Change

The time has come for me to go home. It will be a change. The children will say goodbye to the volunteers and wait in anticipation for new volunteers. The volunteers will head back home to the rushed flow of everyday life. Some may return to life before India but most hope to come home changed. The change happens inside yourself I have experienced a small part of the world here in India. My eyes have been opened to many new things and I hope with my new "Indian Eyes" I can see my world at home differently. I am grateful to all the amazing people in my life who made this trip possible. I was meant to come to Rising Star this summer in order to help the children understand who they are. Thanks to my Grandparents and other family members I immediately became a celebrity on campus. Each of the children know me whether it is "Cannah", "Hannah", or "Banana". They recognize me and are constantly calling to me "Auntie, Auntie, Auntie". I have tried very hard to learn as many names as possible but with 150 students it is difficult. I know a lot of names for the month I spent on campus yet at the same time I tried to get to know a few students better. Names are one thing but being able to tell a child about their personality is different. I learned who the children are now at Rising Star and I am anxious to see who they become. They all have the potential to change India - they just have to take advantage of the opportunity.

I Love Life!!

India has an amazingly special way of changing you. It is such an influencing country whether it is the people you meet, the children you love, or the atmosphere of this unique place. It has a gift that you cannot walk away from.

Working Hard or Hardly Working

Final day of construction and boy was it hot. It was a fun day but sad because everything is winding down. It has been fun to see all the work we have been doing (moving bricks, cement, and dirt) come together into the different structures. We have been working on five different toilets and a large community center - we just do whatever Mr. Boss/Foreman Victor says. We have done a lot as a volunteer group. With the rotations we work about every four days and the Indian workers make so much progress while we are away.

We spent some of the morning at the Bindu Art school because it would be our last chance to view the art. After our stop there we really got to work moving cement and singing. Our volunteer coordinator Jennie Doezie has split the groups - Scorpion, Shakti, Cobra. I am proud to be a scorpion. The challenge this week is to prepare a song/cheer for our competition tomorrow night - our song is amazing. Thanks Andrea and Courtney. We definitely sang as we worked the other teams better watch out. While we moved cement there was a commotion and screaming among the village women - turns out there was a snake in the house.

After playing with the snake we got back to work moving more cement. As I was walking down the road to the toilet location I noticed two women playing a game. I went over and talked to them through my smiles and gestures - the language barrier is very frustrating. I watched them play for a few minutes and it totally reminded my of Parcheesi.

Afternoon on campus was normal - break was cut short by a trip to the junction. Most of the volunteers were busy with their talent classes during playtime sadly I seemed to miss it all today. I got caught up in a conversation with a few of the coordinators and volunteers so we didn't make it to play time. Dinner was fun it was smaller tonight because the Hendershot's - assistant managers on campus - didn't bring there family to dinner. It was actually really fun to only have the volunteers at dinner I enjoyed the small group. Bedtime at the hostel was emotional for me tonight - I know it is time to come home but it will be hard to leave. Rising Star is an amazing place there is a wonderful spirit and mentality on this campus. The work Rising Star is doing will help to change India they are teaching the future leaders, doctors, and military of India. These children will change the world or fall into a hole they dig themselves Rising Star has given them the opportunity they just have to take it.

This is Veeran he is a crazy ball of energy with the best attitude around. When I first met Veeran I saw his personality as a total gangster/punk - he wears the best low ride jeans. After spending quite a bit of time with him his personality is nothing like what I first saw in him. Veeran is sweet, sensitive and totally awesome I have loved getting to know him. Lately I have thought a lot about sponsoring him through school so we can keep the connection.

Routine

It felt good to get back to Rising Star and a routine schedule. Today we went out to do medical work at Chetnaputtium (where i fainted) this time was a lot better, seeing as i stayed up right the whole time. I truly fell in love with this colony each time I was there. It is small and tucked away behind the train tracks, no big houses or even buildings we can work in. The people are amazing they are one large family and so welcoming of the volunteers. I washed the feet of the few leprosy patients who needed their ulcers cleaned. Then I helped the nurses distribute the drugs that is usually one of my favorite parts of medical. As we were about to leave the colony I was asked by one of the nurses to help her with a patient too sick to leave his house. We walked to his house to look at the large infection on his foot. I along with his wife and daughter became responsible for holding him down while the nurses tried to push the infection out. It was horrible he wriggled and squirmed trying to get away screaming the whole time.

The rest of the day was fun enjoyed playtime, prayer, and dinner on the roof.

Bedtime with the children was short because they went to bed early then the volunteers started Slumdog Millionaire. It was interesting to hear the feelings of the volunteers who have never seen it before because it really does give an idea of India.

