Monday 10 February 2014

Days 26-39


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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