Screaming Girls and No Lights.

SO last night...I'm in bed, mosquito net in place, about to drift off to sleep when I hear the screaming and running of 200 girls in the hall upstairs. Sister Lilly and I each come out of our rooms (she is in her nightie AND no habit!) and we are trying to figure out what is going on. We are on the ground floor and so we are looking up at the windows of the second floor. The girls are running around just all screaming. I instantly thought that a man with a gun was upstairs (Sister Jemina thought it was the devil and Sister Madhri thought it was a cobra). It turned out that one girl was talking and moving around in her sleep and ended up touching the girl next to her which caused her to scream and then caused every other girl to scream and run out of the room. Thus causing mass chaos at 10:30 last night. It was SO funny. So sister Lilly and I are trying to figure out what is going on and she is yelling up to the windows (Hey! Ma!! Hey! what is happening!? [Indian accent]) then she starts talking in Telugu and we realize that nothing happened so we go back to sleep.

Tonight we were discussing this at dinner, all telling each other what we each thought the cause of the screaming was.  I found out that the sisters sprinkled Holy Water everywhere after this happened - just in case the devil was there...We were discussing this during our candlelit dinner because even though the power was actually on for once, the light bulb was out  -and they have to call in a man to change it (hahah, I love it here).  So we ate in dark and then we hear an eruption of dogs barking.  We all stopped talking and started laughing.  We did not check the status of the dogs though, we just kept eating.

We're in India!!

-side note to Brenda, if you are reading this, please let me know your response.  You can picture Sister Lilly and the candlelit dinner because the Tube-light was out. oh man, I wish you were here for this!

Power of Prayer

Psalm 8


God has an amazing way of working. I am blessed to have been able to experience this today.

I have been praying about a personal struggle I have been facing. One night I talked to Sister Lucia about it. It was to vent to someone, to let someone know that I was struggling; that, my life is far from perfect. So, it felt nice to talk to someone, to have someone listen. The sisters have been so good to me – Sister Lilly, Sister Lucia, and Sister Lucy (who now lives in Bangalore) have listened to me and have opened themselves up to me as well. It truly has been a blessing.

Thursday night the Archbishop of Hyderabad died suddenly of a massive heart attack. Sister Lilly, Sister Lucia, and Sister Madhri went to Secunderbad today to attend a Mass in his honor. Today was a good day. It rained most of the day. I had a long lunch with Sister Jemina, Sister Teresa, and Sister Swana – it was a pleasant lunch and we talked about Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Muslims. I went outside and hung out with the girls during their free time. When they went into their separate groups to pray the rosary, I came inside…The struggle that I had been dealing with was resolved. (doesn’t need to be mentioned on here) but everything was straightened out and it was such a huge relief that I of course ended up in tears – everyone knows how emotional I can get, haha. I walked out of the computer room since it was close to dinner time and I saw Sister Lucia had come back from Secunderbad. I told her that the issue was finally resolved and she said she was so happy for me. She told me she has been praying for me and she offered prayers today during the Mass for the Archbishop Joji.

I never thought that she was praying for my intentions. And it just goes to show you never know who in the world is praying for you at any given moment. I was blessed to realize this today and I wanted to share it.

So then I read Psalm 8, because Sister Lilly told me it was her favorite Psalm. It made me smile.

So that was my day here. I came here to do service, to teach English to children and adults, but I also came to India, to this particular place, with these particular people because of the spiritual aspect. I was able to see that today, to feel it, to know without a doubt that it exists.

You never know who is praying for you….

Monsoon Season Continues

Good news today! Finally! The teachers told one of the sisters, (then sister told me) that the third grade is improving with their English! Since they are hearing me speak every day, they have gotten somewhat used to my accent and now they can understand the English when the teachers are speaking since the accent is Indian! I was so, so very happy to hear that they are improving!! Ya know, I am here in India (essentially on a whim!) and I have been a little down because I did not think that I was providing anything for the children. But I finally got some feedback! Even before I got that news, today has been a good day! It has been raining all day (monsoon season) and it has been such a relief!! I have been learning a bit of Telugu as well :) I walked in my class this morning and just as every day they all stand up and say in unison “Good Morning Auntie! How are you?” I answered "bagunanu" (which means I am fine in Telugu). They were so surprised and so happy! Then I asked, "Bagunara?" Which means, how are you in Telugu. Their reactions were so cute, each one of them wanted to teach me another word in Telugu.

