Last Day in India

Today is my last night in India for this year. I traveled down the Ghat Road, today, to Madurai to catch my first of three airplanes to Chennai. I will leave for London at 5:30 am on Tuesday morning and arrive in the United States at 8:30 pm on Tuesday evening.

It has been a long while since my last blog so I am going to try to catch you up on what I have been up to.

I spent my last week, entire week, in Poombarai. This is where I truly felt comfortable and at home during my trip. I connected with all of the students at the special school as well as all of the teachers. I am truly going to miss them, they were an inspiration to me.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had typical days in Poombarai. We started with exercises and snacks in the morning. The students then did their daily lessons on chalkboards. In the afternoon we played on the roof and watched some Indian dances on the television. On Tuesday Paramadas came to the center, so I watched and played with the students so that they were able to have a staff meeting. On Tuesday, Paramadas also told me that Copel was at the Respite Center once again. Thank you for all your prayers, God has truly been looking over the people in India especially at the Respite Center.

On Thursday I went to Poombarai. The morning was a usual day with exercises, sitting outside, and having snack. In the mid-morning, Paramadas came to the center. Before the lunch, the kids had a race with water. They filled water bottles using their tea cups to see who was the fastest. It was really fun to watch and the kids had a blast. Martun was completely wet after the race. It was great to see all of the students involved.

In the afternoon on Thursday, the staff had a going away reception for me. Paramadas spoke to the teachers about the privilege of me being there and sharing with them. He thank me for spending so much of my time in Poombarai. I then thanked all of the teachers and students for allowing me to spend most of my days with them. It was truly great to feel comfortable and welcomed every morning when I arrived and throughout the day. The teachers gave me a going away gift of a purse and the students made with a card with all of their fingerprints on it. It was very surprising and unexpected.

On Friday, I went to Poombarai for my last day. It was a sad afternoon as I slowly had to say goodbye to all of the students and teachers. We ended the day with friendship bracelets, stretchy frogs, and candy. I also gave each of the teachers a scarf that I had crocheted throughout my time in India, as a thank you gift for their graciousness throughout my time there.


















On Saturday, I took it easy and started to pack for my return trip home. Jay and I went for about an hour walk throughout the villages.

On Sunday morning, I went to Poombarai with Jay for the last time this year. We went to pick up one of the local school kids. The kid's name is Kannan, he is a semi-orphan. His dad has passed away so he currently lives only with his mom. He also spends a lot of time with his uncle. They currently live in a rented place that is no bigger than a small closet. It was a very humbling site to see, I sometimes forget how fortune I am as an American.


Jay has kind of adopted him as a son, which is inspiring. Jay is such a man of God and does amazing things with the kids and residents of Poombarai. Kannan came with us to Madurai for two reasons. The first reason is that he has never seen an airplane or airport so he asked his mom for permission to come with us. The second reason is that Kannan currently has stomach pain. His stomach is sensitive to touch so Jay is going to take him to the hospital in Madurai to get checked out. Please Pray for Kannan's health and for his mother also.
Kannan is a very fun kid to hang out with. He is trying very hard to learn English so we conversed in both Tamil and English throughout the day. I am very thankful that I was able to spend my last night with such an amazing kid.

I am not ready to leave India for multiple reasons but I know that I will be returning many more times. I love being in India and being surrounded by people who are open and friendly whether they are a stranger or someone you have met before.

Thank you to all who have commented on this blog while I have been in India. I am very much appreciative and your words have been inspiring and encouraging throughout my adventures.

Respite Center

On Thursday, due to still having a little cold, I went to the respite center and spent the day. In the morning, we did exercises and yoga. After the yoga session, Vijay and Rueben went for a walk. Vijay has down syndrome and diabetes so he walks around the block in order to get exercise. The last time I was at the respite center I joined Vijay on his walk so this time I was expected to go also. This time we walked three times around instead of just two. After the walk, we had tea and biscuit which is a common morning snack break in India.

