Today we took a day trip to the beach town of Mamallapuram, which is kind of close to Chennai. I had a marvelous fill of temples (built around the year 600), shopping, the beach, and some great new food! When we first got there we visited some of the temple ruins. They had very intricate designs and carvings!

The next hours were spent learning how to do a new type of shopping which involved lots of negotiation and arguing. I'm not sure I was very good at it, but I thought I got some pretty good deals. After several stressful hours, we went to a place called Ideal Beach Resort, which is right on the Bay of Bengal. It was nice to relax for a little while, but at the same time I felt a little guilty and kind of wanted to be back with the kids. The drive back took FOREVER! We had traffic that was at a standstill for probably 20 minutes waiting for a train to come and go, but we finally got back. We stopped at an Indian "fast food" type of place with delicious bread things and an onion/egg omelet thing as well (Great description, huh?). In order to fit with the custom, we only ate with our right hand, which I've never done in my life. We even had to break the bread with one hand! It was absolutely delicious and was not as hard as I thought it would be. When we got back I went over and visited my girls for a little while. They were SO HYPER but so cute (as always).

Well I'm about to head off to bed. Tomorrow should be exciting--those who would like to are taking a bus up to the closest LDS branch, which is up in Chennai. The whole excursion should take about 9 hours! I'm looking forward to it, though.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Good night!

Today has been my favorite day so far! I got to go to a small colony nicknamed Moot (don't ask me what the real name is because I have no idea), which started out with about 30 residents. Now there are only seven people there, I think. We were supposed to be on the medical team today, but none of the patients have open wounds except for one, so it was pretty much just a big party.

The bus ride took about an hour and a half (and on the way we saw MONKEYS!!!) winding through several small towns and villages, and we finally bumped our way down the road until we got to Moot. I had been wondering a little bit about how I would feel being around people with such severe physical disfigurations, but once I stepped off the bus I felt perfectly fine. They are such beautiful people, and they are individuals just like us. Even from the few hours I spent with them, I noticed distinct personalities and felt a strong love for them.

The person who made himself known the was Jai Raj (meaning "victorious king") or something to that effect, and boy his personality certainly reflected his name! He heartily welcomed us and at once told us he wanted to dance, and dance he did. We had brought an iPod along and he taught us some sweet Indian dance moves! At one point he saw my sunglasses and wanted to try them on. I let him try them on, and he said "Superstar!" Yes, he was quite the superstar.

The others came out and some joined us in dancing and clapping. There was one old man we affectionately named "Wheels" because he got along by pushing himself on a little scooter-type thing. He has no fingers left and his legs are all gone, but he had what looked like sandals strapped to his hands so he could push himself around. The residents there LOVE games! Some people played Jenga and checkers, while a few of us set up a long row of dominos so Wheels could knock them down. He loved to do that, and every time he did he would do a wind up and knock them down with a loud happy noise.

Another thing that amazed me was the incredible things these people could do, even with their little stumps of hands. For example, I sat on a cot that was made all of rope by one of the guys in the colony. It was very impressive and looked like it would take a lot of strength and effort for anybody to make, especially one without working fingers!