Me & Brenda in the middle of the all the teachers that I teach

Last night I received news about hiking the Himalayas. We are set to start our hike in Nepal the first week of November. I am SO excited about this!! We are going to hike up for 3 days and on the 4th day we will hike down. The train will take about 24 hours to get up to Darjleeng and from there a couple hours to get to Nepal. The culture is supposed to be very different from Southern India so I am anxious to see what that is like, and how the food is! Andhra Pradesh is known to have the spiciest food, so it will be a nice change to have food that is not so spicy or “pungent” as they say here.

It’s strange though, I am so looking forward to the first week in November - but then I have only one month left here! I can’t imagine leaving right now. I feel like I am just getting started. We are finally starting to understand each other and we are all able to talk more and more that I do not even want to think about leaving! But as they tell me time and time again, this will always be my Indian home. I am sure that when the time comes for me to go home, I will be ready. I am just glad that it is not my time to go home yet! I am planning on going to Secunderbad on September 4th to watch the ND opener against Purdue. The volunteer coordinator is a HUGE ND fan so he got a new computer screen and he has access to live feed for the games online. Once we established that we have this passion in common, we decided that I should make the 3 hour journey on Saturdays to watch the games with him. I am VERY excited about this! I was so sad when I thought I had to miss all of the games. They will be showing from 1am-5am here…which will be a little rough, but we will see how it goes. At least I have the option of watching the games now!

                                  

Jaysree is in Pre-KG (nursery school) and she has a conversation with me every day in Telugu. I absolutely love her.

My 3rd class today during class. About 15 kids were absent so only 41 were in attendence which made class a whole lot easier!  Sorry about the angle, I thought about that after I loaded it on the computer! Pranay is up at the board drawing.  When I let them draw on the board they have a blast, so I tend to create lessons where I can have them draw on the board!

Adventures in Hyderabad

Yesterday I started my journey with Mass at 7am (as we start every day, usually). I ate a quick breakfast and one of the sisters (Sister Lucia) drove me on the bike down to the bus stop for my great adventure to Hyderabad! I got on the bus and got a ticket to the last stop: The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Stop. The bus ride was fairly uneventful, except when it became crowded. I was sitting alone most of the way (since there were mostly male passengers and they do not sit next to women, not even their wives). At one point one woman sat next to me, it was a tight fit. We were touching arms and legs, normal way of travelling in India. She left and two more women decided to squeeze in. One woman was completely on my leg. I laughed silently and just thought to myself “It’s India!” This is a common phrase that I think to myself. Well, I made it safely to the M.G.B.S. and got in an autorikshaw (little three wheeled taxi, see picture below) and a half an hour later we made it to the Taj Krishna Hotel. I met up with Steve (our family friend who is travelling in India for business) and we grabbed lunch, I had some pasta and pizza and ICE CREAM! I was very content with that. Afterwards I checked into my hotel (Taj Deccan) which was like an oasis in the middle of Hyderabad. It was gorgeous. Steve and I then grabbed another rik to go to Charminar, a famous spot in Hyderabad. It was extremely busy – and then it started to DOWNPOUR. We quickly went into one of the little shops – funny thing was everyone else had that idea too. It was pretty chaotic but we survived. It is Ramadan right now and being the Hyderabad is 90% Muslim, 10% Hindu, many, many Muslims were out buying from the fruit vendors since they only eat before sunrise and after sundown. There were women covered in black – with only their eyes showing everywhere. It is very interesting to be in a place that is so predominantly Muslim or Hindu. We learn about these religions maybe freshman year of high school and then forget about it – it is cool to witness first-hand how these people live and I find it interesting to learn about the different gods and festivals. I saw my first camel! Just being led down the street completely normal…I am used to the cows and goats ALLLLL over the place, but seeing a camel was new and exciting! We then went to one of the old forts of Hyderabad which was built in the 1400s. We learned the history and whatnot – that was pretty neat too. Then we ate and the day was over!