An Indian sunset.

Northern India

Spent the last three days going at a crazy pace as we tried to fit everything in. We left Rising Star campus at 3:30 a.m. friday morning to start our crazy adventure up north. We endured an early two hour bus ride to the Chennai airport where we boarded an early flight to New Delhi. Once in New Delhi all 17 of the volunteers in the group got on a large orange tour bus and headed around Delhi. We drove through the Embassy's which was really cool to see the different designs and architecture of the buildings. After the bus tour we headed to Old Delhi for a rickshaw ride to a spice market and a stop at McDonalds.

After our ice cream cone from McDonalds we loaded back on the bus for a 5 hour drive to Agra. We arrived in Agra about 9 o'clock friday night and enjoyed room service while we watched Glee.

Saturday was another early morning. We were up and ready to go at 5:15 a.m. we headed straight to the Taj Mahal from the hotel to be there at sunrise. It was amazing the architecture is beautiful.

After spending time enjoying the beauty of the Taj Mahal we moved down the river to Agra Fort. The public is only allowed in one small section of this large fort because it is still in use by the Indian Military. Again it was another amazing building - I liked the Taj better but the red brick of the fort was an interesting contrast.

We finished our sight seeing around 10 a.m. leaving just enough time to get back to the hotel for breakfast. We were supposed to take the next few hours to catch up on sleep but, instead we went swimming. Later in the afternoon we went to a rug making shop, it was really fun to see how these amazing rugs are hand made.

We did some shopping then went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Then that night we went disco dancing at the hotel. Despite being a long day it was so much fun and I loved all of it. This morning we got to ride elephants - it was awesome. Then we travelled by bus, plane, and car to get back to the campus of Rising Star - to get home. There is a saying that is popular around Rising Star TII (This Is India). Usually it has a negative connotation like when the bus broke down, or we had to rent more cars to go into Andrapadesh. This weekend was a TII weekend for me, everything we did was Indian (despite a few American food stops). The long days didn't matter because India was showing me the beauty of the world.

Nandri

Nandri - Thank you in Tamil, it is one of the few words I know but it comes in handy a lot. I am so full of gratitude tonight after an interesting Indian adventure over the last two days. We left Rising Star campus at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning to travel North to the state above Tamil Nadu. We traveled to Andhrapradesh and the city of Tirupati to assist two new colonies with medical care, it becomes more difficult because they speak a different language in this state. Dr. Kumar - the medical director and doctor for Rising Star - put a lot of effort into planning this amazing trip. We were expected to drive 4 hours to reach the destination and cross the state border on the way. We made it all the way to the state border before being stopped, they weren't going to let us go through the border because of some weird random regulations. Apparently we had too many seats in the car and needed some kind of permit. We headed back to the closest town, rented a bus and another driver then drove back to the border. We finally arrived in Tirupati 4 hours behind schedule after spending 8 hours straight in the car - except for an interesting toilet stop. Dr. Kumar was extremely frustrated because we were late for our planned meeting in the leprosy colonly but after a short lunch we headed to the colony. It truly was an amazing experience, we went to two colonies that had never had volunteers or seen Dr. Kumar before so we had to start at the beginning with all the patients.

After arriving at the colony much later than expected we split up into groups and got started - I was assigned to wash the patients feet. I worked extremely hard and was sweating horribly the whole time but we got everything done. At the first colony we were able to help 80 new patients. After a very long day we headed to our hotel, everyone basically crashed when we got back at 10:30 that night.

The next day after a little mix up about the complimentary breakfast (apparently in the morning the hotel figured it shouldn't be complimentary anymore) we headed to the second colony. It was a hundred times harder than the day before and unfortunately I felt useless for most of the day. It was just super hard because we were a group of 25 volunteers stuck in this small meeting hall with all of the patients. There was not enough space for everyone so it was just better for me to stay out of the way. It was rainy all day so we had to cram inside for all of the work which is what made it so hard. It was amazing though I was able to watch all of the volunteers including myself really step up and help in both of the colonies. The second colony was hard for everyone because Dr. Kumar had never even been there and the ulcers, and deformities were probably the worst most of us have seen. It was awesome though after a hard day of working we were able to help 115 new patients get medical care for their leprosy. It was truly and amazing adventure full of fun, humor, excitement, work, and volunteer bonding time.