The longer I stay here the longer I realize that the people are affecting me and my perspective as much as (or more than) I am affecting them. I learned a lot from a beautiful woman named Surrosha today. Like the other patients, the physical ramifications of leprosy were readily apparent at the first sight of her body. She was extremely teeny, with one leg and maybe one part of a finger left. Her left eye was sunken in. She showed us her tiny abode and began telling her story through a translator who had come with us. It breaks my heart to see what she has been through. Surrosha used to be very beautiful, she said, with long black hair that almost touched the ground. She got leprosy when she was ten, however, and married when she was fourteen. (Actually, she married Wheels). Sadly, her husband mistreated her by beating her a lot. She no longer lives with him, although obviously they still live in the same colony. I was brought to tears, though, as I spent more time with her and learned of the tremendous compassion she has for others. The government gives leprosy patients the equivalent of about 6 dollars a month, which they can use to buy food or other necessary supplies. (Obviously it doesn't last very long). But Surrosha uses part of that money to buy crackers and other little snacks to feed the birds. She also takes care of two cats! She said that sometimes she goes a little hungry, but it is worth it to be able to take care of the birds. Surrosha's compassion goes further than that--even though she never talks to her abusive husband anymore, she still gives him tea or whatever she has prepared because he can't take care of himself. I think that says a lot about the woman she is. It broke my heart to hear that Surrosha compares herself to a one-winged bird. She said she gets so bored, and no one comes to visit her. Although she has a t.v. she isn't even able to enjoy the shows she would like to watch because Jai Raj has taken it over and only watches what he wants to watch. Surrosha, myself, and two other girls were sitting in her house for a long time. The translator had gone to talk with some of the other people, so we resorted to talking with gestures. It was amazing to see that we could still communicate, even though we could not speak Tamil and she could not speak English. She told us through her gestures a little bit about her life, making slaps against her face and kicking her leg out. Then she ran her finger down her face like a tear and put her hands together like she was going to sleep. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she must really be hurting and lonely, but not really able to do anything about it. She is a woman of great faith, though. One corner of her room had pictures of Jesus Christ plastered to the wall (as well as a picture of some birds). She gestured to Him a lot, and said that she would love to go to church but can't, so she prays there in her room. The four of us spent some very tender moments together, and when it was time to say goodbye she gave us each a kiss on the cheek. As I returned the kiss, I wondered how many times she has been given that sweet assurance of affection. Victims of leprosy are rarely even looked at, and a kiss is absolutely out of the question.

It was extremely hard for me to say goodbye to the people of Moot because I know I will probably never see them again. I know that Rising Star has had a great impact on their lives, however, because Jai Raj told us that the residents no longer have to go to the city to beg since their needs are taken care of by our organization. I don't think I will ever forget those amazing people at Moot! Before I left I said goodbye one more time to everyone, even the "Superstar" Jai Raj. Then we piled in the bus and took the long bumpy ride back.

That experience in itself made my day, but when we got back to the campus we got to enjoy a dance presentation by the school children. They wore these colorful little shirts, and seemed so excited to show the school all they had learned that summer. They were all SO ADORABLE!

After that we got a wonderful thunderstorm. I haven't seen water pouring from the skies with such force in a long, long time. We volunteers were back at the hostel, and had a great time playing in the rain. It felt so refreshing and I loved how we got to bond a little better.

We had a delicious dinner and then I got to go help my little girls with their homework. Every time I go there I love them more and more. I am still having problems remembering all their names, though, so I feel a little twinge of guilt. I got them to write their names, so now I need to take some time and study the school roster so I can pick them out! Pray for me! Haha.

Well, I'm about ready for bed, but I just want to say that a day like this lets me know this is absolutely where I'm supposed to be. Everything feels so right, and I am learning so much. I love India!

Concerning the Children

As I've said, the kids are absolutely adorable here! They will just come up to you even if they've never seen you before and start talking with you and playing. I am struggling with learning/remembering names though, which is kind of bad. I have heard of some kids with especially interesting names. For example, there is Joseph Stalin and little Karl Marx (yes that's his real name!). But wait, the story gets even better. Karl Marx has a brother named John Kennedy and guess what--John Kennedy got kicked out of the Rising Star school for bad behavior! I thought that was hilarious!

The kids love getting their pictures taken and if they see you with a camera out all of a sudden you will be bombarded with "Aunty! Photo! Aunty! Another photo!"

I love to hear them singing at prayers, but some of them have troubles sitting still for the 15 or 20 minutes that they are required to while the teacher gives them a spiritual lesson. (I have some problems too! haha). Yesterday I was sitting next to two of my little girls when I looked over at a boy who was probably 12 or so. I winked at him--he stared for a minute and then smiled. I winked again and made another face and then turned back to the teacher to listen (even though I can't understand anything she is saying because she speaks Tamil to them). When I looked back at him, he was whispering to another little boy next to him and they both looked at me. Then the other boy winked back at me and started raising his eyebrows up and down. They are so cute!

