Trying to post more photos, but it takes such a ridiculously long time, so there are only a few here, and two of them I could not get to rotate! Sorry about that, but here they are: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64840&id=697459212&l=ee6a4

Will try to upload more again soon!

Still feeling much more tired than in real life. I think I am having trouble adapting to the pollution and dust and heat. It was 100 degrees yesterday and it is still considered cool winter weather! Other than that, things are good. I just started a creative writing project with the kids to help them with their English writing skills. Should be interesting! Some are quite good with their English, others speak almost none (even though they are schooled in it). Yesterday just before the school bus came, one of the second grade girls showed me a two-rupee coin she had. I asked, "What will you purchase with it?" Blank stare. So I said, "What will you buy with your two rupees?" "Money," she exclaimed. "Yes, I know it is money, but what will you spend it on?" "Yes!" she said, and ran for the bus. Like I said, the creative writing project should be interesting....

I am going to visit another Child Haven home at Kaliyampoondi next week for a few days. It is in the southernmost state of India, Tamil Nadu. Their home is huge - 250 kids! Will be interesting to see how it compares to the home I'm at. But I'm a bit nervous - apparently, I need to be careful of snakes and scorpions at this home. Yikes!

The kids had a huge dance show at their school last week. It lasted over four hours! Not your typical American Christmas pageant! It was wonderful - they all worked so hard on their dances, and their costumes were amazing. Photos weren't coming out too good, but I am going to try to video one of the small children doing his dance, because it is pretty much the greatest thing I have ever seen!

Gotta run for now. Be well!

Getting into the Rhythm of Life

I know I haven't been blogging too often, and unfortunately, that probably won't change. Internet access is limited and rather slow, so it's hard to find the opportunity. But I am keeping a very detailed daily journal, and I may try to compile it into a book upon my return, if I am feeling particularly ambitious! We'll see....

For now, I will say that I am just now getting into the flow of things here. Just two days after I arrived at the home, Bonnie-ma came, so all was especially busy with her visit. And unfortunately, the busy-ness of that led to my getting quite sick for the past two weeks. I think it was just a throat infection, but when combined with the jet lag and extreme change of environment, it left me extremely exhausted for two weeks! Terrible! I felt so awful, just languishing in bed every day, unable to play with the children. I have started to feel better just the past couple of days, and I hope I stay healthy for the rest of my stay in India.

All the resting time did afford me the opportunity to make Valentines for all the children, which was nice. My hand was quite sore after cutting out 125 pink hearts with a pair of sub-standard Indian scissors! I tried my best to make sure I spelled every child's name right on their Valentine (with names like Parmeshwari and Hanumanthu, this is not an easy task!), and I think I had about a 95% success rate. The kids were thrilled with the Valentines! The older boys all hung them on the wall in their room, and some others put them into their diaries. I think it is quite rare that they receive anything that is personalized since there are so many of them, so this was a special treat. I always loved Valentine's Day as a school child, because I thought the exchange of Valentines was so much fun! I thought it would be nice to share that with the kids here, who otherwise would not have had any type of Valentine's Day celebration (even though V-Day is a holiday here in India).

I've also had loads of reading time during my recovery, during which I read Obama's "Dreams from My Father" and Elisabeth Bumiller's "May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons," both quite good. I also read "The Mermaid Chair," which I did not like at all, despite loving "The Secret Life of Bees." But as Matt always teases me about, I read it to the end anyway! (Once I start a book, I am simply unable to stop, in the hopes that a bad one will redeem itself by the end. Usually doesn't happen, but I never learn my lesson!)

Because of being sick and having Bonnie-ma's special visit, today was only the second morning that I woke up with the children. At 5am, a VERY loud school bell goes off for about 60 seconds throughout the home, followed by about 5 minutes of VERY loud Hindi music! It is still pitch-black outside and quite cool at that time. All the kids brush their teeth right away and then assemble for morning prayer (which incorporates all the children's religions). Then, the boys head outside to do some morning exercises. It was fun to join them, and I plan to make it a regular habit, although next time, I will wear something more practical than my nightgown! After the exercise, we all head in for hot, fresh soy milk, which is prepared each morning at the home. Delicious! I asked one of the girls if they also did exercises, and she giggled and said to me (as though it were so obvious), "No, sister! We girls have to do our hair!" Silly me.

