India Lovin'

Today my groups rotation was on construction. It was fun! A little different than we thought it would be but we were doing service so it was still rewarding! We got to clean out and re-organize four sheds, ruin termite hills, and help clean the dining hall kitchen!  

This was the BIG termite hill that we ruined. They were NOT happy about that!

Channelle and Kaylee goin' at the termite hill!  

I got those termites! The shovels here look like they have been folded over, and they are odd looking but it works! 

In front of the bike shed was this large mess of broken glass, lots of light bulbs, a toaster, and many other random things. How did they all end up in this pile? No idea. It was odd! We got it all cleaned up and then went into the shed and cleaned that out.

It was interesting to think of the different perspectives that certain people have on things. We have  bikes at home that we would think of as old and broken and ugly but here they think they are so fantastic and get excited about it and that is the kinds of bikes they use. They had a shed full of broken, beaten up, rusted bikes that you wouldn't see being ridden around at home. That is what you see everyone riding around on. An old bike, a less than perfect bike. However, when I see imperfection, they see the value, worth, and use. 

As we cleaned out another shed, Kaylee found this...thing. We are still not sure what it is, maybe something used in cricket? Not quite sure. Also, she is holding a broom in her hand. Those are the traditional brooms you see around there. I think they are fantastic! I want to bring one home. Too bad it won't fit in my bag. 

We were on the campus today doing clean-up so we were able to eat with the children at lunch time. It was so fun! I learned to eat with my hands, and was taught exactly how to do it. Trust me when I say they will definitely tell you if you are doing it wrong! They watched me for a while and kept correcting what I was doing to make sure that I get it right. I got it right though! Now I am an expert at eating with my hand! I might just keep doing it forever. Less dishes to wash, right?! ;)

Sanjay and Sanjay. They love being silly in pictures. 

I just get such a kick out of these boys. They are so charming and loving, they always are so playful. They kept taking away my water bottle and hiding it behind them. They call us "auntie" if they don't know our names. I love how they roll the "r" when they say Reba! It's so cute. (They all call me Reba because there are three girls here with the same name and one goes by Rebecca, the other, Becca, so just to make it easier I go by Reba!-a nickname that I was given to by Bailey in PA's this year at school.) 

The whole campus is covered with mango trees. There are hundreds of them all over! It's picturesque! 

Playtime again! My favorite two little boys (Sanjay and Jonathan) of course wanted to take a picture with me again. They LOVE cameras. If they can take pictures or be in a picture they get so excited! 

Sweet little boy, never told me his name, but he just wanted to take lots of pictures. This is one that Sanjay took of us! 

Bad news of the day: I think I am getting sick. Scratch that...I am getting sick. I have a sore throat. I hope that it will go away quickly so that I can once again give 100% to everything that I do. Tomorrow I am on medical so we are going to the leprosy colony. I am so excited, yet a little nervous because I know that it is something you can't really prepare for all the way. I can't wait to be able to go and serve those who just need the love and support. 

Children Bring Me Smiles

The hotel that we had been staying at is one of the nicest hotels that I have been to before.

This was the complimentary breakfast place. Fantastic service and every kind of food you can imagine. Lots of delicious Indian food that we tried. Dosa, (is my new favorite Indian food) which is similar to a crepe/thin pancake is paired with lots of different dips that are savory and delicious! 

When they came and picked us up to go to the campus, they gave all of us Jasmine flowers to put in out hair.

(Me, Kailyn, Austyn, Kaylee) 

We had a two hour bus ride from our hotel to the campus outside the town. 

(Austyn, Kaylee) 

We finally made it to the campus! 

Here is the courtyard of where we live for the next three weeks. It's called the Elephant House! 

I live in the coconut room!!! So fun. 

This is the school for the kids, where we will be when we are tutoring. 

First day of wearing Chudidars! So comfy and very different than anything we normally wear!  

We got to go out, meet and play with the kids during their playtime soon after we got there! It was so fun to meet all of them and play around 

This is Jonathan. He told me to pose like this! They love cameras and any electronic equipment. They swarm you and beg to use your camera. 

This cute girl was something else. She was playing with my hair and pulling, I mean pulling so very hard on it. Not the most fun hair-do I have ever been given.

The cutest little boys. Sanjay (in the orange shorts) and Jonathan (on my back) were so adorable we played lots of soccer and they took some videos on my camera of just everything that was going on. 

Here is Kaylee with a cute frog we all found. Good thing we found out right after not to touch any animal. Oops! 

Sanjay was just following me around and making sure I was playing for the right team on soccer. We played a little game of tag, he offered me many mangoes and we had just lots of fun! 