After snack, Rueben, who is autisitic, wrote the numbers on the chalk board up to one hundred. Rueben is also able to drawn pictures and the tamil words for them even though he doesn't know their meanings. In the morning we also build a big structure out of Jenga blocks.

Around noon, Paramadas one the Bethania workers at the respite center asked if I wanted to go visit Copel. Copel is a young man who lives with his parents in a house way off the road in the fields. Typically he would be carried to the road by his father because he is unable to walk on his own and has tremors. His father is no longer able to carry him to the road, due to age and illness, and his mother is unable also. The path to his house is incredibly difficult, it is very narrow through fields and over a small stream. I cannot imagine carrying someone along this path as in my uncoridinated fashion, I slipped twice while walking back to the road. Paramadas and Jay are trying to find and praying for a solution because Copel should really be at the Respite center during the week so he can get proper care. Please pray that God shows them a solution to this situation.

On Friday, I went to Poombarai for a half day. The students only had a half day because they needed to get ready for a festival the next day. The festival was to honor their relatives that have passed away. It was a typical day in Poombarai otherwise, the students watched a video in the morning before lunch. It was good to see the students again as I had not been there for two days. There wasn't much else happening so we walked to the bus stop early to catch the 1:30 bus instead of waiting until 3:30.

On Friday night we went to an engagement ceremony. The engagement was between a tibetan lady and chinese man. They currenly live in London but the girl went to Kodai International school so she had a lot of relationships build here in Kodai. Her parents currently live in Kodai. It was neat to see the Tibetan community of Kodai adorn the couple with shalls of white, they were completely covered by the end. It was a very neat and interesting ceremony.

On Saturday I went to the boys home, Bethel to spend most of the day. Kumar and Ruby are the caregivers at the Bethel home. However, Kumar is currently in the hospital in the plains having some type of treatment. Please pray for his recovery and overall health. In the morning, I played some soccer (football) with the boys. We also played with the last of the beach balls. This time the boys had it destroyed within an hour, I think next time I need to bring stronger beach balls, oh well. We went inside after soccer and I taught some of the boys how to play memory with matching bible cards.

They really enjoyed this game and after lunch they continued to play even without me being around. It was great to see them enjoying the game. We also did a lot of coloring, the boys were great at sharing the pages and crayons. They tried to teach me some of the colors in Tamil but I don't remember any of them. They taught me a lot of different Tamil words yesterday which are all confused in my head today. After lunch we played ring toss which is a game with a rubber ring that you toss back and forth to each other, this is a game that I can handle. Before leaving, I gave each of the boys a friendship bracelet that my students in the US help make, the boys really enjoyed them. It was a great day of hanging out and spending some quality time with these boys.

Please pray for the boys at Bethel and the Respite Center. Please also pray for Kumar, Ruby, Paramadas, and Jay as they are truly doing God's work here in India

-Darcy

Pictures of Poombarai

I spent Monday and Tuesday in Poombarai, hanging out with the kids which is always enjoyable. On Monday, I was little bored so I went for a walk through the villiage and took pictures. I also learned to say and write some more tamil words. I am more comfortable writing them than saying them. On Tuesday, I talked to some new people on the bus. The bus is sort of segregated without being forced. Women and men sit in separate seats as part of the culture. So in this way, I normally sit by people I don't know, especially when traveling back from Poombarai. I sat next to a teacher yesterday, we had a nice conversation about the states, teachers, and her family. I also sat next to some university students on the way to pallangi, they asked me some questions about where I was from, family, and my job. It was interesting to talk to all of these people, especially because they went out of their native language to talk to me.

