Update

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So I feel like it’s about that time again to type up some more of my experiences and how things are going in general. I also have the free time to do it today because yesterday and today are holidays. Which is good because my days off are often split between doing things with various people around town and a day of down time where I run around and try to do the things I have to do, then try to get as much rest as possible. In fact, I will have to write this post in parts because I have to leave in 20 minutes to go find a Munda to purchase so that I will be dress appropriate for the wedding this Sunday.
A Munda is like a Kali, and a Kali is like a sheet that you were around your waist and tuck it in. They are infinitely more comfortable than pants and one does not sweat as much in them during the day. However a Kali is not appropriate during the day (unless you are doing manual labor.) It has something to do with status and such. I was just told to not wear my Kali outside the Blind School and never during school work hours. However, it is a lot more comfortable than pants and I change into it as so as I get home. (as does everyone else.)

Which kind of leads into a story. I decided that I would wear my Kali to dinner one night, something I have never done before. My friends wear it all the time, but for me to walk into the mess hall with all the students and staff was amusing. Everyone laughed and then some pointed out that I was wearing it wrong. I also could not flip it up at half length, a source of more enjoyment for everyone. The students who can see a little called me over to poke fun with me. It was amusing. Later, after dinner, the Headmistress came in. I think to see me dressed this way. She also had a good laugh, especially when I tried to show her how to fold it at half length properly (which I failed at). Then I bounced and skipped my way out of there. It was Good times.

After coming to the Blind School, people have been incredibly awesome to me. I have my up days and then I have my down days, but they are always there. So old friends back home, I am afraid you have been replaced. I know I told you I was coming back, but like dust in the wind without an anchor. I am gone. Tear.

Everyday I get up and go to breakfast at 8:10am. It is always something special and nothing you would ever get served in America. Yet I feel like you guys are missing out. The food here is fantastic. For instance, this morning for breakfast we were served appum and green peas (think pancakes made of rice flour, coconut milk, and some yeast; all smothered/covered in green peas.)
After breakfast I head back to my room for a morning shower and all the other steps I missed jumping out of bed to make breakfast on time. It also helps to get up and get moving a bit before the morning shower. There is no hot water to shower with so the showers are quite cold. There is a hot water heater but it does not produce water out of the showerhead, only a tap in the wall. I used to try to use this along with the bucket but not since I noticed the switch to the heater sparks when it’s flipped, which seems all well in good in all when you are standing in a puddle of shower water. So cold showers for me, followed by brushing of the teeth.
I should also point out that tap water in India is not as purified as the tap in the States. It is fine for showering and other things but there are still microbes in it. I was not sure if you could brush your teeth with it, but after several weeks of testing there seems to be no adverse side effects.
I also shave sometimes. At least once a week so I am not as scruffy as I was in the States. However, EVERYONE has a mustache here in India. But despite my best efforts, I do not think it is in the cards for me. Time to give in and concede. Mostly because I have a wedding to go to and I think I will already look funny enough in my newly bought Munda.

After this is the morning assembly. The kids gather in lines like I used to do in Scouts and then sound off a lot of things I do not understand. Somewhere in there is a counting off of the students, the prayer, and the morning news as well as some announcements. After this I begin my day.

“What do I do in my days here?” you might ask.

Everything I can do, and sometimes that is very little OR it might seem like very little. Mostly I speak English. I speak to the staff and also the students. During the day, the students have periods off in which I walk in and begin to teach English.
Sometimes there is understanding. A few common phrases such as “How are you?” and “What is your name?” are understood by everyone, even the first standard (grade) students. Most also understand “Tell me about your family.” There are memorized/taught answers to these questions.
However, there is more to this I found. They are not just basic English questions. They also glimpse into the culture here. On one of my first days, I was asking questions but did not want to single out any one student. “How are you?” Next student, “What is your name?” Next student, “Tell me about your family.” And so on…
What I didn’t realize is I upset them (at least one of them) because I had not inquired more about her father and mother and their names and what they do and her brothers and sisters and so on and so forth. She was upset because I had not asked about her family.
There is a lot of attention given to family here, and a lot of respect for parents. No one back home would care if I asked about their parents and siblings. It was definitely a wake up call that I was in a new land.

I also just converse with people, even people who I have no idea what they are saying. I sit and learn whatever they care to teach me. Sometimes they teach me Malayalam, and sometimes music, and sometimes patience. Sometimes I sit in a room and watch others converse and try to figure out what is being said. Sometimes I play games. In fact I play games a lot.
Beside the daily Cricket game, I also help out with the small P.E. games during school hours. I also have taught several people cards such as “Go Fish”, “ERS”, and the basics of Poker. The School Administrator came in one day right before we were going to play and I thought we were in trouble. That was until he said, “Magic? I know a trick.” And then performed it for us several times. Things like that.
One day, because I had little to do, I decided to make a kite to show some of the students who see partially how flight works. The kite never flew, but not before two other teachers were trying to make kites of their own and were running up and down the driveway. It was good times had by all.
The same is true of the time that one of my friends mentioned something about poles you could walk on. And I said “stilts.” Before I knew it I was proving that I could walk on stilts and teaching others to do the same. I was also shown how to walk on them differently so I would be able to run. Good times.
These are all things that I do during the day. I sit. I talk. I play. I engage people. In every thing there is a small exchange of culture, of people, of love. And that makes everyday here worth it.


After evening Cricket I go and shower. Sometimes I watch the bats before I go in. Eventually the mosquitoes chase me in, which only seems right because that is the whole reason the bats are out. It is fun to watch them though. Very rarely do you see them in the U.S. anymore with all the lights and noises. If you haven’t, you are missing out on something spectacular. They fly much faster with more control and agility than birds. Maybe I just like them a lot.
After that comes dinner and then bed. I go to my room, reflect, read, and write in my journal. Then I fall asleep under my favorite and only sheet, with the fan going full till to chase away mosquitoes and the 90* Heat. (I am exaggerating. Sometimes it cools down to 88* before I go to bed.) Thank God for my thermometer and my love of Louisiana camping. Home Sweet Home in so many ways.

This is how I spend my average day, so with the exception of Sudie, I do not see the other volunteers but once a month. The retreat photos are the exception. But my friends here are good. They take me around and help me where I need to go on the weekends and holidays. I also go along with them to help them with their errands (not like I am any help or anything) but I am never treated as a burden. I am seemingly introduced to everyone. Everyone is curious to know where I am from and what I am doing and then a lot of other things. I would say that they take the conversation beyond small talk but I am not sure if that exists here. People really want to know about life elsewhere and like my students; they really want to know about family. I like to think that we treat other people the same back home in the States, especially foreigners who don’t speak a lick of English. But if only that were true.

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