Friday, December 30,
2011
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"
Today is the second day of the cyclone and the rain is unyielding. The storm is predicted to peak this morning and then hopefully die down which is good since Katie, Will, and Ginny's flights are leaving late tonight /early tomorrow morning.
Chris, Mary, and I go to SEAM in the morning and play games with the kids. Memory is a favorite along with Bingo and the older kids like the flash cards. Anish ,Paul Anthony, and Kabilan are competing who can answer the fastest as I go through multiplication and division flashcards. It's a close race so there is no clear winner, to me they are all winners just for applying themselves. Cheran, 16, struggles to read me and the other kids a book but I give him a lot of credit for his persistence and patience in Trying to sound out the words and looking to me for reassurance that he is pronouncing the words correctly. Next I work with Anish, 12, and he breezes through flashcards with full sentences, I need to test that out next time by having him read a book to me.
Chris is working with Siva on the laptop helping him with his computer programming homework ( he is going to school to learn a trade) as he is 17 years old. Mary is has created a safe and fun environment for the girls in their room, away from the rain and the rambunctious boys, where she has cleverly created a game where the girls don't realize they are actually learning sentences while they play. Katie, Will, and Ginny go to Assisi Illam for the last time this trip and stay for lunch per Katie's request. Sister Rose is a delightful host always serving drinks and snacks whenever the volunteers visit and she is a great cook which is why it's a spe ial treat for them to be able to stay for lunch and sample her culinary talents. I ask Katie if it's hard to say goodbye to the kids she's come to know so well at Assisi ( this is her second visit this year) and she said it's not as bad since they are all still young and will still be there when she comes bak next time ( which I expect will be next year foe her). She explains it is harder to say goodbye at SEAM to some of the older boys who will leave next year once they turn 18 years old, she is deeply saddened by the thought of losing touch with them.
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"
Today is the second day of the cyclone and the rain is unyielding. The storm is predicted to peak this morning and then hopefully die down which is good since Katie, Will, and Ginny's flights are leaving late tonight /early tomorrow morning.
Chris, Mary, and I go to SEAM in the morning and play games with the kids. Memory is a favorite along with Bingo and the older kids like the flash cards. Anish ,Paul Anthony, and Kabilan are competing who can answer the fastest as I go through multiplication and division flashcards. It's a close race so there is no clear winner, to me they are all winners just for applying themselves. Cheran, 16, struggles to read me and the other kids a book but I give him a lot of credit for his persistence and patience in Trying to sound out the words and looking to me for reassurance that he is pronouncing the words correctly. Next I work with Anish, 12, and he breezes through flashcards with full sentences, I need to test that out next time by having him read a book to me.
Chris is working with Siva on the laptop helping him with his computer programming homework ( he is going to school to learn a trade) as he is 17 years old. Mary is has created a safe and fun environment for the girls in their room, away from the rain and the rambunctious boys, where she has cleverly created a game where the girls don't realize they are actually learning sentences while they play. Katie, Will, and Ginny go to Assisi Illam for the last time this trip and stay for lunch per Katie's request. Sister Rose is a delightful host always serving drinks and snacks whenever the volunteers visit and she is a great cook which is why it's a spe ial treat for them to be able to stay for lunch and sample her culinary talents. I ask Katie if it's hard to say goodbye to the kids she's come to know so well at Assisi ( this is her second visit this year) and she said it's not as bad since they are all still young and will still be there when she comes bak next time ( which I expect will be next year foe her). She explains it is harder to say goodbye at SEAM to some of the older boys who will leave next year once they turn 18 years old, she is deeply saddened by the thought of losing touch with them.
At 4:30pm it's time to go to SEAM again to say goodbyes for most. The power is
out again from the storm and the rain has not let up. We prepare for the
challenge of maneuvering ourselves through the mud and deep puddles without
sinking in or falling, luckily it's only about 30 feet to the safety of the
rickshaw which takes us to see the children.
We play for a little bit and then Steven has them line up order of age and sir in their rows by room number. They sing a song to Katie since she needs to leave for the airport in 30 minutes and present her with a card and their thanks for the time she spent with them and then come up one at a time to say a personal goodbye, pretty soon they are all surrounding her and she is giving out her email address and signing autographs os so it appears, also there are lots of hugs being exchanged.
After she leaves we begin to play again but I didn't bring any games so I have to think on the fly...luckily I had packed a flashlight in my bag in case the power went out again so taught them how to play my version of flashlight tag, as simple as it was it kept them amused.
