Day 6 - 18Jul2012
I had a very early morning today. I slept really well from 9:30PM until 4:00AM, but once I woke up, I was awake for good. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom. When I went in there, one of the other volunteers was laying on a pillow on the floor of the bathroom. She was accompanied by one of the volunteer coordinators. Apparently, she had been sick all night. The other coordinators later came with a gurney to carry her out. They took her to see Dr. Susan (she is the doctor for Rising Star) and then later they took her to the hospital. I am so glad that I haven't been sick.
My head has been itchy since last night so I thought for sure I had lice when I woke up scratching my head. So at 4:30AM I had a lice check done. No lice for me! Yet. I don't know why my head is so itchy. I did get a lot of brick dust in my hair yesterday, maybe that's it.
After that, I laid in bed for another hour, but could not sleep. So once again, I went up to the roof to watch the sunrise. This time, Amy joined me. We welcomed the gorgeous sunrise along with the birds and monkeys. I spent the morning emailing family and blogging about yesterday's events. I set up my FaceTime and Skype accounts so I can talk to my family in a couple of days. I also ate breakfast around 6:00AM - Trix and boxed milk :)
At around 7:30AM everyone else started waking up. So I got ready for the day and waited around for morning conclave at 8:30AM. Getting ready consists of putting on my chudidar (traditional Indian dress - kind of like a really long shirt). Rising Star provides them for us. They are really comfortable and not super hot. I wear them with the only pair of leggings that I have right now (still no luggage). I ate another bowl of cereal (Frosted Flakes this time). At conclave we said a prayer and discussed the day. My team was assigned to the education rotation today. However, the team that was supposed to be on medical couldn't go because Dr. Susan and the other nurses were all with the sick girl at the hospital. So the other team joined us at the school.
I spent the day tutoring kids in reading, phonics, and math. I started with reading. Most of the students are really good at reading, but they read too fast and their accent is thick. A little girl named Sangeetha stood out to me. She was really good, but read really fast. She was so fast that she got to go on to new books. She definitely didn't like to be corrected though. A little boy name Karthik finished his lesson too, but instead of going on he decided to draw me a picture of a sunny sky with clouds, a boat in the ocean with a little man on it, a tent on the grassy shore, and a shark with scary teeth swimming towards an octopus. He gave me the picture to keep ;) Then it was on to phonics. The kids have a song that goes, The A says "ah." The A says "ah." Every letter makes a sounds. The A says "ah." They do this song with every letter of the alphabet to help them remember the sound letters make. All of them know this song and they refer to it often while being tutored.
I took my lunch break after reading and phonics. Lunch today (because I still don't have my bag), consisted of a Clif bar, some goldfish crackers, a fruit leather, and a banana. Not my favorite of meals, but it filled me up. After lunch, I went back to the school for more tutoring. This time I got to tutor the kids in math in the computer lab. I like this much better than tutoring in reading or phonics. I used to tutor in math so maybe that is why. There was only one other tutor during this class period and there were about 20 kids. They all called for me to help them, but when I went over to help, they already knew the answer. They really just wanted the attention. One particular girl all, but refused to work without me. She followed me around while I helped the other kids and held my hand. And she tried to take my shellac nail polish off. But when I did help her, I realized very quickly that she was one of the brightest in the bunch and really didn't need my help. During the last few class periods, I tutored in reading and phonics again. I was lucky enough to tutor one of my favorite girls, Jayanthi. She was really good at her phonics and sounding out words while reading. And she was so focused!
At play time, I was mauled because I took my camera with me, but I was sure glad I did. Every kid that saw me with my camera asked to take photos or video. I think I'm a bigger hit with the girls than the boys. I played on the monkey bars. And a girl made up an obstacle course for us to race through. Then Jayanthi, Annu, and Mymonisha found me...and I was the permanent catcher for tag. We played almost the entire time. Jayanthi taught me some new words, but I can't remember them anymore. I do remember "nandri" which means "thank you."
At dinner we ate the same rice and curry as last night. I know I am only on night 3, but I am already sick of rice and curry. I'd love a juicy cheeseburger right about now ;)
Family time was bit interesting. The boys were more rambuctious than normal because their house mother had the night off. At one point, one of the younger boys, Vingnesh took his shorts and underwear off and was walking around lettin' it all hang free. He was so proud of himself. The magnedoodle made another appearance. Kristraj was also on one tonight. He doesn't have his two front teeth right now so when he smiles at you you can't help but smile back. I was exhausted tonight so I wasn't my normal jocular self. Waking up at 4:00AM will do that to you.
After family time, I took a shower and now I'm writing this blog. I'm on medical rotation tomorrow, which I am really excited for. This is why I came. I really can't believe I'm here. Even now, it feels surreal. I love the simple life of everyone here. And yet they are so happy.
