India Eyes

Today ranks up in the charts as one of the best days of my life. I am so incredibly happy here and couldn’t ask for a better way to end my first week of Rising Star. Saturdays and Sundays are our days off, but I don’t know how the weekend could possibly top today.

Every morning we all meet together to have a little powwow before splitting up to our different assignments, and this morning Jenny gave a really special perspective. She told us to find our “Indian Eyes.” A lot of times you might find yourself looking at the dirty ground beneath your feet, what people are wearing or whatever ailments they may have, but if you just look up—at their faces, at the treetops, at the sky—you will see how beautiful this place and its people really are. Here, physical appearance doesn’t matter nearly as much as it does in the States, and yet these are the most beautiful people I have ever met, inside and out. Their kindness shines through their eyes, and their smiles melt my heart.

Today I was in the group that tutors the children. I did one-on-one reading for about three hours. It is interesting to see that some of them do not sound out the letters at all, and have just learned to memorize words. So they will sometimes read “Cat” as “Dog” because they recognize it as an animal. After one-one-ones, we breaked for lunch and then came back to do group reading. I got the fastest readers: Praveed, Ranya, Majan, and Meerjadhdnsdnakjdfkdaf (but seriously). We cruised through 3 book and took a break outside. We did itsy bitsy spider and simon says, danced the macerena, and raced down the dirt sidewalk. By then we were ready to get out of the heat (well, I was) so I read them “The Little Engine That Could” in the library, complete with sound effects and voice changes.

To celebrate the end of summer and India’s Independence day coming up, the children had an assembly that showcased what they have learned over the last few months. They demonstrated warm-ups and exercises, did a few dances (both Indian and American) and I was amazed and proud of what they were able to perform today. All 120 kids were in attendance and I loved scanning the crowd and picking out the ones whose names I remembered: Steven (an older kid that helps us with the younger ones sometime. LOVE HIM!), Joseph Stalin, Carl Marx, Satia, Ranya, Gracie, etc.

After the program, clouds started to gather and the winds started to pick up and I just prayed to the universe that it would rain. It has been so hot here that nothing sounded better than a complete downpour. India’s monsoon season is in September and October and it rarely, if ever, rains in the summer; so you can imagine what a wild surprise the wall of water that came down on us for about an hour today was. It felt so amazing after being so hot for so long. It was the kind of rain that takes about five seconds to soak you completely. Because the kids had to stay in their rooms due to the weather, we canceled talent classes for the day and went back to the volunteer home.

What ensued was the most fun and amazing dancing in the rain experience I have ever had. There is a courtyard in our home that just sort of fills up when it rains so it was perfect for splashing and dancing around. Katie taught us the Jai Ho dance from Slumdog Millionaire and it was so exhilarating to dance it in India, in the rain. Everyone was soaked through and through and laughing their heads off. It was a great bonding experience and just made me so completely happy. I didn’t take any pictures of us dancing because, well, I was dancing. But I am going to try to get someone who did to send me copies because that is a memory I want to preserve forever.

Dinner tonight was actually super delicious, probably because it consisted of some things that I love to eat at home: wheat tortillas that rival cafe rio's and fresh watermelon and papaya. Also served was a garbanzo bean type curry, vegetable rice, and a cucumber yogurt which I neglected to try. Jenny told us this really amazing story about the origins of Rising Star Outreach and how Becky Douglass, one of the original five, came across a leprosy-afflicted person in India and basically racked her brain as to how she could do something to help people affected by the stigma. Her famous quote around here is "Once you see, you own the responsibility to do."

I am so happy to be here, to be a part of a cause so amazing. The children of the patients who attend school here at Rising Star have an incredible opportunity to acquire the education needed to break the cycle of poverty and have a brighter future. Their parents have been through so much, but because of that their children have the means to follow their dreams here at Rising Star. Jenny told us that the directors here have made a deal with Dell and other American companies that outsource to India that if they keep their grades up that they will be given jobs when they graduate. This in itself is amazing because even being the child of someone with leprosy limits your employment significantly. So much is being accomplished in so short of time here.

Today's high: dancing in the rain
Today's low: nothing