Well I only have a few minutes, but I've finally made it here to the Rising Star Outreach campus. I have seen so many amazing things and experienced so many new sounds (still LOTS of cars beeping their horns) and smells and tastes! I can't even begin to describe it.

It is almost 3 PM and I am already exhausted! This morning my group went out to work construction in one of the closest leprosy colonies. It is also one of the most advanced ones out of all of them because there was already a wonderful woman working with the people there before Rising Star was started. Our task this morning was to move big concrete bricks by hand from one location to another one, a small hut, with each trip taking about 3 and a half minutes. These bricks will be put together in order to build a small bathroom (squat style, like all the bathrooms here!). Just in case you are wondering, I have pretty much mastered the art of the squat toilet, which is not as bad as I originally thought it would be. Thank goodness, we use toilet paper still, a vast improvement to the "left hand and water" technique that is common in India. I have to say, it is a lot better than peeing in the backyard, which the individuals in the colonies have been resigned to do because they have lost a lot of land to building and expansion.

It was hard work, with two sizes of bricks, the smaller one weighing probably 40 pounds and the larger one closer to 60 pounds. I could not believe the amount of sweat that was pouring off my face! The man promised a vehicle would come so we could load it up with the bricks instead of carrying them one by one. It FINALLY did, probably after an hour or so, which made the work a little easier but still very difficult.

Many of the villagers watched us as we trudged with our bricks, which I kind of expected (of COURSE they would want to watch a bunch of dumb Americans carry concrete bricks in such a slow way when they could probably do it a lot faster), but my favorite was these two little boys. They were probably two or three years old and SUPER CUTE! They each picked up a little rock and put it up to their eye, pretending the stone was a camera and they were taking pictures. I would have taken their picture, but my battery died!

I am learning to appreciate the small things here--there was a teeny shop on the side of the road that sold cold sodas, among other little items. I'm not much of a soda drinker, but that ice-cold 7-Up never tasted so good as when I got it during a small break we were taking! Also, I have learned to love the bucket showers here at the hostel. It was so refreshing to be able to rinse off all the grit and grime that had accumulated on my sweaty body and put on a clean outfit!

I also am gaining a deep love for the people here already. I love their little mannerisms, like the way they bob their head with a funny confused-looking face that means yes. Before construction, we got to visit a little art school in the colony. The artists themselves have been infected by leprosy, but their paintings are absolutely beautiful, and the people are beautiful as well. Last night I got to play with the kids here at Rising Star and help some with their homework and in getting ready for bed. They are absolutely adorable! They call all the volunteers "aunty" or "uncle", and from the moment I stepped on the playground they had completely accepted me, saying "Aunty! Look how high I am!" or "Aunty! Play this rock game with me!" I got to experience a beautiful moment yesterday, as the children gathered for prayers and scripture study after play time. They sang a few songs in their native language, but also sang the hymn "I Stand All Amazed." It was absolutely wonderful to hear all those little voices sing about the love of our Savior. It is hard to see people here in such poverty, but I know that Jesus Christ loves them and is mindful of them, just as He is of everybody else.

One thing that is freaking me out a little bit is the probability that I will get lice (which virtually all the children have), especially since I have been paired with a "family" of about 15 little girls. It is a 50/50 chance! I would definitely love it if I could somehow return home without getting lice, but I guess we'll see how it goes. Now, I can feel myself getting a little paranoid at every little itch on my head!

Here are just a few of the photos I've taken so far..

6:54 AM (Brussels), 11:24 AM (Chennai), 9:55 PM (Monterey), 11:55 PM (Chicago)

Well I've always heard of the concept of jet lag, but never imagined what a strange effect it has on the body. Now I'm experiencing it firsthand! I was already messed up from traveling to Chicago from Monterey and from being sick, but now I feel utterly confused! When we departed from Chicago it was early evening, but early morning in Inida. Now we are half an hour away from arriving in Brussels and I just had a lovely breakfast of croissants while watching the sunrise, where my body feels like I should be going to bed! It is absolutely amazing that people on one side of the world are awake and just greeting the day while on the other side people are crawling into their beds, exhausted from a hard day's work.

