Namaste

At the moment we are running around our house packing things, cleaning, and trying not to forget anything.  I'm pretty sure my backpack weighs the most out of the three of us, Yay, but Brooke and Sid aren't far behind me.  Packing for a month in one backpack is definitely challenging.  I really shouldn't even be typing this blog post probably.  But anyway I wanted to let you all know that we leave for our trip all over India and Nepal in a few hours. Our train leaves at 11:00 pm and only one out of our three tickets has been confirmed, the other two are wait listed, but we are hopeful. :)  First stop is Goa and then the plan is Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra, Dehli, and then Nepal after that but it's India, plans can easily change.  Since we're traveling you may not hear much from us until 2012! Wish us luck! Merry Christmas!

-T

INDIA#10 - Christmas Greeting Mash-Up Song

Early December in Pictures-Trevor

An Early Chrstimas Feast With Our Neighbors

Saturday Hike With the Entire School

Girls Dancing to Feliz Navidad

Best Christmas Skit Ever!

Sid Got Christmas Lights From Home

Thanksgiving with the Indians-Trevor

It is hard to put into words how special our Thanksgiving was here in India but I will try my best.  To our surprise our Thanksgiving celebration started the night before.  Sid, Brooke, and I were eating dinner at Vara and Prem’s house, our adopted family.  Normally we eat chapati and a different amazing curry each night but that night Vara made special vegetable chapati, special omelets, and then off course there was delicious curry.  He told us this was to start our Thanksgiving.

We woke up Thanksgiving morning remarking to each other how it really didn’t feel like the holiday at all.  When I think about it, this is the first time all three of us have been away from family at the holidays.  The kindness and special day to follow would quickly help us forget that.  During the morning the principle and his wife had us over to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving and to give us some carrot cake.  At lunchtime Chandu, brought over two different curries for us to try, one of them was even a pumpkin curry!!! The little things definitely make us excited here in India. Yes, we spend a lot of time eating.

For dinner we had invited Vara and Prem, and Nancy, their adorable little girl, Chandu and Ramana, our neighbors, and Rajeev, a younger single guy over for dinner at 7:00, so the afternoon found us preparing for the meal.  The day before we had made a shopping list and busted right down to the grocery store, just kidding, we went to the bustling street market in Vempalli and bought potatoes, green beans, beets, carrots, and cucumbers, all for the whopping price of about three dollars.

By the time 7:00 rolled around we had used pretty much every dish and pot in our house, plus borrowed some from next door and some from Vara and Prem.  Sid set up two tables together, found a table cloth, lit candles, and also ran around until we had enough plates and utensils for everyone.  We were going to make this a legit Thanksgiving!

In typical Indian manner, everyone showed up around 7:30.  The table was full with two pots of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, seasoned green beans, a fresh vegetable plate, pineapple, and cooked carrots and cauliflower.  Brooke deserves most of the credit for the food, especially since she needed the power for some of the cooking, and the power here likes to play games with us, especially when we need it the most.  We resorted to just keeping our headlamps on for the last half hour spent cooking.

Rajeev loves ketchup!!

Ramana

As dinner began, watching our guests try some American food was almost as entertaining as Ramana lifting his plate up to his face to use his fork, complete with elbow sticking straight out. The ketchup was also a big hit with baby Nancy and Rajeev, as he put it on mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and the vegetables. Kind of reminds me of American kids and myself. Ketchup makes everything better.  Sid played the part of an Indian host very well and for the first time we were the ones giving and offering more food even though they were full.  We concluded the meal with some apple cider from home, custard, and Brooke made one killer carrot cake complete with frosting.

It was Sid’s idea to continue the American tradition and go around the table and say what we were thankful for.  Brooke and I started by saying how much all of them meant to us and how they had made India so special.  I will never forget what happened next.  Vara had to translate for Ramana but as he began to talk about how Sid and I are his brothers, and Brooke his sister, my eyes started to water.  By the time Chandu, Vara, and Prem had talked about how they would miss us when we left I was a goner.  I was sitting at Thanksgiving dinner crying, that’s a first.  Sid didn’t fair much better soon after I started.  I don’t think it helped that we were sitting directly across from each other.  So now the two American boys are crying at the table and Brooke is able to hold it together, classic.

These incredible people are not just like our family, they are family.  Their immeasurable kindness and beauty blows me away every day but as I was sitting around the table with all of them together I could just feel the happiness in the room.  It is definitely true, food brings people together.

Dishes-Before and After!

After dinner, just like in America we all found ourselves in the kitchen.  I physically had to stop Vara from washing the dishes, which I’m glad I did because after everyone had left we could fully survey the damage.  I had to stack dishes on the floor to get to the bottom of the sink to even start.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, we were over at Vara’s and Prem’s for dinner and to our surprise in a pot we found mashed potatoes, with an Indian flavor of course.  My favorite line of the evening was, “I want you guys to terminate them!”  Well we terminated those potatoes! Ha!