Next it was time to line up again and say good-byes to Mary, Will, and Ginny. The same procedure was followed and then each of the volunteers said a few words. Mary expressed how they had all made a difference in her life by touching her heart which was evident by the tears that rolled down her face as she spoke. Ginny encouraged them all to continue studying hard so they could be what ever they wanted to be when they grew up, there options were unlimited if they put the work in. Will told them he had fun getting to know them and gave some very sound advice " be good to each other" which is a good reminder to us all..
We play for a little bit and then Steven has them line up order of age and sir in their rows by room number. They sing a song to Katie since she needs to leave for the airport in 30 minutes and present her with a card and their thanks for the time she spent with them and then come up one at a time to say a personal goodbye, pretty soon they are all surrounding her and she is giving out her email address and signing autographs os so it appears, also there are lots of hugs being exchanged.
After she leaves we begin to play again but I didn't bring any games so I have to think on the fly...luckily I had packed a flashlight in my bag in case the power went out again so taught them how to play my version of flashlight tag, as simple as it was it kept them amused.
Next it was time to line up again and say good-byes to Mary, Will, and Ginny. The same procedure was followed and then each of the volunteers said a few words. Mary expressed how they had all made a difference in her life by touching her heart which was evident by the tears that rolled down her face as she spoke. Ginny encouraged them all to continue studying hard so they could be what ever they wanted to be when they grew up, there options were unlimited if they put the work in. Will told them he had fun getting to know them and gave some very sound advice " be good to each other" which is a good reminder to us all..
We returned to the
guest house for one last dinner and then Steven took Ginny and Will to the
airport and Mary departed with her friends to begin the next leg of her trip.
The house is quiet now... but wait what's that? Oh yeah Roshan is still here so it won't be quiet for long...
The house is quiet now... but wait what's that? Oh yeah Roshan is still here so it won't be quiet for long...
Kerry
Thursday,
December 29, 2011
"Don't
cry because it's over. Smile because it happened ". - Dr. Seuss
The
cyclone that caused us to forego a field trip to the beach has brought rain and
wind to Chennai. But that did not deter
Katie,Will and I from setting out before breakfast to experience the local
flower and fruit market. The flower
market was a dazzling kaleidoscope of color.
More than a few of the vendors gave Katie and I flowers and wanted their
picture taken, giving us their cards and asking us to mail the pictures back to
them. At the fruit market, we
were happy to pick out oranges, bananas, strawberries and carrots for
the children at SEAM.
When we
arrived at SEAM this morning, the children were all assembled indoors with
their books for study time, I thought it
would be easy to sit next to them, work one-on-one for a few minutes, and just
move around the room that way. After
almost two weeks, how could I still be so naive? As soon as we started working with one child,
5 more would gather around wanting the same attention. It was impossible to
keep any kind of order. Within a few minutes of our arrival, we had disrupted
everything. Still, we did our best
working in small, and shall I say "fluid", groups having the students
read to us or reading stories to them.
When
study time ended, I showed the caregiver the strawberries we had brought for
the children. She expertly restored
order in the room once again, and the children sat in their neat rows while we
handed out the strawberries. We had noticed pictures of strawberries in the
picture books we used so the students recognized them, but for some, it was the first time they ever
tasted one.
In the
evening, the team returned to SEAM. We
worked in small groups again. Katie organized a rambunctious game of
"Memory". Will and I played
very competitive Word BINGO, and Kerry kept an older group challenged with
multiplication and division practice. A
group of girls and I retreated to one of the dorm rooms where the girls got
creative with crayons, stickers and cutouts for tracing. Sweety sat quietly on
the bed and drew a very intricate flower design which she signed and asked me
to keep. I had been to an art gallery
downtown earlier in the day where I purchased some fine art prints and a Buddha
painting, but I have no doubt which work of art I will treasure the most.
Ginny
took some of the older boys to another room where she helped them write letters
back to Joelle's students who had written to them. Joelle will be so surprised to get these. We
and the children both missed her today, and we know that Ginny's thoughtful
gesture will return to Joelle a small bit of the warmth she had shared with all
of us.
At the
end of the evening, we distributed the fresh oranges and bananas to the
children. As i watched them savor these
delicacies, I thought to myself that I would never again be able to let fruit
go uneaten and rot on my kitchen table.
After
dinner this evening, we surprised Stephen and Sheeba with cake to celebrate
their their 7th Wedding Anniversary. Mixing special occasion traditions, we
sang "Happy Anniversary to You" and they blew out the Number
"7" candle. Our singing was so
good, that we sang a "Happy Birthday" encore for Ginny who will be
celebrating her birthday tomorrow,
Most of
us are nearing the end of our two weeks together. Speaking for myself, I found it very
difficult to leave the children at SEAM tonight. I'm worried about how I will be able to
manage a final goodbye tomorrow. I'm happy to know that Kerry will be with them
another week and Chris another six weeks, but still, it will be really, really
hard for me. I just have to remember
that's the price I have to pay for the opportunity of having had these
wonderful children in my life.
