Day 26:
Classes went well. LifeDance even came
20 minutes early so Shynee and I stretched with them before class
because they all want to be more flexible. They were a bit crazy so
did a relaxation thing with them at the end and it worked! They were
all very quiet. Dinner, small presentation of pictures from the
photographer who is here right now, story time.
Day 27:
Got up and almost fell over because my
calves and ankles so sore! Shaun had warned me about this. I am
jumping up and down so much on a cement floor that I am not used to
dancing on. I spent any downtime rubbing out my legs on a tennis
ball. Had a reluctant 9th standard class. Then was able to
relax and read a book about Indian culture which was really nice.
Don't get to do that very often! The ladies came and helped with 4th
standard. Went with the ladies to present a shawl to Dr. Susan and
all the faculty and staff for their hard work while the “Women to
Women” session was here. The faculty and staff also passed around
treats and flowers to all of the women as well. It was really nice.
Did lots of stretching in LifeDance. Had dinner. Each of the women
stood and told what they had learned from their session. Went to
story time. Hung out with long-term volunteers as well as the younger
volunteers that are here.
Day 28:
Got up at 3:30 am and said goodbye to
some of the ladies as they all left. Sad to say goodbye to the few
that I got to know well. Got to go to medical today. Went to the A.S.
Nagar colony. On the way up we stopped at a nursery. It was
wonderful! At first the kids were very reluctant and just stared at
us. We weren't sure what we were going to do with them for a half an
hour. Then they started to warm up to us after about 15 minutes and
then they were climbing all over us! We danced, they played my drum I
brought, took pictures, played with a ball, and slid down their
slide. It was a blast! Such darling kids that need so much love! It
was a little bit of heaven to forget about everything else except for
these children for a little bit. Sad to leave. Went to colony. I
asked to do washings. I really enjoyed this station. Got to work
directly with the ulcers and the patients were so sweet! It's amazing
how much these people have been through and yet so many can keep
smiles on their faces. When I got home, Shynee and I met with Dr.
Vigi about choreographing a small dance for a secret birthday
celebration for Dr. Susan so I am excited about getting to do this!
Got to take a nap for the first time since I have been here and it
was pretty great :) Supposed to have a LifeDance presidency meeting
but there was miscommunication so just had LifeDance rehearsal like
normal. Went back to basics with teaching technique. It was hard for
me to go back 10-11 years and remember how I was taught the basics of
technique. After dinner, watched “Gravity” with the long-term
volunteers. What a great movie! It feels very empty in the Elephant
House now with all of the women gone. Story time, FaceTime with the
parents and a friend. Had a sleepover with Kaylee tonight :)
Day 29:
Went with the medical team again today.
I asked to do the oiling station today since I haven't done that one
yet. It was the same colony as I went to two weeks ago since they are
on a two week rotation. I think oiling is my favorite. You really get
to know the patients with this station. Shynee and I did inventory of
the Promethean Spark costumes when we got back. Shynee had decided
she wanted to teach a dance class to the faculty and staff so we did
that class today. Went pretty well. We warmed up, taught an easy
dance, and I did some relaxation stuff with them after. Some were
pretty tentative, some gave up, but some did a good job! It was fun!
Not sure if they liked it enough to do it again, but I guess we will
see :) LifeDance went pretty well after. It was Shynee's last day so
they paid attention more. I had all of the LifeDance kids sign a card
for her so we presented that to her. We had a dance jam after for
Shynee's last day. Afterwards, Kaylee, Jamesen, and I tried to teach
Shynee how to ride a bike. She did pretty well for her first try!
Dinner, watched a movie with volunteers, story time.
Day 30:
Went to see a golden Hindu temple
today. Took us about 3 hours to get there. Lesson planning, sleeping,
talking on the way. When we got to the temple, we had to follow what
the natives around us did because none of us knew how this place
worked. It was an adventure and I couldn't help but smile at how much
we looked like tourists other than our skin color :) Left our shoes
and bags in the van and walked down a long path to the temple. It is
completely made of gold and it was beautiful! We threw coins in the
fountain, stayed for a small procession, and looked around. It was
cool! We weren't allowed to take pictures. After, we went to ruins of
another old temple. Went through one of them and they give you water
that you drink and throw over your head, they touch a silver cap to
your head, and then they put a dot of white chalk on your forehead.
It was a really cool cultural experience! Walked around some vendors,
got a bracelet for free. Went and got our shoes back (though I loved
not wearing shoes all afternoon!) Went and saw ruins of an old fort.
Jamesen and Anna had their fortunes told by a man who has a bird who
chooses taro cards. Lots of stares–we were the next attraction to
see after the temple :) That night watched the live-action “The
Jungle Book” with volunteers (Jamesen, Kaylee, Anna, Urvasi, and
Tom) while writing a blog post for work.