I have realized that I will trust any cab driver in NYC that is Indian – because if they can survive driving in India, you will definitely be safe and sound in NYC. They have lines on the road but for all I know, the lines are there for decoration because no one pays any attention to the lines. Cars, autorikshaws, cabs, trucks, bikes…any vehicle just goes where it can fit. Families of 5 all ride on a motorbike together – no one wearing a helmet. We saw a mother with a baby that was no older than 6 months – the baby was sound asleep on the mother’s lap – the mother just held the child with one arm…there are infants on the bikes, it seems so crazy to me, but this is completely normal for them.

I have begun to really just accept and go with the Indian lifestyle. Of course thing surprise me and I smile and laugh to myself but I am getting less and less surprised at what I see.

I will never again complain about a crowded subway in the city! This morning I travelled from my hotel to the MGBS and got on a bus to a town called Nalgonda. At Nalgonda I was the ONLY non-Indian. And I was the only one who spoke English. I figured out where the bus to Chandur was and waited. Some people who knew a little English came up to me and talked to me which was nice. I had to fight my way on to the bus once it came. We were PACKED in that bus like something I have NEVER seen before. There was no room anywhere it was crammed with people. I was standing close to the front right near the door so I was very happy to at least have some breeze. The lack of deodorant use in this country was a struggle this morning. The bus ride was 90 minutes long. I literally could not move for 50 minutes. Then the bus finally started to empty out. But I was pressed up against multiple people for at least 50 minutes. So, as I mentioned before, I will never complain about a crowded subway ever again. Also! The bus was pulling away and people were hanging on the side of the bus!! And they stayed like that until their stop! I could not believe it. They were literally hanging from the windows. It was completely nuts.

BUT I made it safely back to Chandur! I got off the bus and I was so happy to be home! The hotel was nice, sleeping on a mattress that was thicker than 3 inches and showering in a real shower instead of using a measuring cup to pour water over my head from a bucket was nice…but I was happy to be home. There are so many luxuries that are very nice – but I have realized that I do not NEED them. I am happy here with so little. I appreciate air conditioning and a hot shower and sleeping underneath the covers – but I am happy to be back here. I have found a comfort zone in India :)

Since the men can urinate whenever and wherever they please, I found this amusing.  Painted on the wall "Do Not Pass Urine Here"

Trusty Autorikshaw "rik" for short

These are ALL OVER the cities

...To make life easier

I didn't think I wanted to make a blog at first because I have been keeping a hand-written journal (which I write in close to every day) and I did not think I would want to write in two things every day.  But since I have been slacking with mass e-mails, I figure that this is the easiest way to really let people know what I am up to and how daily life in India is. 

I have finally gotten into a routine. It's about time! I have been here for 46 days!!  But really, life is great here.  I have some hard times but that happens everywhere.  I have gotten accustomed to the goats, pigs, chickens, cows, dogs, and every other type of animal wandering around everywhere.  When I go into town, I still get looks, but I have grown used to that too.  No one has ever travelled here so they are still amazed that I am still here!  I have become used to the Indian accent so I understand A TON more than I did a month ago, which has helped tremendously for obvious reasons.  I have learned to speak very slowly when talking.  Slow - that word describes the way of life that I have been living here.  There is nothing to be anxious about, unless I create something in my head that tells me I need to be anxious.  The way of life is so completely different and refreshing.  The teachers that I am working with, and who I also teach English to, really appreciate that I wear the traditional Saree now.  They love that I am diving right in to their culture which they are so proud of.  The language barrier is still strong, but we are breaking it down each day. 

Last Sunday was Independence Day for India - which was quite a celebration.  Very different from the 4th of July!  The children had a program and performed dances and routines along with a very traditional marching procession and hoisting of the flag.  They are very very proud of their independence (which they only received- I think - 63 years ago). 

I'm not quite sure what else to say right now in this first entry.  I will hopefully become a little better at this, but I did figure that this would be easier than e-mails!

My third grade class

Fitting right in with the teachers at my school. (They are all short too!!)