I calmly strode through swift and chaotic traffic on the way to town, had her first 'I want to cry' moment when she saw a mouse struggling for its life on a piece of sticky paper at the grocery store, and prayed fervently while riding in the backseat as Benny maneuvered his way through several lanes of oncoming vehicles (including a man in a hand-peddle wheelchair merging influx.)

I have to say she has really impressed me. I would have thought she'd be a little more squeamish or hesitant when thrown into such severe culture shock, but she has taken it in stride pretty well. This morning we were invited to George's church where she gave a little testimony and spoke to the congregation, and tomorrow we will head to Mantralayam (in Andhra Pradesh) to the children's home that George started there. This afternoon we joined the boys upstairs to give them the cricket equipment that was gifted from the wonderful girls at Flip Flop Gymnastics (Deep River, CT). They were thrilled to say the least! They were so excited to get all the new official gear and the cheers grew louder with every bat I pulled out of the box. They were very grateful and said a prayer, thankful for the girls and their kind hearts, then flew outside to play. Thank you Flip Flop girls!

(Above photo: Dovey with the boys and their new gear)

Showing the boys their cricket sponsors back in the US

!ndia takes the Cup!

It was pretty exciting here last night as India pulled in the last few runs to snag the Cricket World Cup. At about 11pm the boys room erupted with celebration and pride for their country. When we stepped onto the roof to survey the surrounding action, there were fireworks going off in every direction, a city celebrating victory. It was pretty awesome to be here now and witness the anticipation and excitement!

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!NDIA GO!!

Lolli Pops and All Night Romps

It was as if the admission of guilt of frustration for the kids was all I needed to gain some patience and perspective. Yesterday was a great day spent bonding with our 'new' kids, playing outside, reading, joking, and getting to know each other. I scored 119 (I'm pretty sure illegal) runs playing cricket with the boys (hey Dad, The Slugger is back!) and Nina and I have earned quite the rapport with the kids for our skills and voices during the dramatic telling of the Three Little Pigs (she as the Pigs and I as the Big Bad Wolf.)

We ended the night by giving out Tootsie Pops in celebration of Nina's birthday, which would come to back to bite us later on. After a delicious birthday celebration at George's we returned at almost midnight to find the lights on and the kids crawling about like animals. After a stern warning to 'Get in bed, now' the lights finally went out and things quieted down. But at 1am, a wired Thomas stumbled into our room asking about bracelet making, and another hour later I awoke to arguing, the lights on once again and everybody awake. By this time I had adopted my middle-of-the-night-evil-mother-voice and warned them that if they didn't get in bed RIGHT NOW, they would be sorry. Somewhat of an empty threat seeing as, what do you take away from children who have nothing? (Which leads me to understand more why physical reprimand is the norm around here.) That was the trouble in the beginning, but now that crafts and games have been sent from the USA, we have a bit more leverage. So this morning the balls, crayons, puzzles, and games are jailed in our room in hopes to make a statement and ensure a good night sleep tonight.

Lesson learned: Don't give candy to a bunch of rowdy kids before bed unless you too want to be up all night.