Even though this jet lag stuff is crazy I am totally falling in love with traveling. It was the most beautiful sight to see the sun slowly penetrate the darkness and fill the horizon with light. Now I'm looking over Europe and it is so beautiful to see the tiny towns and rivers running through the landscape. I will definitely have to return sometime soon!

First adventure of the day: We arrived in Brussels and I forgot my camera on the plane! The lesson learned: Never leave your seat until you've checked everywhere for your stuff. We had already gone through security in Brussels and made the lllllooooooonnnnnnnggggg walk all the way to gate B40 (which is the farthest possible). I realized my camera was gone and was sent all the way back to gate B1 to see if they could find it. The effort was not in vain, however--they found it right where I left it and I got it back, safe and sound. Thank goodness!

(later)
After the longest flights of my entire life I'm finally here in India and settled into the hotel. It is 3:08 AM here, so I'm about to go to bed. Let me just say I can't get the smile off my face--I LOVE it here! Even at 2 in the morning, it was 80 degrees and the streets were a bit crazy. My favorite part: we were just coming out of the airport and passed a COW on the street. Oh, and I almost got in what I thought was the passenger's side of the car--the poor guy who was driving us was kind of confused!

Anyways, I'll write more later. Good night!

Out of the Fog and into the Sauna

Well it's already been quite an adventure and I'm not even in India yet! I left early Thursday morning (really really early!) with my mom and siblings for San Jose. It was a tearful goodbye because my dad had work in a few hours and couldn't come. He gave me a Father's Blessing before I left, which I was grateful for. I know I'm a crybaby, but it is always so hard to say goodbye. On top of that, I was going on practically no sleep and my throat was a bit sore.

We made it to the airport and eventually I was on my way through security (after another tearful goodbye to the rest of my family). I think I'm in trouble--that was the longest flight I've been on and it was only about five hours total! If I survive the 15 hours and 20 minutes of travel time to India it will be a miracle! I was beginning to feel really sick (I think I had a fever and my throat was getting worse), which made the flight seem even longer. Anyways, I finally made it to Chicago, though, and in a little while my cousin and aunt had picked me up and we were on our way to meet my grandparents in a little town called Rockford. They were sweet and took me out to dinner, then we finally reached their house. I love my Oma and Opa's house! It is so peaceful and full of love. Unfortunately I've come down with strep throat, so I haven't been able to do much, but I got to the doctor yesterday and took my medicine as soon as possible. I am pretty sure I will be able to leave on Monday for India still. I guess it's a blessing I got it here and not in India or something!

Even though I've been sick, I have enjoyed being with my Oma and Opa. They are so cute and Oma has spoiled me terribly with lots of big bowls of brownies and strawberries topped with ice cream. We have had some great chats and I got to see some pictures of when Oma and Opa first came to the United States from Germany in 1950. I will be sad to leave them! Oma is already making cookies and talking about what goodies she will send with me on the plane, haha. I love them so much!

I've noticed a huge change in the weather conditions I'm used to. Gone are the foggy, 50 degree days. Now I'm in Illinois where it is super humid and hot! The highs are in the 90s and there are mosquitoes everywhere. I guess it's just a taste of what I'm going to experience in India. I'd better get used to it!

I can't believe I will depart for India in TWO DAYS!! I've finally realized the magnitude of what I am going to do, and I admit I'm getting a little nervous. But I'm so excited to go help over there and to expand my horizons. I know everything will be worth it!

My trip to India is coming up so fast! Now that I've been on a trip to Utah and am finishing up my time working at my summer job, it is starting to occupy my mind a lot as I try to take care of all the last details. Last night I had a dream that I missed my flight to India--I completely forgot what time it was going to depart! Although I'm almost positive that is not going to happen, I guess it is motivation for me to double check that everything will go as smoothly as possible. I'm getting so excited! I am so grateful for all those who are supporting me in this amazing adventure!