Mary
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
"If you think you're too small to make a difference, you haven't
been in bed with a mosquito!" - Anita
Roddick, The Body Shops
Our team timed things right
coming over the Christmas Holiday as the students have off from school and
we’re able to take day trips together.
Yesterday the older boys had the opportunity to climb a mountain, today
the girls and the younger boys joined the volunteers to the Chennai Zoo.
We met at SEAM at 9AM where
the children were cleaned up and dressed in their new Christmas outfits. They lined up in two lines, one for the girls
and one for the boys youngest to oldest.
The Pastor shared a prayer and we filled into two vans. I was in the same van as the day before and
the driver played some of the same callywood music, which was a hit again with
the little kids dancing in their seats and isles.
Once at the zoo, Stephen
had us pair up and counted everyone to make sure we were all set. Plastic bags are not allowed into the
zoo. At the entrance there’s a table
where people open their knapsacks and rewrap their plastic bagged items with
newspaper. I saw this as a step in the
right direction towards keeping the park clean, I just wonder where the plastic
bags are trashed, probably on the street just outside the zoo.
The zoo was huge in size
and tiny in quantity of animals. The zoo
was crowded with spectators as everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the
holiday from school. This didn’t seem to
be an issue for the children; they loved it!
The best part of the trip to the zoo was watching the kid’s excitement
as they encountered the zoo animals.
They were eager to point “Sister, sister, look!” It was hard to have
moment to take a proper picture because I had two girls who clung to me like
leaches. We saw monkeys, ducks, birds
deer and even chickens on display. I was
surprised in how excited the kids were to see deer. We can’t get rid of the quick enough back
home.
Having come off of the
“Girls Night” at SEAM, we could tell that the girls displayed more
confidence. We saw them all smile wide
grins and each of them cling to one of the female volunteers throughout the
trip. We saw this as a huge accomplishment,
as two days prior; we had a hard time getting a smile out of a few of these
girls. The girls just needed a little
bit of special love and attention; that was all.
Us volunteers were the only
foreigners at the Zoo and at times I felt like we were and animal of sorts on
display. There were several people who
snapped our pictures and wanted to be in pictures with us.
We found a spot under a
shelter to break for lunch. We had
lunches packed of rice and potatoes and a hard-boiled egg with an ice cream
treat to follow. We continued on to see
the tiger, lion, giraffe, elephant, snakes and white tiger. We stopped once every thirty minutes or so to
make sure everyone was still together and I’m relieved to say no one ever went
missing. Once we had seen all of the
animals we were beyond exhausted and loaded the vans for the return journey
home.
Joelle met us at SEAM, (she
had opted out of the zoo in order to spend her last day with the kids at Assisi India
Katie
Tuesday,
December 27, 2011
The
greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday
things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is
so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
Chris Katie and all headed to seams to get on the
bus with the older kids from seams. The minute we got on the bus everyone was
jumping up and down because they thought the bus was so cool. You could tell it
was a big treat for these kids. After we too off the driver pit on Indian Dance
music and everybody in the bus got out of their seats and started dancing. Then
we got to the mountain and encountered monkeys. These ones went so nice. They
growled. I thought the hike was absolutely amazing you climbed up stone steps
and wandered through old temples and ruins that might of been a thousand years
old I'm not sure.and at the way top was
an amazing view. It was very tiring and hot and everybody was successful. After
at hike I realized I need to save up for backpacking this summer. Mountains are
different all over the world. When we got down we saw a banyan tree and me and
all the kids swung on the roots like in the Tarzan movie. Then we went to eat lunch in a grass field in front of a
beautiful temple. It was very picturesque. Then we took off and when I thought
we were heading back we parked at the next mountain and I thought maybe Chris
or katie wanted to take a photo but then Stephen said we were hiking this one
too. So we started to head up and everyone was very exhausted. But once we got
to the top of the mountIn we climbed onto of the ruins and all dance to
beyonce. The older boys at seems love to dance. Then we headed back to chennai
and to seems. Joelle katie Kerri,Ginni and marry decided to have a girls night.
It was a terrific idea. Normally the girls keep to themselves and do not play
games. But once they get away from the boys apparently they all seem to have a
more fun. Joelle said they did manicures massages and made a butterfly craft.
All the girls had a great time I hope that the girls night carries on as a
tradition with the next teams that come here. Then me and Joelle walked back from
seams and talked about my future plans and not to stress about it. At home we
had a nice meal and talked about our day together. The group gets along nicely.
Everyday here in India has had many surprises
William
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