Getting better..

I know my last email was a bit dramatic, but things have improved to say the least. I don't know if it was thanks to everyone's good wishes or thoughts, but my second day went much better at my site. I had gotten some good advice, and I changed a lot of my mindset. Instead of feeling pity for these kids, I instead went in just trying to use the resources available to me and give these kids as much fun, education, and a childhood as they deserve. I taught some of them how to play "duck duck goose" and they in turn taught me how to play a game. Apparently I got the rules wrong the first time, because I did what I thought was winning the game, and they all laughed at me and shouted "nooo dee dee!" (dee dee means older sister). They seemed a little more relaxed with my presence, and the teachers even tried to communicate with me at lunch. We talked about my family, or tried at least, and they asked me if I was married. When I said that I had a boyfriend but wasn't married they were so confused. We ended up talking in small words and laughing that we couldn't understand each other. They did finally understand that people in America get married later. Here, women are married off as soon as they reach puberty (sometimes as early as 11 or 12). So, even though we couldn't speak to one another we could understand simple things and ended up learning a lot about our different cultures.

At night on Tuesday one of the women here, Darshana, invited me to temple with her. I walked with her to a nearby Hindu temple where she showed me how she traditionally worships, and we sat for a while talking about religions. It was the type of experience you can only imagine; sitting in a Hindu temple, in India, learning about the religion from a true believer. I taught her some things about Catholicism, but she already knew quite a bit. I was ashamed for knowing so little about her religion, but I think this was a good step into becoming more understanding and knowledgeable. We walked back and talked about how sad it is that religion can tear people apart when we all believe the same basic principles. It was really interesting.

Today, Wednesday, was our first Hindi lesson. We learned some basic words and phrases and just got to know our teacher a little bit. She will teach us every Wednesday since this is our day off the mobile creche site. After our lesson we do something that introduces us to the culture or to the community. Today we helped some other participants here at Sangam paint a nearby children's orphanage. We painted their bedroom with a springtime mural. It was tiring, but very rewarding. Tonight I got some things together to prepare for the rest of the week at my site. The whole group of 20 nearby mobile creches have a camp next week, and each site needs to prepare some dances and some artwork. I have some ideas for both, so we'll see how it goes, I'll keep you updated of that! Thanks!