Vathsalya

Monday was a beautiful day! It rained for the majority of the weekend, and when the sun peeked through the clouds Monday morning and revealed the glorious day it would be, Cindy and I were pretty excited about it. We decided to take the kids from the orphanage to the park. The office was closed Monday, so only the five children that live at the orphanage were there. The others are in foster care and because of the holiday and office closure they stayed home. We walked to the park which took about ten minutes with all the children wanting to walk holding our hands in a long line.. this did not please the cars and two-wheelers that wanted to get around us, but we managed. Now, the "park" consisted of a tall double slide. There were stairs and a slide on each side that formed a triangle with a small platform at the top. Also there were two see-saws. This was the park. I played on the see-saw with the kids for a bit.. they thoroughly enjoyed my panicked expressions every time they had me up in the air and suddenly let me drop. On more than one occasion I had a vision of myself falling backwards or getting knocked off and seriously injuring myself as the seats were inadequate and I felt far from safe, but I'm still alive in one piece. After I had enough of that, I decided to go on the slide. The kids were having fun on that so joining in seemed like it could be a good idea. The slide was steep. Really steep. It was only about ten-twelve feet long, but it looked like one could pick up a lot of sleep if he/she wasn't careful. Also, at the bottom of the slide, unlike the gradual stop that the slides come to, the stop was abrupt. The harsh angle of the slide met a piece of metal parallel to the ground with no curve. It was a solid angle. When I sat down at the top, I needed a few seconds to prepare myself and figure out how I was going to arrive at the bottom uninjured. Unfortunately, I had not been watching the kids closely enough to see how they did it when they got to the bottom. Well, in the middle of my contemplation, one of the kids decided he wanted to go with me, so he sat down behind me and gave us a bit of a shove, because obviously I was taking too long! We went sailing down the slide, my hands gripped to the edges to try to slow us down, and came to an abrupt stop at the bottom. Ouch. I can still feel where I hit. I'm not doing that anymore. I later learned that I should have stopped myself with my feet.. that information would have been incredibly helpful before I started down the slide... It was a fun day and it was very enjoyable to watch the kids laughing and playing. They are such joys.

-Anappa and Lakshmi, Lakshmi is the girl I have been tutoring

-Anappa and Naveen.. and in the lower corner is Ashwath

-Anappa and me

rikshaws and new friends

This has been a laid back week. Last weekend I was feeling ill so I didn't do anything exciting. However, once I started feeling better I was able to have a full week. Although I have no pictures today, I do have a couple of fun stories.

I finally contacted the person who runs the slum school that Cindy and I visited about a month ago and I told her I could come in on Mondays and Wednesdays. Our driver ended up being sick with a cold, so the man who took me to the school didn't know where we were going. Now, I have a fairly good sense of direction, but there are no road labels unless it is a very main road. So, we found the area that we were supposed to turn off the road at, but we had about 5 alleys to choose from. I called up the number again and the lady told me she would come and meet me. She (Hannah) pulled up with her scooter about five minutes later and we arrived at the school shortly after that. The kids were finishing up their playtime and as they filed into the main room and sat down, Hannah told me all their names. I hope I will be able to remember them all. She also told me not to be disappointed or alarmed if they do not willingly come up to me, most are afraid of foreigners. Honestly, I was totally okay with that. I would have been a bit freaked out myself if 20 or 30 3-7 year olds suddenly flocked to me. They sang some songs, which were completely new to me. Maybe I knew them once when I was little, but not even one was vaguely familiar. I like learning new things. After the song and a review of the date and alphabet, the kids were split into two groups. I went with Hannah's group. Before the session started, it was potty time! I did not realize that this meant that all of the little kids were going to pull of their pants and then wait in line to use the toilet. I will be prepared next time for the onslaught of bare bottoms. That was definitely not what I was expecting. Anywho.. we sang some more songs, and as I sat with the kids, about four girls made their way over to me and were vying over the space surrounding me. None sat in my lap, but they were as close as they could be to me without being on top of me. And they are afraid of foreigners? I helped them learn how to write the first four letters of the alphabet and then it was lunch time! When the kids had their fill of the food, we put them in front of a movie until their parents showed up. Once the kids had left, I met with the two teachers and another volunteer who had also just begun to help out at the school that day. We talked about ourselves and about the school. Overall, it was a really good experience and I'm glad I said 'yes' to helping out.