Benson is the only guy in our session. He is having lots of fun with the kids, they get very excited about his beard and want to touch it! 

We have to use toilets that are on the floor! No explination. (Kaylee) 

So far it has been so wonderful. The children are so adorable and loving you can't help but be happy and excited the whole time you are with them. We have "family time" after dinner where we kind of help settle the children down in the families they are assigned to with a house mother. They just want to play and get all riled up. We had a lot of fun with that, and they like to play a lot of hand games and sing songs. One of the little girls kept bursting with laughter because it was funny that I didn't know all of the songs in Tamil. She was just pointing at me and laughing and rolling around on the floor. They know how to get what they want, because they just sit there and will beg you to stay just another minute just to see if you will. I am so excited for another day to go work on the construction site and then come back and play with them and have another fantastic day in India! 

Thus Far

Here are just some pictures of the trip thus far. I know there are a lot, but I figured if I don't put a hand full in this post, they won't ever be posted! 

Kaylee and I were VERY excited to ride the bus/shuttle (whatever it was) over to the plane at LAX! We got first class service! The two of us didn't have to be crammed in the back with everyone we were in the very front by the driver! 

By myself for the 14.5 hour flight...let the flights begin! 

This might look a little odd, but was very delicious! Creme Brule Sesame Seed Cake. Fantastic!! 

Okay, so here are a couple pictures of the clouds we were in. They are SO FLUFFY! 

I just thought they were beautiful! 

One stop in Hong Kong! Look at that. So exciting. 

This morning on the way to church. Aubrie, Kaylee, and Me. 

Here are just a few pictures that I liked. They capture this part of the town around the airport, church, and the hotel that we are at for two nights. 

These scooters are EVERYWHERE! 

Papaya cart! Yum! 

Those little yellow taxi-like things are everywhere. They seat 2-3 and are open so if it's not early enough it gets to be very very hot if you take them. 

There is construction all down the main road because they are making a metro! There are lots of scary drivers... The lanes are more like guidelines...the stop lights too... 

Family on the scooter. That's what everyone does here! 

Just a happy lady walking to church. We saw her at church which was just down the road a bit! 

The LDS meetinghouse

Kaylee all excited for church! 

I am not sure if this is Tamil or Hindi. However, both languages are spoken here. The speakers at church would switch between Tamil and English, so it was hard to keep up with what was going on at some points! 

Banana truck! (baananana as they say it here!) 

Well, there are some pictures of Chennai today and my trip thus far. Tomorrow we leave for the campus which is two hours outside of the city. We come into the city on weekends for fun and for church. I am so excited to go to the campus tomorrow and meet the children and get all settled in for the next almost three weeks! The adventure has started but barely begun!

I bought a little side bag today that is handmade and beautiful. I will take a picture of it and post it in the next day or two. I am so excited about my first purchase! I even got a great deal on it! Way to go me!

Goodnight now, I must catch up on some of my sleep. Lets hope that I can sleep until a reasonable hour tomorrow morning. It is only 1:30 in the afternoon here. Oh no. We'll see how this goes! 

Fly, fly away.

I flew away yesterday (Friday) at 1pm from LAX and it is now 645pm on Saturday in Hong Kong. The adventure has begun!

Have you ever been on an international flight? Let me tell you. This was my first one, and boy oh boy it was a long flight. So far it has been 14.5 hours and we have a 6 hour layover here in Hong Kong and then another flight to go. 

Why don't I like long international flights? Well, here are a few reasons:
1. I can't understand anyone. Almost everyone spoke Chinese. 

2. The lady next to me was talking about me (in Chinese). Yes I am sure she was because they kept pointing at me and talking about me. I'm not sure if she was worried about me or annoyed by me, but I am thinking the latter of the two.

3. Microwaved meat is the worst. All of the vegetarian meals were gone by the time I chose, so I just ate the rice and vegetables from the meal. 

4. Sleeping sitting up; lets just say that it isn't the most comfortable thing that I have ever done. 

I don't know if I ever want to watch a movie again. I think I watched at least part of 6 movies? Too many for one day. However, I absolutely adore the movie "We Bought A Zoo", and was able to watch it so that was exciting for me! 

However, I shouldn't be complaining. I am so lucky to be able to experience an international flight! It's not every day that your average 20 year old gets to fly halfway across the world! Tomorrow I will be in INDIA! I am so excited. More excited the closer it gets! I will add pictures from the adventure thus far tomorrow when I get my luggage back, which has the cord for attaching my camera to my computer. (No mom, I didn't think that one through. Oops. At least I have snacks! They have been a lifesaver! 

Well, I am going to go back to people-watching.