Sunday we had the opportunity to drive to the city (Chennai) and attend a small branch for our church,  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints.  I love attending church in other countries because it is so fun to see the culture of that country shine through the steadfast principles of the gospel.  I also really love the reminder that I get that the gospel of Christ is true and consistent throughout this entire world.  It doesn't matter which continent you are on, which language you speak, Christ and His gospel remain consistent.  Because of this consistency and truth, being in church in a foreign country is always such a comfort, like seeing an old friend or like going home.  After sacrament meeting some of the people were leaving to go do some shopping and needed more people to go with them.  So my friend Paige and I decided to go with them.  It was a crazy experience shopping in the mall here!  It was like being in a massive labyrinth.  It was huge and filled with a million small shops!  But it was fun to see it and shop around a little more.  :)
Sunday night the kids had a talent show and they were so excited for it they could hardly stand it.  Some of the kids sang, some of them danced and some of them even showed drawings they had done but all of them were absolutely adorable!  The girls in my family did a dance and it may have been one of the cutest things ever!  They were really good at it too... I should have them teach me how to dance.  :)  At the end when all of the kids had performed we as volunteers decided to surprise them with a little dance of our own.  That's right, I actually danced (not well I might add) AND sang (also not well) with all of the other volunteers.  And, of course, the kids absolutely loved it!  When the talent show had ended, music came on and the kids went CRAZY!  They circled around and danced mosh pit style for a while and then for a while they would take turns showing off their dance moves in the middle of the circle.  It was amazing and so much fun!

my girls getting ready to dance

sorry if these videos are a little shaky... I was getting bumped a lot! :)

kids going crazy!

Today, (monday) my group was on the construction rotation again and I have to admit it was so much fun!  We had a good time, talking and singing while we moved bricks and bags of sand.  For half of the time I ended up working with two older Indian men helping them lay foundations for the new and improved outhouses.  I never thought I would say that building bathrooms would be a blast, but it really was.  At one point I took over for the man and instead of handing him mixed cement he let me lay the cement down and spread it out to fill the foundation.  It was really cool to see the finished result and know that I had actually laid a foundation!  We finished our work in the colony early and were able to stop at the paratha bread and also at the junciton (small shopping area near our campus) and buy some henna!  So for anybody who wants to do henna when I get back let me know... I have plenty!  This afternoon, instead of typical play time, we had a water fight with the kids!  It was so much fun to see them running around soaking wet and surprisingly more fun to get soaking wet by the kids.  At one point I looked over at one of the little girls and saw that she had decided to go swimming in the puddles that resulted from the massive water battle.  It was adorable, to say the least.

It's really sad to think that tomorrow is my last day at Rising Star Outreach.  The time has gone by entirely too fast!  It's going to be hard to say goodbye to it all when we leave here Wednesday morning at 3, but I am so grateful to have even been here at all!

Cricket on a nice Saturday afternoon

Today the staff of the Chennai Marriott hotel came over today to spend the day with the kids and challenge them in a game of cricket.  I didn't realize this but apparently the Marriotts are big supporters of Rising Star.  The Marriott hotel in Chennai (about 2 hours away) even offers employment opportunities for kids who graduate from Rising Star and cannot find other work or don't already have an arranged marriage.
It was really fun to see the staff interacting with the kids.  Only the older boys were allowed to actually play in the match but all the other kids had  great time cheering and stealing our cameras to take 'photos'.  To make things even more fun for the kids, they WON!

the funny-face-makers are always just drawn to me... I wonder why

Playing with Abi

if you can see clearly enough count how many kids have cameras that don't belong to them

hangin with Gracie

Mamallapuram

For this weekend's trip we went to another beach town called Mamallapuram.  There we had the opportunity to do some more shopping see some ruins and hang out on the beach.  Neither my friend Paid nor I was super crazy about sitting on a beach all day so we spend most of the day shopping around town and strolling around the ruins.  I love shopping here because everything is so cheap and it is really fun to bargain with the salesmen.  I was able to get a chudidhar and sandals made for me for less than 30 dollars.  I also got some of other cool souvenirs such as a hand-carved elephant and a beautifully hand-stitched wall hanging.  When we had exhausted the shopping we walked over to the ruins to check them out.  They were super cool.  The intricacy and detail of the carvings is absolutely incredible.  But I'd have to say my favorite part was watching a monkey sit on the ruins and drink a coca cola he had stolen.  I have to admit though that monkeys are pretty smart.  Later, I tried taking back a wallet a monkey had stolen from a lady and it just sat there and teased me.  He totally faked me out a couple times before jumping into a tree where I had no chance.  I could have been irritated but seeing him fake me out was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

having our sandals fitted

some of the ruins...in case anyone is wondering, the elephant is symbol of strength and wisdom

yep... he's really drinking a coke

Krishna's butter ball

a littler girl who begged her parents to get a picture with us... adorable!