Day 31:
Left for church at 7 am. Went over my
primary lesson on the way. Church was good and got to stay for a
baptism of a man in the branch, which was really cool! Shynee asked
us all kinds of church questions on the way home and enjoyed
answering and explaining them. At 4, had a LifeDance presidency
meeting that went pretty well. Right after, Shynee and I taught a
dance class to the house mothers. They are the women who are with the
children all day, everyday and are pretty darn incredible! Almost all
of them are my age. The few hours they are not in charge of the
students (when the students are at school) they go with the medical
team to the colonies. So we wanted them to have a break. We did the
same class and afterwards, they just kept wanting to dance so we did!
Many of them are great dancers! Watched “Aladdin” with Jamesen
and Anna while I finished up lesson plans.
Day 32:
Got up at 3:30 am and said goodbye to
Shynee. I will miss her! I did a shape lesson this week. It really is
much easier to have another person to help in a dance class. But
classes went okay. Went to part of UKG playtime. Played volleyball
with 10th standard for a little bit. Had LifeDance.
Talkative but okay. Ran around the track for a bit. A new volunteer
came today. Her name is Marissa. She is the only short-term volunteer
here. She is 17 and very nice! Got to FaceTime with a friend and went
to part of story time. A kitten ran into the Mango Room (common room
of the Elephant House) so the volunteers and I tried to coax it out
for a while but didn't work so had to scare it out.
Day 33:
A great conversation with Celsea after
a run. Taught 6th standard and had a meeting with Dr.
Susan after with exciting possibilities for some of the LifeDance
students in the future :) Had a lot of dance classes today. Some
better than others. Story time that night. Went to the girls' hostel
and started reading a book to them.
Day 34:
Did some organizing and cleaning in the
morning. Classes went well today. Ate lunch with the kids and went to
UKG playtime with Jamesen and Kaylee. So fun to play with the little
ones! It is just so hot outside!! Skyped with Shaun Parry for a
little bit to discuss concerns. LifeDance was a bit crazy. Wish they
would respect me more. I try all kinds of methods and nothing works
great. Sat on the roof of the Elephant House after and just pondered
on ideas on how to help them while I watched the sunset. Did a yoga
session with Anna, Marissa, and Jamesen. After dinner I worked on
finding more English music for my classes. I was told I am not
allowed to use Tamil music anymore since I don't know what it is
saying. I'm not too happy about that but that's the way it goes.
Day 35:
Went to a big colony with the medical
team today. There is over 300 people and over 100 with leprosy. Had
about 25 people come through our line. The people here are so sweet!
Some of the sweetest I have ever met! Especially the older ladies are
just the cutest! They are like the ideal grandma. They pinch your
cheeks and just love that you are willing to help them. Indians use a
lot of physical contact in friendships, so to be banished like that
and have people scared to touch you is so hard on them. They are just
so grateful for us to be there and not be scared to hold their hands
and pat them on the back. Though most have no fingers, no toes, or
are blind, I still got a few of the sweet ladies to dance. There were
lots of smiles and laughs. It was wonderful :) You smile and say
hello to them and they just light up. Had a long-term volunteer
meeting and then a frustrating LifeDance class. Skyped with friends
and story time at the boys' hostel. Read some “Hardy Boys” to
them. Good day today.
Day 36:
Went to Mogalvadi colony again today.
That was the colony I went to the very first time I went to medical.
It is the colony with our dear Jayraj who is such a character! He has
so much life and light in him and loves to dance! Small colony so
only helped about 3 patients and then had lots of dancing! They made
me improv for them :) Got some of the nurses to dance as well. Nice
discussion with the main nurse on the way back. Had a long Skype
session with Shaun Parry that was really good. Made me feel better
with what I am doing here in India. Another frustrating LifeDance
class. Helped out at night school tonight. Mostly tutoring kind of
stuff. I like doing it! Story time that night.
Day 37:
Today was Parents Day! They bus in the
parents and families of the students from the leprosy colonies and
villages. I went to the school with my camera and just took pictures
of the kids with their families. It was so cute and so great to see
them so excited and happy to be with their families! Left for a day
trip to Mamallapuram. Did lots of shopping and lunch. Found some good
stuff! Dinner and played games with volunteers. Lots of fun, India
moments today. I love experiencing other cultures! Google + with
friends before bed.
Day 38:
Church at 9 am. Taught the primary
lesson alone today because Kaylee was asked to help clean the font.
Went fine. Stopped at grocery store on the way home. Told bad date
stories on the way home :) Lunch, emailed missionary friends, planned
lessons for this next week, went to playtime and played soccer with
some of the older girls for a little bit. Watched “The Croods”
that night while eating dinner and doing last minute lesson planning.
Got ready for bed and then watched the first hour of “Slumdog
Millionaire” with Kaylee. I have never seen it before and it's
really interesting to watch while I am in India! Such an incredible
movie!
Day 39:
Classes very up and down today. Went
back and forth from a good class to bad class. Google + with the
whole family was really great! Went to UKG playtime. Those kids crack
me up! LifeDance went better today. Dinner, watched some episodes of
the old TV show “Recess.” Really brought me back to childhood!
Watched “Thor 2” with volunteers while writing this blog :) Good
day.
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