I am very happy to finally be getting into the rhythm of things here and hope I will stay good and healthy now! If you have a moment to send me some mental wishes for health, I'm sure your positive energy will do me a lot of good!

Hope all are well!

Love from the subcontinent,
Mae

My first days at the home!

My first several days at the home have been everything I could have hoped for. Upon arriving last Friday, I was greeted individually by 130 beautiful children, each offering me a warmhearted "Good evening, sister!" along with the biggest smiles I have ever seen. That alone was just amazing. The children then swarmed around me - holding my hands, touching my necklace and earrings ("Very nice, sister!"), asking me about my moles and freckles, and all telling me their names at once! Not an easy task to learn 130 Hindi/Telugu names, most of which have 3 or 4 syllables and are entirely foreign to me, but I'm doing okay. Eleven days in, and I think I know about 3/4 of them. I am trying so hard to learn them quickly, because the children constantly ask if I know their names and are crestfallen when I don't!

My first night here, all the children sang me a welcome song during their daily prayer meeting. Each night they all chant a very, very long Sanskrit prayer that is inclusive of all religions. It is of utmost importance to the founders of Child Haven that every child's religion be respected, which is one of the things that drew me here. I love learning about their beliefs! And they are amazing to be able to recite these long prayers. As it is, they are all trilingual, speaking Hindi, English, and Telugu (the mother tongue of Andhra Pradesh, which is the state this particular home is located in). They work so hard, attending school six days a week and having lots of study time once they get home every day.

I think the most incredible thing for me so far has not only been the overwhelming love the children have so freely given to me, but also their joy for life. I have worked many years of my life with children in some capacity or another, and these children are by far the happiest I have ever seen. What a testament to simple living! They have so relatively little but have hearts full of joy! And they are so grateful to be at Child Haven. They are all either orphans or have been brought to the home by their destitute families, and Child Haven provides them with food, shelter, and quality schooling until they are old enough to succeed on their own. Child Haven was founded by Bonnie and Fred Cappuccino (Bonnie-ma and Fred-pa to the kids), who insist that the home be run according to Ghandian principles. Bonnie-ma and Fred-pa are not only parents to all the children (as well as about 1,000 others in seven other homes around India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Tibet), but they are also their heroes! Bonnie-ma visits every home four times a year - an arduous task for a woman in her seventies, but she is a bundle of energy, love, and commitment. She was at our home in Hyderabad a few days ago, and the children were over the moon to see her! They prepared special dances and songs for her, which were so beautiful to see.

One of my favorite things about the children is their affectionate nature - familiarity with me is instant, and they always want to hold hands or just cuddle. And boy, do I love hugs! This is definitely the place for me!

For those who don't know, I will be living at the home until early May. I have my own room, which is very luxurious considering that the children must sleep about 25 to a room so that Bonnie-ma and Fred-pa can care for as many of them as possible. I also have my own bathroom attached, which is taking a bit of getting used to! They have squat toilets here, which are essentially just holes in the ground. (My thighs are going to be in great shape after a few months of this!) And showering is a matter of filling a bucket with water from the the spicket and dumping it over myself! Not quite what I am used to, but very effective! I take all of my meals with the children, which usually means some form of rice and dal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is very tasty but a bit messy for me, as it is all eaten by hand (right-hand only) while sitting on the floor. The children do this much better than me, but I am getting better! It's a bit new for me to have spicy food and rice for breakfast, but I am tolerating it quite well so far. And I am loving the chai and soya milk, which is made directly from soybeans right in the home! Of course, I can only drink bottled or boiled water, as the tap water here is filled with bacteria that could kill a person whose body is not accustomed to it. But so far, I am dining like a king! Everyone said I would lose weight in India, but I'm not so sure - I can only eat about half as much as the children, and still, I am always stuffed! However, just yesterday some of the women here were saying I was looking thin - "not so much fat as before, sister" - and that I needed to eat more or else my husband would be very disappointed when I go home! Ha!

I will try to update my blog as often as possible because I have so much to tell! But internet access is very limited, so I will do what I can and let you use your imaginations to fill in the rest.... Hope all are well! Love from India!

Ah, the children!

My first few days at the home have been AMAZING. I feel so much love and warmth from all the children, who call me "Sister." I have so many details to share with everyone, but I have spent all my internet time today uploading photos, which can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60427&l=06536&id=697459212
I promise to write more soon - so, so much to tell!!!!