I was to tutor Lakshmi that afternoon at the orphanage which wasn't too far from the school, so my plan was to take an auto rikshaw after walking up to the main road. Well, Hannah offered to give me a lift on her scooter up to the road which was so fun! After being on one, I can totally see how a family of four can fit on the seat of one of those, provided it's one of the larger ones.. and the children are small. She dropped me off at the road and I decided that since it wasn't raining, I would walk to the Coffee Day at the next major intersection. I needed a bite of food and coffee sounded really good. After ten minutes I was sitting down at a small table and pulling out my book after placing my order. Now, being used to Starbucks' timely service, I tend to forget that in India it can take almost 15 minutes to get a drink, possibly longer, and I had about 30 minutes before I had to be at the orphanage, so I hoped they would be a bit quicker this time. Nope. If anything it took looooooonger. A quickly finished my coffee and walked briskly to the nearest auto driver. I told him where I needed to go knowing full well how much it would cost for the 5-10 minute ride and exactly how to get there in case he needed directions, but he needed to ask his friend about 80 feet road. That's what I assume he was asking about. He told me 40 rupees and I told him I wanted him to use the meter. Why would I pay 40 rupees for a ride that should cost 10-15? I knew it's basically pennies.. but still. I didn't have exact change on me and I didn't feel like paying extra. He told me again 40 rupees, I said fine, I'll walk. I walked away half expecting him to change his mind, I mean, who turns down business? But he didn't, so I walked. It was a good walk. I didn't even have anyone ask me for money the whole trip to the orphanage, it was fantastic! I think in the future I just won't bother with the auto drivers on those days. I've walked once and unless it's pouring down rain, I wouldn't mind the exercise.

Thursday night Cindy and I went to the YWAM service which was rather short but there were a lot of people there. We saw some friends and while we were waiting for our driver to pick us up we started talking to a group of girls. I met Marina and Linda. Marina is from Manipur and wants me to come visit her home when she goes back in March. They asked for my phone number and told me about all the people they knew in the US.. apparently there is an old man from Ohio living with them. They said that they really want to be friends with me and they're definitely looking forward to hanging out with me again. And...while I was talking to them, Linda's brother interrupted so he could meet me. His second question was 'how old are you?' Followed by 'can I have your phone number?' Shortly after that he said that he wanted to hang out with me and he wanted me to meet his family... He just talked to my mother, who I quickly informed him was not my mother which embarrassed him and I told him that I would have to think about hanging out with him. I don't think I should give him the wrong idea and start hanging out with his family. I would much rather hang out with his sister and cousin and tell myself that I was imagining whatever it was that I read into that conversation. Anyway, I am looking forward to spending time with my new friends.

This weekend the parents are out of town so Katrina and I are on our own. We're heading into the city tomorrow to go shopping! I'm really excited.. I haven't been shopping yet and I've been wanting to go.. even if I don't buy anything.

xkcd

So.. I was shown this the other day, and I realized that it rather perfectly describes me. It's from xkcd.com.

