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