The drive home was again eventful we were stopped at the border/near the border by a small car. Apparently they wanted us to pay 500 Rupies for a permit to cross becuase we hadn't gotten one before. After some Indian discussion (totally normal for Indians to talk about negotiations for hours) a price was agreed upon and we were able to cross. India loves to favor or provide discounts to Indians. If you are American the price immediately doubles - we had a feeling this was the reason for a lot of our detours and unexpected costs. Also to make the ride more comfortable, randomly our van that we rented had a DVD player so we watched Hot Rod on the way home. After spending two days away from Rising Star Campus it was incredible to come "HOME" and feel the change. The campus at Rising Star has an amazingly peaceful, and calm feel compared to the craziness of India. It feels like home and it becomes a safe haven for anyone who visits.

That was a short overview to keep everyone updated on my latest adventures. I felt so blessed to be able to help Dr. Kumar and Rising Star expand the medical care into another state and to new colonies. It was a big thing for Rising Star, Dr. Kumar, and myself. I will always remember the gratitude, and love in the faces of the patients we met and helped over the past two days.

Days Turn to Weeks

Today wore me out and I am going to feel it tomorrow. Started with an early run and workout before the day even really began. I was able to talk to my parents this morning which totally made my day. Then it was off to Bharathapuram for another day of construction work - today really was work, hard work. We moved crazy amounts of cinder blocks for the foundations of different squatters around the colony. Not only were they extremely heavy but we had to carry them super far.

It was a hard working day. I was so tired during break I just wanted to sleep instead we had a little excitement around campus. As our volunteer coordinator Jenny Dosey was walking along Rising Star's Pathway of Hope to the volunteer hostel she saw a snake. The snake went into a pipe under the pathway and the security guard needed to get it out. The guard lit a pipe on fire and stuck it into the other end of the pipe to get the snake out. The snake came out and it turned out to be a cobra about 2 1/2 feet long. It was crazy all the guards and Steele Hendershot starting hitting it with sticks to kill it. Definitely a highlight of the afternoon and super exciting to see a cobra. Dinner was unusual also because the normal location on the roof wouldn't work when it started to down pour right as dinner started. Instead all the children ran inside for pray while the volunteers headed back to the volunteer block. It has been three nights since we had dinner on the roof and I have missed it.

Church Services

Sunday is usually a long day - today was no different. Two hour ride into Chennai to attend the small branch (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). It is an awesome branch full of amazing people. Everyone is extremely smart and they have a strong testimony of their beliefs. The ride home was a little longer because the bus broke down about 15 km from Rising Star. The bus breaking down was a total high for the day it gave a group of the volunteers a good time to bond. The ride home was a total party it was super fun. I was also given a nickname of Athena (goddess of wisdom) I definitely approve.

Once back at Rising Star we had a little down time before playtime with the kids. Playtime is a serious workout it wears me out everyday. Our volunteer coordinator Jenny Dosey is amazing and she made everyone spaghetti tonight it was an amazing treat. After bedtime stories and homework help with the children we experienced a crazy Indian rain storm. It was so much fun all of the volunteers in the hostel ran out to the courtyard playing in the rain until we were completely soaked. Another Amazing Day.

Mamalapuram

Finally I felt like a tourist and it rained on us a few different times during the day.

Today we headed to the coast and the city of Mamalapuram. It was a total tourist day. We spent the morning bartering and shopping, I felt like I was on canal street in New York. It was fun to see all the fun Indian merchandise that I have been given in the States. After a morning of shopping we stopped at a nice Indian restaurant - luckily we had the option of semi-western food. After lunch we headed to one of the Seven Hindu temples of the area. Also near the temple there is an amazing rock placed on the side of the hill that refuses to move. I guess over the years they have tried to pull it down with elephants but no movement. Even in the tsunami and cyclones it remains still on the hill.

The rest of the day was spent wandering through the city before we loaded the bus heading for dinner. Dinner tonight was a parota stand on the side of the highway. I didn't quite hit Nate's record but I feel I came close with 8. Parota is pretty awesome - basically it is just a tortilla that has been folded over itself before being fried making more of a flaky texture. You eat them with spicy sauces and an omelet they are a serious treat around the volunteers at Rising Star. Parota night is a definite highlight.

Hindu Temple

Two Busy Days - No Internet

Day 1 Medical

Two interesting and amazing days, even though we rotate through the same schedule every day is different. You never have the same experience twice this is the spirit of India. Yesterday I headed to Bharathapuram for the fourth time and again it was a different experience. There wasn’t enough room on the medical van so I was sent on the bus with the construction workers. We arrived early so I spent the morning wandering through town with Katie Winder waiting for the medical van. We somehow wandered into the front yard of two young girls about our age. Katie and I then spend the next hour with them while they gave us a makeover of henna and nail painting.