I am happy too. Volunteering here has given me a new perspective and a new understanding of myself - about who I am and about who I want to be and what I want out of life.
Day 6 Complete
Firsts: The first bug bite.
I had a very early morning today. I slept really well from 9:30PM until 4:00AM, but once I woke up, I was awake for good. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom. When I went in there, one of the other volunteers was laying on a pillow on the floor of the bathroom. She was accompanied by one of the volunteer coordinators. Apparently, she had been sick all night. The other coordinators later came with a gurney to carry her out. They took her to see Dr. Susan (she is the doctor for Rising Star) and then later they took her to the hospital. I am so glad that I haven't been sick.
My head has been itchy since last night so I thought for sure I had lice when I woke up scratching my head. So at 4:30AM I had a lice check done. No lice for me! Yet. I don't know why my head is so itchy. I did get a lot of brick dust in my hair yesterday, maybe that's it.
After that, I laid in bed for another hour, but could not sleep. So once again, I went up to the roof to watch the sunrise. This time, Amy joined me. We welcomed the gorgeous sunrise along with the birds and monkeys. I spent the morning emailing family and blogging about yesterday's events. I set up my FaceTime and Skype accounts so I can talk to my family in a couple of days. I also ate breakfast around 6:00AM - Trix and boxed milk :)
At around 7:30AM everyone else started waking up. So I got ready for the day and waited around for morning conclave at 8:30AM. Getting ready consists of putting on my chudidar (traditional Indian dress - kind of like a really long shirt). Rising Star provides them for us. They are really comfortable and not super hot. I wear them with the only pair of leggings that I have right now (still no luggage). I ate another bowl of cereal (Frosted Flakes this time). At conclave we said a prayer and discussed the day. My team was assigned to the education rotation today. However, the team that was supposed to be on medical couldn't go because Dr. Susan and the other nurses were all with the sick girl at the hospital. So the other team joined us at the school.
I spent the day tutoring kids in reading, phonics, and math. I started with reading. Most of the students are really good at reading, but they read too fast and their accent is thick. A little girl named Sangeetha stood out to me. She was really good, but read really fast. She was so fast that she got to go on to new books. She definitely didn't like to be corrected though. A little boy name Karthik finished his lesson too, but instead of going on he decided to draw me a picture of a sunny sky with clouds, a boat in the ocean with a little man on it, a tent on the grassy shore, and a shark with scary teeth swimming towards an octopus. He gave me the picture to keep ;) Then it was on to phonics. The kids have a song that goes, The A says "ah." The A says "ah." Every letter makes a sounds. The A says "ah." They do this song with every letter of the alphabet to help them remember the sound letters make. All of them know this song and they refer to it often while being tutored.
I took my lunch break after reading and phonics. Lunch today (because I still don't have my bag), consisted of a Clif bar, some goldfish crackers, a fruit leather, and a banana. Not my favorite of meals, but it filled me up. After lunch, I went back to the school for more tutoring. This time I got to tutor the kids in math in the computer lab. I like this much better than tutoring in reading or phonics. I used to tutor in math so maybe that is why. There was only one other tutor during this class period and there were about 20 kids. They all called for me to help them, but when I went over to help, they already knew the answer. They really just wanted the attention. One particular girl all, but refused to work without me. She followed me around while I helped the other kids and held my hand. And she tried to take my shellac nail polish off. But when I did help her, I realized very quickly that she was one of the brightest in the bunch and really didn't need my help. During the last few class periods, I tutored in reading and phonics again. I was lucky enough to tutor one of my favorite girls, Jayanthi. She was really good at her phonics and sounding out words while reading. And she was so focused!  |
| Jayanthi, Annu, and Mymonisha |
At dinner we ate the same rice and curry as last night. I know I am only on night 3, but I am already sick of rice and curry. I'd love a juicy cheeseburger right about now ;)
Family time was bit interesting. The boys were more rambuctious than normal because their house mother had the night off. At one point, one of the younger boys, Vingnesh took his shorts and underwear off and was walking around lettin' it all hang free. He was so proud of himself. The magnedoodle made another appearance. Kristraj was also on one tonight. He doesn't have his two front teeth right now so when he smiles at you you can't help but smile back. I was exhausted tonight so I wasn't my normal jocular self. Waking up at 4:00AM will do that to you.
After family time, I took a shower and now I'm writing this blog. I'm on medical rotation tomorrow, which I am really excited for. This is why I came. I really can't believe I'm here. Even now, it feels surreal. I love the simple life of everyone here. And yet they are so happy.
I am happy too. Volunteering here has given me a new perspective and a new understanding of myself - about who I am and about who I want to be and what I want out of life.
Day 6 Complete
Firsts: The first bug bite.
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