Outing with the teachers

Woke up at 5:29 to a phone call from one of the teachers...making sure I was awake and ready to go! I planned a trip to a dam called Nagarjuna Sagar with 12 of the teachers for Friday.  We had Friday and Saturday off last week since it was Ramzan (a Muslim Holiday) and then a big Hindu festival where they celebrate the god Ganeesh, the Elephant god.  So - we all rented a "sumo" like a jeep, only bigger, and a driver and we were on our way by 7:30.  It took about 2 hours to get there and only 2 of the 24 gates were open (see picture).  We were bummed, we wanted to see most of the gates open and flowing with water - but that did not put a damper on our day!  We then went to a church to sit on the grounds outside and have a late breakfast.  The teachers were all amazed because I do not know how to eat with my hands the way they do.  After breakfast we went down towards the Krishna River and we all put our feet it.  It was beautiful.  The rest of the day we went and saw waterfalls and other places around the river.  The Krishna River is one of India's largest rivers and runs west to east and empties out in the Bay of Bengal.
Just when I thought we were heading home we made another stop.  We went out on a small boat (see picture) and had a blast.  Then the men went swimming.  I wanted very much to go swimming since it was very hot outside, but I was in a Sari.  Everyone was asking if I knew how to swim and of course I was proclaiming that I knew how.  They only partially believed me, so, I tied my sari up and jumped in and swam.  It was very difficult with the amount of fabric the sari is - but everyone was impressed.

We stopped along the side of the road on our way home to eat dinner that the teachers prepared and then we made it home.  It was a great day.

Nagarjuna Sagar

All of us (except Balu, who is taking the picture)

This is Balu, my Indian Anna (Big brother) and I am his Chelli (little sister)

The boat that fit 8 of us

The next morning I woke up early to go to Secunderbad.  Nothing too exciting about that journey.  I met Hannah and we came back to Chandur together.  We went shopping with one of the sisters, Sister Mercy.  She was very nervous and reached for my hand every time we crossed the street.  Hannah was wearing a skirt that came down just below her knees at first and Sister Mercy looked in horror and asked if she had something that would cover her knees...she then put on capris and I burst into a fit of laughter.  Conservative does not even begin to describe life here.

We finally booked our flights to Bagdogra!! We are officially hiking the Himalayas from October 31 to November 9.  I am very excited!! Hannah and I are trying to plan what we are going to do while we are there besides hiking - we are thinking hang gliding, rock climbing, or white water rafting.... I will keep you updated on what we decide to do!

As for now, I am concentrating on teaching 10 3rd grade girls an Irish Step Dance routine... it is quite comical to watch.