Kabini

Katrina had a four day weekend so we decided to take advantage of that vacation over in Kabini. The Kabini dam has backed up the river to form a huge lake which is surrounded by jungle. We went on a boat safari around the lake and saw elephants, a crocodile, wild boar, spotted deer, sambar (big deer - a tiger's favorite food!), and many, many birds. The following morning we went on a jeep safari through the jungle. The vehicle was a truck with six seats attached theater style to the cab. There were three rows of two seats; the cab had been extended to allow room for the back two seats. The seats themselves were fairly comfortable, but without seat belts. The roads really aren't that great, so whenever we went over large potholes we found ourselves launched at least a foot from our seats. There were a couple times that I almost found myself in Katrina's lap.. and she was sitting diagonal from me! It's a good thing I was hanging on! The most exciting part of the jeep safari happened as we were driving down the road to the lake. It was morning, so of course that would be the best area to spot animals. We were driving along, straining to see the birds in the trees, when in front of us a group of 12 people ran across the street.. what?! The number one rule when you're in the middle of the jungle: Stay Inside You Vehicle! We drove a bit further to ask why they had abandoned their jeep and they pointed to a stuck vehicle next to the lake. Apparently the driver had done off the dirt road closer to the lake to get a better view of an elephant. Well, he drove a little to far and managed to get stuck in the mud. He tried to back out and nothing happened. The elephant noticed the disturbance and decided to meander on over to see what was happening. The guide told everyone to run for a place to hide across the street, and that's what was happening when we drove up. They all piled into the back of our truck and we watched the elephant walk slowly by, minding his own business. He sufficiently cleared the truck and the drivers and guides went to push the truck out of the mud successfully. We drove a little further on after everyone had returned to their proper vehicle, and stopped on the road where we could get a proper look at the large creature. He was sixty feet away. He passed a couple trees, turned, and started towards us. He stopped at a tree about thirty feet away and started scratching himself: his back, his legs, etc., on the bark of the tree. I got lots of pictures! I even took a video because I thought that would be better than mere photographs. That was by far the highlight of the trip. It would have been wonderful to see a tiger or leopard, but it was nice to see an elephant up close.

-One of the many beautiful views of the water and trees from the boat

-The first elephant we saw!

These are a couple pictures I took of the birds. I have tons more, but they aren't the best pictures. I liked the contrast, especially in the second picture, of the tree and the clouds. We saw herons, osprey, kingfishers, snake birds (they dive into the water and swim for awhile before poking their heads above water to breathe and see around them! That was exciting to see...), hornbills, eagles, and many others.

-an egret
-the jungle road

-Spotted deer! The males had magnificent antlers! This is just one of the many herds that we saw that morning.

-Here everyone is taking a picture of the truck stuck in the mud.
-This is the elephant that scared them out of their vehicle...

-Monkeys!

-A pretty tree

-Katrina and I are so excited for the Jeep safari!

Sambar

Wild Boar

Here are a couple of elephant videos. The first is the elephant that chased the people from their vehicle, and the second is the first elephant I saw.

The food at the resort was amazing! It was a buffet of Indian food. I am still trying to get used to the spice, as it is in everything, but I am certainly enjoying the experience of eating new food. I am amazed at how many different ways there are to cook potatoes.

We ended up leaving a day early because we had "done all there was to do", (though how that's possible in a new area I'm not sure). We stopped in Mysore on the way home and visited the Mysore Palace. If you want more information about it, visit: http://www.mysorepalace.org/ I was not able to take pictures of the inside, but I did get a few of the outside and grounds. It is an impressive place, to be sure. There is a lot of history there. For 700 years while Mysore was still an independent State, though the British occupied the rest of India, the same family ruled. A 700 year monarchy is a great feat, especially in light of the conquests of the British and Portuguese. The palace was built out of fire-proof materials (100% fire-proof, the guide said, although there were quite a few wooden doors...) and contains many imports from Britain, Belgium, Italy and France. We discovered that Mysore was the first city in India to have electricity, thanks to the nearby dam. Mysore was also the first city in India to have indoor plumbing! It seems it has been at the forefront of those technologies in India because of the affluence of the area. Apparently there was a rather large gold-mine there for some time.

We attempted to find another palace between Mysore and Bangalore, but we managed to only find the fort in that area. We stopped to ask for directions near a man-made hill that I assume was a watchtower of sorts when the fort was active. There were these darling children at the top of the hill who tried to hide when I pointed my camera toward them. I don't know why they initial shy reaction, because as soon as I was about to put my camera away, they all posed for me. They all wanted to shake Cindy's and my hands. They were adorable.

General Update

Cindy and I stopped by the Light House this morning, without calling ahead because we didn't have the number, only to find out that it's closed this week! Of course it's closed. Last week Thursday was the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, a national holiday and this week is Diwali. I'm not sure what this holiday is, but all schools have Thursday and Friday off. Many have taken these two weeks off. School will resume at the Light House on Oct. 15th and I will go back then to help out.