Give a man a fish...

Rising Star Outreach does micro-lending for people in leprosy colonies to help thm start small business so they cna learn to become more self-sufficient and avoid a life of inevitable begging that awaits so many that are associated with leprosy.  Even those who do not suffer from the disease themselves but have relatives that do, suffer from discrimination.  This week I was privileged enough to see two of these businesses in action and even help support them.  One of them is called, "Pearls with a Purpose" while the other doesn't really have a name ( at least not that I know of) and sells art.  Pearls for a purpose is done by a group of ladies who do not actually have leprosy but can't find work because their relative have leprosy.  They make beautiful necklaces and bracelets out of real pearls.   The art business is done through a small art school in a colony called Bharathapuram.  Some of the artists are relatives of someone who is leprosy-afflicted while others actually suffer from the disease themselves.  It is truly magnificent to see how they create such beautiful works of art when they don't even have fingers to hold a paintbrush.

I love that this organization doesn't just hand out donations but rather donates their time and focuses on giving these people opportunities to grow, learn and become self-sufficient.  It is the perfect example of the old saying, "give a man a fish and feed him
 for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime."

the women making the jewelry

checking out the art :)

My friend got to meet the artist of the painting he bough

the painting I bought

the pearls I bought... spoiler alert... a necklace for each grandma and the bracelet for mom :)

Unexpected adventures in India

On both of the days that my group has been on medical, we have been surprised with an unexpected adventure.  On our first day of medical, our wonderful driver Anandan decided we needed to take a trip the beach after working hard for a few hours, and who are we to argue?  So we drove about an hour to a beach where we though we would just hang out for a few minutes and take a few pictures.  But when we got there, there was trash everywhere (which shouldn't have been a shock, but it always is) and it smelled horribly bad.  We thought we were just going to leave, but Anan talked a couple of fishermen into taking us out a little ways in their boat.  So... we went boating!  It didn't look like the safest boat I've ever seen but as we all say here, "what the heck, we're in INDIA!"  The fishermen took us out a few miles and around to the other side of a small peninsula to the fishermen's port.  Over on that side was a colony of fisherman and also some really old Indian ruins.  It was SO COOL!  While we were exploring the ruins we each found some pretty seashells to take home and some even found a starfish.  It was really neat to be able to experience a little Indian history and also enjoy a relaxing boat ride.  On the ride back we saw a group of women bobbing up and down in the water.  One would go under, be missing for a while and then after what seemed like forever pop back up again.  We were all curious as to what on earth they were doing, and then the fishermen explained that they were pearl diving...how cool is that?!

yep... we rode in one of those

we're on a boat...YAY!

a bunch of ladies pearl diving

an old tomb

Indian ocean

For our medical day this week we weren't expecting any grand adventure, but much to our surprise we got another one!  After working in the Vandular leprosy colony Anan took us to a nearby zoo!  I've been to zoos before as had many others in the group, but a zoo in India is a whole other story!  We were in a bit of a time crunch so rather than walk around the zoo we rented bikes for 25 rupees (which works out to be less than 50 cents) and rode around the zoo. The bikes were really awkward and most had extremely dysfunctional brakes, but how many times does one have an opportunity to ride an awkward bike around a dirty zoo in India right?   Many of the animals I had seen in other zoos in America, but there were also many animals that I had never seen before, such as a water buffalo, strange birds and white tigers.  I adored the white tigers.  If I could have a pet tiger, I totally would.  One animal I never thought I'd ever see in a zoo though is a deer...I mean a deer?  Really?!  I see deer so often at home. Whether running around in people's yards or dead on the side of the road, they are just everywhere so it never occurred to me that they might be considered rare and interesting somewhere else.  They were even considered one of the main attractions.  Speaking of main attractions... while we were there to observe cool animals, it seems everyone else at the zoo dropped what they were doing to observe us.  While visiting the zoo, we became the zoo.    Many of the people see tigers, monkeys and elephants all the time, but a group of white people?  Now that's another story.  People would stop walking to watch us ride by and others would stop us and ask us to shake their child's hand or take a picture with them.  As fun as it is I don't think I'll ever get used to being famous in this country. It was a lot of fun getting the speed tour on the awkward bikes... I felt like I was going to fall off every other second, but luckily I made it without getting any new scratches or scrapes, which I must say is quite an accomplishment in my case.  