The van still hadn’t arrived so we thought we had been stranded – but when we walked back to the old folks home the medical team was already in place. Apparently the van had broken down and the bus had to go pick them up. I spent the rest of the day helping the nurses Pushpaw and Navimani distribute medicine. This is one of my favorite stations in medical because I get to talk with the nurses and the patients besides it is more relaxed. Playtime yesterday was epic! While during the volunteer talents classes I enjoyed a variation of American Football and Rubgy against the Indian Boys. Sadly the three American’s lost at our own game to five Indian boys. After the game all of the American’s had a fun game of soccer – again the boys beat the girls.

Day 2 Tutoring

Spent the morning in the library with two students tutoring is challenging but I enjoy the one-on-one time with the kids. English is a big problem especially pronunciation and sounding out words. The children just memorize the assignment and never really learn the material so when you watch a child actually learn and understand it is very rewarding. It is hard though because the teachers hardly know more than the students. Celina Charles has come to India to spend the next year training the teachers and making the school really function and work. Already Celina has made a big difference in the two weeks I have been here. She created the most beautiful library and even organized it. She has incorporated library time weekly into each grade and this last Wednesday the children had their first recess. Selina seems discouraged but she has so much to change and she has only been here a week – it will just take time but what she is doing is amazing. During tutoring we spent a lot of time working on pronunciation – especially with the younger children. Their pronunciation is so funny but it gets annoying when you know it is wrong. A becomes YAY, N becomes YEN, M becomes YEM, Children is Childrens, L becomes Yell. I don’t know why they do this but they must enjoy the Y sound. Today while we were teaching I was trying to get the little boy to finish the word “Ham” but instead of telling him it was an “M” I definitely said “Yem.” I guess they really are rubbing off on me. Later in the day I taught a First Standard (First Grade) class with a few other volunteers. Then after lunch on campus I helped the sweetest girl write letters to her sponsors. All in all two great days under the Indian Sun.

Shakti

Shakti (Shocktee) means power in Tamil and that is how I feel today. This summer Rising Star is building a community center in Bharathapuram. After today I can happily say that my blood, and sweat went into helping the community center come together. We spent all day in Bharathapuram moving stuff. By stuff I really mean just stuff - it was a lot of random construction materials. The morning started with an assembly line passing the small frisbee like tools full of dirt. We had to move a large pile of dirt from in front of the house to cover the foundation on the side. After we finished that job our foreman and boss, Victor, instructed us to help move concrete inside the structure. I learned today that there are different types of concrete (definitely something I wouldn't expect to come to India and discover). Mostly I learned about two types of concrete. The first is made by mixing the sand with large stones and the second with small stones. The sand is basic concrete mixing it with stones must just help make it go father. So, the large stoned concrete goes on the floor while the small stones go above windows and doors. Who knew there were different concretes for different jobs? After we had finished the concrete on the floor we were instructed to move a large pile of cinder block bricks. Thinking it would be a short trip into the structure or around back a picked up a couple and asked Victor where to go. I was surprised when he started walking away from the structure, crossed the street, and headed behind a hut. Behind the hut the Indian workers had started the foundation for a new squatter aka toilet. Working was fun, it felt good to actually move around doing something hard. Despite the heat, humidity, and lack of shape it was an amazing day.

After work we are all given a two hour break - I was actually grateful to take my first bucket shower. I couldn't wait for play time to come around because I had decided to try and take a face shot of each of the children i know by name. I was excited to finally have pictures to go with the names of the children I have grown to love, it proved harder than I thought. I probably know 30 names but 180 kids want their picture taken. By the end we were just having fun with the camera.

Sangia Lakshmi

Gracy Bell - I love this girl. She is Praveen's little sister (my family sponsors Praveen) can you tell?

The Crew

Goodbye

I have had the most amazing two weeks with my Grandparents. I have the four most amazing Grandparents in the world. I am so grateful for the past two weeks and being able to get a better understanding of the work they have done in India for the last two years. They are amazing people and have opened their hearts to the amazing country of India in so many ways. I am grateful for their examples of love and kindness among other things they teach me everyday. I was so sad to say goodbye today. I am inspired and taught by them each day. I love you Grandma and Granddad thank you for including me in your amazing Indian experience. I will cherish my time here in India with you forever.