Today I stayed home this morning because I have the start of a cold due to weather changes and rain. According to Jay and Paramadas, it is because I go to Poombarai everyday but I am still going to go there. The cold is more annoying than anything and I dont' really feel sick. Oh well, I will definitely be going somewhere tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from the walk in Poombarai

Thursday through Sunday

Thursday morning we rode the bus to Kodai at 7:30 as usual, however, it was not a usual bus ride at all. The bus got a flat tire about 4 bus stops away from where we get on the bus. A long way from Kodai, so we started walking. On the way, we were picked up by one of Jay's friends who had a small lowry (truck), already filled with school kids. Kids were riding in whatever vehicle would pick them up as they didn't want to be late for school. We made it into town safely and were then on our way to Poombarai. Thursday was a normal activity day in Poombarai. I learned four letters and four words in Tamil, the words that the students were learning. They are in English: Mommy, Goat, Leaf, and Housefly. I also learned how to write them in Tamil which was very interesting, there are over 200 letters in the tamil alphabet. In the afternoon I taught some of the teachers and tailoring students who to crochet. They don't have crochet needles, only knitting needles so i am glad that I brought extra ones along wiht me. I was also taught how to make a coin purse by the tailoring teacher. I am feeling more comfortable with communication amoung the teachers at Poombarai, it helps that I am with them almost daily.

On Friday in Poombarai we went for a picnic which was really just a long walk since we didn't take any food with us. We were driven by one of our usual drivers from Palangi. I think he was in Poombarai for something else we hitched a ride out to the side of the mountain with him. We then walked back to Poombarai from the lookout point. It took an hour and a half to walk back with the kids, but we also took some breaks since it was all up hill. While we were walking I took off my sweatshirt and tied it around my waist like a common american. All of the students who had coats copied what I had done, by the end of the walk all of them had their sweatshirts tied around their waist, it was really cute.

On Saturday, I went to Shalom. Shalom is the girls Bethania home in Kodai. It is run by Josephine. Shalom currently has 32 girls ranging from 2 standard to 9 standard. Shalom is in a new rented building then the one we visited last year. There is a lot more room in this facility for the girls and plenty of storage space. Plus it has grassy yard next to the facilty for the girls to play in. I spent most of the day here. I hung out with the girls in the morning while they had other visitors from Kodai International school. After they left we played volleyball and badmitton. We also played with a beach ball that I had brought from the US. By the end of the day the volleyball was destroyed, I had already patched it twice. Some of the girls didn't understand that it could not be fixed and wanted to continue to blow it up. I ate lunch we the girls which consisted of rice, beets, and banana. I still have not gotten the hang of eating with my hands so the girls got a laugh out of how I was eating. After lunch I played chess with the oldest girl in home, she won all of the games except one. That either means she is really good or I am really bad, probably the last one. I thankful that I was able to spend time at Shalom and I am going to try to go again before I leave.

Today I went to church at Kodai International School. The service was English which I am thankful for. We also sang some very familiar songs: Refiner's Fire, This little light of mine, and Above all. The sermon was on Matthew 13:31-33. These verses tell two parables; the first of the mustard and the second of the women who makes bread with only a small amount of yeast. The pastor reminded us that everything starts out small, sometimes insignficant, but in the end is Great and Wonderful. She reminded us that each of us has a mustard seed within us and that by God's amazing Grace that mustard will be turned into something great. This was especially meaningful to be because sometimes I feel like I am not really doing anything meaningful for the students in Poombarai. Today, God reminded me through his word that the littlest things are just as important as the Great Majestic things.

Please pray for the girls at Shalom and the students and teachers in Poombarai.

-Darcy

Last three days

On Monday, I went to Poombarai with Jay. We had a pretty normal day without anything exciting happening. The power was out in the afternoon which is a normal occurance in Poombarai, so all of the students including myself laid down and took a short nap. We also played a game with the beach ball I had brought, it was like hot potatoe so the last person with it had to sing or dance for everyone else. I sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