When we had seen all we wanted to see and had been seen by enough strangers Anan surprised again with a trip to pizza hut!  We had no idea there even was a pizza hut in this country.  And I have to say it was the most amazing pizza I had ever tasted in my life.  I do realize that that could be a result of having very little to compare it to in this country but... it was still incredible.

yeah, watch out for those deer... they'll stare a hole right through you

Recap of this week's work

This week I was in the education group twice, Monday and Thursday.  Education days are usually pretty uneventful because we spend the whole day on the Rising Star Campus.  Monday was a little unusual though because the kids didn't have school due to a holiday but they still had tutoring, which made it quite difficult for us (the tutors) because the kids wanted to be there even less than usual.  I can't say I blame them though... I wouldn't want to be there either if I were supposed to be on holiday.  It was quite a patience-tester for me because I hadn't been feeling well and all of the kids were super antsy and lacking in focus.  Although it wasn't as bad as it could have been because we had more breaks than usual, it was still hard because I had to read the same book with different kids.  Reading a book about a pterodactyl multiple times is almost cause to get someone admitted.  I will admit though that it was pretty hilarious watching all the kids try to pronounce pterodactyl.  :)  After tutoring on both Monday and Thursday we just hung out with the kids at play time and family time.  I had a wonderful time with one of the girls, Sudha, at play time on Monday.  She is in the 'family' I've been assigned to so I have been able to spend a lot of time with her and get to know her pretty well.  She is super spunky and extremely adorable, I so wish I could just take her home with me and keep her forever! I've also had the chance to get to know a few other kids pretty well... I just wish I had more time to develop real relationships with them.  

This is little Sudha... I promise she has a beautiful smile, she just keeps it hidden sometimes.

Navetha is in the pink and I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the other girl's name... I can't pronounce it.  She's a cutie though

That's the face I love so much ;)

Pavithra is sweet, but definitely has an angry side... can ya tell? 

Tuesday was construction again...yay!  Construction can be really tough when we're all working hard in 100 degree weather and wicked humidity.  But luckily we have a great group and we always make it fun.  Plus, all the hard work and sweat is worth every single smile we get from the grateful tenants of the colony who are getting new toilets out of our hard work.  This week wasn't quite as difficult as last week however.  It seemed we had a lot more down time in between jobs whereas last week we had almost no down time.  We had a great time singing and whistling while we worked and also relaxing in the dirt in between jobs.  :)  This weeks jobs consisted of filling in old latrines and digging holes for the new latrines... not exactly the greatest job, but like I said, we make it fun and the people are ecstatic.  I love it when the people come out of their humble huts to watch us work and offer us a place to rest.  Those that are able even offer us a coconut that they have cut open for us to drink out of.  It's amazing to see these people that seem to have nothing still find something to offer us out of gratitude and pure love.  When our work was finished for the day we were starving!! So our awesome construction coordinator took us to a place where we could get some delicious Indian food...that wasn't rice and curry.  We stopped at an interesting little shack and had some delicious paratha, which is just amazing Indian flat bread.

Me with my amazing paratha and super sugary orange soda

Wednesday was by far my favorite day of the week.  It was medical day!!  I was worried about how I would handle the medical side of things here because I've never been really good at it... but I absolutely adore medical days.  I love serving the people and seeing the light in their eyes.  I'd like to think that  that light is attributed to the work and service provided by rising star and I'm sure a small part of it is, but looking into their eyes it is impossible to deny that that light is the light of God.  These people show so much strength and courage that can make a heart swell so much it hurts.  I see so much goodness in them and pray that I can be even just a small fraction as strong as they are.  I feel so close to the savior as I sit and wash their feet and feel their love emanates from them.  For me washing their feet is a small service to give... but them it is everything.

The world he lives in gives him every reason to frown... but look at the gigantic smile!!! :)

The most strongest man I've ever seen... I am washing what is left of this man's leg, it is cut off just under the knee.