Though today it was hard to say goodbye to my Grandparents I had to continue the work with my session. I have felt a lot better today. I officially started my session yesterday so I am a full blown volunteer of Rising Star Outreach. The volunteer and really off the coordinators at Rising Star are amazing and have everything organized and planned for the volunteers to stay busy. Today I was assigned to tutoring the children at school. I spent the first session with a young girl who I felt was doing fine. After we were asked to teach a science class we split the class into three groups. At first it was hard to get the group of girls under control once we got organized it became a fun lesson. The best part was that the girls actually learned the lesson they were supposed to, it was a rewarding morning. After my final lunch with my Grandparents I helped two children write post cards to their sponsors. Then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening with the children. Our schedule is pretty consistent. - 8:30 ready for the day and at morning meeting. 9:00 break into groups (tutoring, construction, medical) 2:00-4:00 break 4:00-6:00 play with children 6:00 dinner on the roof 7:30-9:00 read work on homework with children in our assigned families.

Chetneputtyam

Wasn't feeling great last night but this morning i decided to venture out the the colony's with Abby and Sally Read and the reporter that was here for the weekend. We began in Bharathapuram at the Bindu Art School. Jamie the reporter wanted to see the colony and art school, we didn't do any medical in the colony today.

After Bharathapuram we headed to Chetneputtyam to do medical work which is always fun. It was especially fun today because we had such a small group. Once at the colony we had about 20 patients we washed feet, tested blood for diabetes, and blood pressure. It was a great day until I fainted - mostly from dehydration please don't worry I am fine. I wasn't feeling well yesterday which is why I missed my blog. I was sad because my blog is usually a highlight of my day. I had a fever last night so my Grandma was hesitant about sending me out today but I was feeling fine until later this afternoon. Heat played a big role also, today was probably the hottest day since I arrived.

We got 17 new volunteers today and my session officially started today. It seems like a good group and I am excited to get to know everyone. It will be fun to move forward with this new group but my Grandparents are leaving tomorrow which is very sad. I have loved being in India with them.

Celebration

An Indian celebration to remember.

My Grandfather conducting the first half of the meeting and Manjala the school principal translating.

Congratulations Dad - Wish you could have been there

As well as being the dedication of the new buildings today was more importantly parents day. Once a month usually the first saturday of the month the parents come from the colonies to visit their children. It was so amazing to watch the children, who I have grown to love interact with there families. It was amazing to see each of the children join their families and be so happy.

Final Preparations

Wow is about all I can say. I am so grateful for the amazing blessings that I have been given. My trip to India is one of those blessings. It has been amazing getting to know my 180 cousins that called my Grandparents "Grandma and Grandpa". I feel so humbled and blessed each day as I interact with the people of India. The Indian people are so happy and joyful through all of their pain and hardship. Today was an amazing day that I wish would never end. It started with a 6 o'clock wake up call to watch "The Rock" be unloaded. As is typical in India 6 o'clock turned to 8 o'clock but "The Rock" arrived. It was a 2 ton chunk of granite that will sit in the entryway of the school with a statue on top. Unfortunately we left as the real unloading began but it was going to be no easy task for the working men.

Today I had the opportunity to travel to a small leprosy colony that we refer to as Mute. Mute is amazing on so many levels. Firstly, there are only 7 patients left in the colony that started with 30. Over the last few years that Rising Star has worked with this colony more and more people have passed away. Most of the 7 patients are horribly crippled by the affects of leprosy. Despite their pain and hardships they are the happiest people I have ever met.

The drive is hard about 2 hours - but it is beautiful rice feilds the whole way.

This man was the life of the colony in every sense of the word. He spoke English fairly well so we were able to communicate on some level. Personally, I preferred our dancing attempts. He would dance then look at me to reply because I got off the van dancing and he noticed my apparent skills or lack there of.

This woman is incredible. She lives in the colony with her husband who is also affected with leprosy. She has one foot and a very hard time getting from place to place. She is extremely friendly and generous behind her house she has created a bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is full of bird baths and each day she gives the birds some of her small supply of rice.

Another generous and happy woman. Upon our arrival she quickly gave each of the woman a bindi for our foreheads.

Pulling into the Rising Star campus after a day away was amazing. The block made it to its spot and it looks fantastic. The entire campus had changed because of the hard work from the children. Post with string tied between had been placed up all over campus throughout the day. On the string the children were hanging individual crate paper flags and underneath were grass wind-mill type decorations. The campus was completely transformed as everyone gets ready for the dedication tomorrow. It is about 10:30 as I write this and most of the workers are enduring there second sleepless night as they work on the Rising Star campus. We were just pulled out of our rooms to mop and sweep the Dinning Block. Finally the chairs and flower guys arrived at 9 p.m. instead of the promised 10 a.m. so they will be working through the night.

Everyone put in a long day of work. Tomorrow will make it all worth it.