On Tuesday, Jay had a function in the nearby village to attend. I went to the Respite Center. The Respite Center is a home for men who have physical or mental handicaps. There were three men there yesterday. They come on Monday mornings and leave on Friday mornings, so they are with their parents during the weekends. In the morning, a women from the National Institude of India which watches over all indians with special needs, came to see the Respite Center. She runs homes for special needs individuals in Chennai and Bangalore. She gave Amala, one of the Bethania workers, some ideas for products, such as reed bead curtains and paper product desks, that the boys could make and sell. She also said she could help market these projects through her organization. Amala will need to see how many the boys can make in a month. Mid-morning, we did group therapy which consisted of puzzles, beads, and blocks. Visaj did the puzzles with me. Amala explained to him that I was friends with Jay so then Visaj automatically said that we were friends, it was really cute. In the afternoon, I learned how to play carromwhich is a cross between checkers and jacks, here is a website that explains it since I was kind of confused while playing. http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/Carrom.htm It was fun and relaxing anyway, plus a way to be involved with the boys.

Today we went to Poomparai. Paramadas joined us on the way. Paramadas is a Bethania worker who oversees the Respite Center, Poomparai Special School, and Manavoyour tuition center. He is a very easy going man of God who has great ideas. He is also very easy to understand and loves to teach the kids and visitors new songs, poems, words, etc... Today he taught the kids a song called "We shall overcome" in both Tamil and English. He also taught me some basic words in Tamil which I am going to practice tonight so I can try to use them tomorrow. This morning after we had learned the new song we made a train and walked around the center. It was a blast and the kids really enjoyed it. Everyone of the kids and three of the teachers were involved in the train, it was great. Here are some pictures on the train parade.

Summary

Sorry that I have not blogged in a while. The following is a short summary of the last few days.

On Wednesday I took the day easy. I stayed in Palangi, finished a book, crochet, and relaxed. I talked with Manjula our cook and housekeeper, it was nice to relax.

On Thursday I went to Poombarai on the bus. We did exercises in the morning which I helped led again. After morning snack all the kids and teachers went for a walk. We walked to an overlook where you could see many different mountains and villiages. We could see Palangi from the view. It was a beautiful view. After the walk the teachers and kids were tired, I wasn't, it really wasn't very far but for them it was. As the kids were laying around, I opened the plastic snakes that my mom had left with me. The kids were scared of them at first as were the teachers. After a few minutes the kids were stretching and pulling on the snakes while trying to scare each other. The one little girl was still scared of the snake at the end and would run out of the room if one the kids chased here with it. It was a very amuzing experience. I am sure that some of the kids scared their when they went home with them.

On Friday at Poombarai we had a relaxing school day. We did our exercises in the morning, one the students led. They think it is funny when I try to do yoga because I can't really sit with my legs in the proper position. After snack we went through the numbers using a puzzle that said them in English. We also looked at a puzzle book with pictures and English words. After lunch, Jay and I tried to catch the bus early but it didn't come so we went back to the center to wait for the 3:30 bus. During this time, Jay talked and did PT on a man who was a Post Master from a nearby village. I sat with the kids, they were having a dance party. They all did dances for me including the boys.

On a side note because you would not see this in the US. This chicken was alive Thursday morning after snack time. We were all watching it on the roof. In the afternoon as I was standing outside a man grabbed, went across the street and killed it. When he was done de-feathering it, he brought it back across the street. I still find this unbelieveable.

On Saturday, I stayed in Palangi and hung out. I was little bored because Jay had gone to play cricket with his club of boys from the nearby village. I hiked to the middle of the mountain and sat for a while. The fog formed around me, it was very peaceful and relaxing. I also walked to the end of the road where the bus turns around, it took about an hour. I am sorry I didn't bring my camera so I dont' have any pictures of the villages along the way.

Today, Sunday, I went to the market with Manjula. It was very interesting to walk around and see how Manjula picks out the vegetables and fruits for the week. They were also butchering chickens and fish in the market today.

I will pray that everyone has a peaceful and relaxing Sunday.

-Darcy

Pictures

The blog for today is below, I thought I would add some pictures, that you might enjoy, from my adventures so far.

Sorry this are the only two that would load as the computer is deciding to be slow at the moment.