Lice, toilet paper, and the chore of eating

Soon after our trip last Saturday to Pondicherry we went tot the dining hall for movie night with the all of the kids.  When we got there it was only to find that we hardly reconized half of them... all of the kids, boys AND girls, from fourth grade and younger had gotten their hair cut!!  I wish I could say that they just wanted to cut their hair, however, unfortunately it was because the persisting problem of LICE!  Some of the kids have had for a long time and now most of the younger kids have it.  It was next to impossible for them to keep it under control so they just cut everybody's hair.  :( :( The girls here have long, thick and beautiful braids and now the only thing distinguishing them between the boys is their clothes.  It's sad to see their beautiful hair completely butchered and now most of the volunteers are paranoid!  We do lice checks almost everyday, but so far only two of the volunteers have had it.  Which is actually a funny story... they only reason those two got it was because one particularly ornery little girl decided it would be funny to pick the lice out of her own hair and put it into theirs when they weren't looking.... it's ok, you can laugh.  ;)

If you're queezy, I would suggest not reading this part... but I want to share because it is a small but good insight into how the people live her.  I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I must have know what I'm about to tell you and yet I was mortified the other day when I found out.  Apparently the people here do not use toilet paper!!!  I'd like to be able to tell you that they simply use some other material or decent method for wiping... but unfortunately I must report that their method is to simply use their hands.  :(  I might be able to get over it if I thought that they washed and sanitized well, but nothing in this culture suggests that they do and everything in this culture suggests that they don't.  I understand that they don't have access to certain luxuries we do in the states but that doesn't mean that I don't get nervous when the kids try to hold my hand or share food with me.  Thank goodness that toilet paper is provided for us 'high maintenance' americans and of course, thank goodness for hand sanitizer.

Now about eating...
I have always enjoyed eating... I mean, who doesn't?  I love snacking and I love flavor!  Most of the time eating is an enjoyable experience.  Since being here however, it seems that eating has become a chore.  One can only eat rice and really spicy curry so many times.  Rather than looking forward to nice meal at the end of a long day, dinner has become an essential event that we all must attend in order to keep us alive and somewhat well.  :)  

Pondicherry

For our weekend break yesterday, we took a two hour drive to a little beach town called Pondicherry that sits right on the edge of the Bay of Bengal.  We were looking forward to a leisurely break and some nice shopping but we had no idea what was waiting for us when we got there.  The second we stepped off of the vans I was completely surrounded by Indian people.  They were all talking excitedly and staring at us.  I smiled at one lady who had been staring at me for sometime, but little did I know I was opening a gate.  As soon as I smiled at her, her and many of her friends were next to me with their arms around me yelling, 'photo! photo!'.  I scanned the crowd and saw that the same thing was happening to the other volunteers as well.  Being surrounded, I couldn't really move so I just sat there and smiled for a million cameras.  When one group was satisfied, they would switch and in a matter of milliseconds I was surrounded by a new group.  People always wonder what it would be like on the red carpet... well now I think I know.  I mentioned in a previous blog that they love white skin, and I wasn't even almost kidding.  After quite some time I was finally set free by my new admirers, only to be swarmed and followed by some annoying peddlers selling a bunch of stuff that wasn't worth half the price they were asking.  These salesmen were more relentless than I've ever seen.  You can say no a hundred and one times and they still pester you incessantly.  And, of course, because we are suckers, we may or may not have (but definitely did) end of buying some little trinkets from street salesmen... not before some good bargaining though.  In one case one man wanted me to buy a necklace from him for 2000 rupees (which is about 30 dollars) and I was able to talk him into giving me 2 for 1000 rupees.  :)  I was fairly proud of myself.   We were finally able to move on down the street away from stalkers and street salesmen and onto cute little shops and boutiques to finally enjoy our leisurely shopping day.  Walking down the street is always dangerous no matter how you go about it.  The streets are so narrow that even when you're on the 'sidewalk' you're at risk for getting nailed by moped or a tiny car and on the off chance that there isn't a car coming, you're likely to trip over the uneven bricks on the sidewalk. While shopping we found quite a few little shops to buy some nice Indian clothes and souvenirs.  I got four pairs of these amazingly comfortable (but kind of ugly) genie pants, a couple of chudidhars, and a saree.  I also found some nice bengal bracelets.  Apparently this town is an old french and italian district so we were able to eat something besides rice and curry for the first time all week.  Spaghetti never tasted so good!!  I spent the day wandering with two of my awesome roommates, Melissa and Paige, and it was nice to just wander and shop.  When we were finally done shopping we went back to the beach to meet everybody else and go home.  But, naturally, we were swarmed again, both by the salesmen and admirers.  One group of men in particular asked to take at least 4 or 5 pictures with and filmed us for roughly 30 minutes.  It was bordering on really creepy before we finally got in the vans to go home.