Since we were already in the city, we decided to find the new YWAM building. It wasn't too far from where we were, and very easy to find. It's in a bright orange building! We stopped in to chat at the office and were told that most of the YWAM teams are on outreach right now. In fact, the last one leaves tomorrow, so it will be a very quiet building for at least the next month. There will only be five people there! We have received an open invitation to come for lunch anytime. I will certainly take up that invitation. It would be wonderful to hang out with people my own age. So, on Mondays and Wednesdays during the lunch break that I will have between 12 and 2, I will take an auto (rickshaw) over there for lunch before heading over to the orphanage. I'm really looking forward to that.

On Thursday we are taking advantage of Katrina's four day weekend and heading southwest to Kabini! I'm really excited about that :) We get to see wild elephants! Sandeep said that we will be chased by the elephants, although I'm pretty sure he was joking. They are formidable creatures and I know I would most certainly be overtaken by one if it actually did chase me.

Volunteering at Katrina's school has been amazing. Last Friday I was able to work with two boys who knew very little English. I can't imagine trying to learn math in another language. Even though math itself is universal, the explanations of how to do it are not easily understood for some even in one's own language. I'm glad for the opportunity to help both of them understand because I think that if I am able to explain math to students who know little English, I'll pretty much be able to explain it to anyone..at least in theory. I am eager to work with both of them again tomorrow. It is such a good feeling to be able to help someone understand something he/she has not been able to understand. That really makes me want to be a teacher.. hmm...

On a different note, I have decided to take advantage of the clubhouse in the neighborhood. I have been to the gym several times this week and am looking forward to continuing. I realized as I was walking over there today that I had spent quite a fair amount of the day in the car, and when I wasn't in the car I was sitting down. I was really glad to do something active.

Nandhi Hills

This is mostly a pictures post. I went to the Nandhi Hills last Saturday and took a few. There were a lot of monkeys! I took lots of pictures of them. It was so fun to be able to get close to them, like at the zoo, but without the cage getting in the way of the view.. Although, when one of them started to come toward me I went around him as quickly as possible. I hear they bite. That's not something I want to let happen. My pictures of them are at the end because I posted so many. I didn't want their cuteness to take away from the rest of the post. However, the very last picture is my favorite.

Apparently there used to be an old British Fort on the Hills. These pictures are from that part of the area. You can see part of the wall is still there, hidden by the foliage. It was quite beautiful. I'm in one of the pictures. I was trying to sit properly there, but if I scooted back to be more comfortable I would not be here to write this as I would have fallen a few thousand feet. Yeah, perhaps not my brightest idea yet, but I tried to be careful.



Here is the place where mosquitoes are bred. There were a few water areas like this. Cindy and I weren't quite sure what their purpose could be other than to populate the area with blood-thirsty insects. Although, this one looked pretty from far away.

Monkeys aren't the only animals to be seen on the Hills. In this first picture there are some adorable puppies, strays. Their mother is trotting off, no doubt looking for more food for them. She just dropped something off that they are devouring eagerly. There were quite a few strays on the Hills. Because the Nandhi Hills are such a popular resident and tourist place, the animals are sure to have plenty to eat. The second picture is of a cow. Yes, he is hiding in the bushes chomping on grass. He's not a wild animal. I'm not sure who he belongs to, but he did have a rope tied to him and there are plenty of people that do live up on the hill there. I tried to get a better picture of him when he was blocking the path by the wall, but he relieved himself as I got closer so I decided that I should just move along in the opposite direction.

I thought the view was quite lovely from the top. It's 1,000 steps up to the top, so it was a bit of a trek, but that didn't take too long. King Tipu lived in these hills while he was hiding for awhile. From one of the locations that I took a pictures he used to have criminals thrown off. It's called "Tipu Drop". I looked over the edge in some places, but I never did see a spot where, if thrown, someone would actually die, so I'm not too sure where it was exactly. I saw a sign pointing toward this famed location, but there was no sign at it, so there's no way for me to be sure.





Monkeys!




This little guy was watching all the kids playing in the park at the top. He was just curious. I thought it would be adorable if he actually went down the slide, but he didn't. I think it's a good one to end with.