India has definitely gotten under my skin.  Sorry for repeating, but these people are truly incredible. Rajeev told us that he would remember our meal for the rest of his life. I would have to agree.  Happy late Thanksgiving!  I’m thankful for India!


-T

I Thought I Was Stonger-Trevor

So far most of my blog posts have been about traveling, fun experiences, and just India in general.  Although it’s much easier to write about holidays or the amazing curry I ate last night I thought I would open up and be honest about some of my emotional journey, so here it goes.

I remember those first few weeks.  Each day seemed like a week in fact.  I never thought I would feel the way I did.  I had been to Malawi, Namibia, and Malaysia all on mission trips, lived in a dorm for four years in high school away from my parents.  I’m a strong, independent kid I thought.  Living in India would just be another adventure full of fun times right?  Yes and no.

I remember the moments where I stopped missing home or even thinking about going home were few and far between. Even when I was playing volleyball or talking with people, most of my brain was struggling to stop thinking about how I didn’t think I could do this.  I had heard of student missionaries having horrible years and all I could think of was, “I’m going to have 7 months of this!!!???”  That thought was overwhelming.

I found myself during those first few weeks shutting off from the experiences around me.  I felt tense, alone, vulnerable, and weak.  The things keeping me in India included how much planning I had put into the trip, the donations of friends and family, not wanting to give up, and Sidney and Brooke.  I WANT TO BE HAPPY I kept telling myself.   I want to laugh until it hurts and not just put on a fake smile and pretend it is all okay.

It has been over a month and a half since we spent our first night here in India.  I’m reading Blue Like Jazz and the author talks about how one of his most painful experiences was realizing has selfish he truly was, that life was a story, but he was not the main character it revolves around.  Despite how it is embarrassing to say it, I also am beginning to see that life is not only a story about myself.  There are so many beautiful people here in India.  Their beauty shines through their kindness, faces, laughs, and smiles.  As I am beginning to realize that me being comfortable is not the one main goal in the story, life here is India has started to come alive in beautiful facts and colors.  Things that would make me just want to retreat to my room in frustration, now still make me frustrated but I’m able to turn it into laughs and memories.  People here have become family.

My progress is definitely slow, Oscar the Grouch wouldn’t want to be around me at times here.  I still miss home, friends, and family on a daily basis.  But instead of just focusing on that I need to remind myself how truly lucky I am to even have the opportunity to meet these people, eat these foods, and be fully immersed in a different culture.  I know many of you are praying for me, Mom especially, so thank you for the support and help.

It is crazy to think how low, shut-off, and home sick I was for the first month.  It took being completely separated from my amazing family, friends, and social community to realize how much I really do rely on people.  Despite how independent I may think I am, my family and friends truly do provide so much support that I took for granted until now.

No I AM NOT as STRONG as a thought, but where there are STRUGGLES there is GROWTH.  It just took that far away country called India to help show me that.

-T

This country grows on you - Brooke

We've been here over a month and a half. We still talk about America and what were going to do when we get home. Where we're going to eat, where we're going to go, who we're going to see. But we are no where ready to go back to America yet! Today we were talking about how much the people here are growing on us. There are some kids we have each connected with, but mostly we've gotten to know the teachers, and we love em (mostly)! When we first got here, there were some people we weren't so sure about, and didn't really like very much...but to look back at that now, some of it seems pretty ridiculous! I love how you get to know peoples quirks and little pieces of their personality that make them unique.

To be honest, during the first week of school, I couldn't tell the difference between half of the women teachers. They all had these difficult names to say and remember and they looked the same with their black hair braided down their backs. I think about it now and their differences are incredibly obvious, how could I have missed them? It's like when you see one of those movies showing a busy street in China where everyone is walking somewhere and they all look like clones of each other. That's kind of how I felt when I arrived in India! In case any of you have ever felt the same, I am here tell you that even though there are things they all say and mannerisms they all do, they are very different from each other. They all look different, sound different, and treat us in different ways.

I'm glad we get to spend enough time here to really get to know the people who make everything about this place what it is and what we enjoy. It's kind of like people watching on steroids, and I love it! Our 'brothers' and 'sisters' on this campus are truly fascinating.

-B

Weekend in Bangalore!

This weekend we took a little trip down to Bangalore which is about six hours away by bus. The “Super Luxury” bus leaves at 11 pm and we arrive around 5 am. (Don’t be misled by the term Super Luxury). This is the bounciest road I have experienced here in India so far! At one point, I think Trevor’s head may have hit the ceiling and on the way home I was literally bounced onto the floor. We arrived at 5 am at the bus station and were immediately offered an auto ride to our destination of choice with a small fee of a million dollars because we are rich Americans. We bartered with the guy and got him down to a somewhat reasonable price to take us to Lowry Adventist College where we rented a guest room. At Lowry, we crashed for a few hours and then got up to tackle our first day in this big city! 

Shekarato!

The first place we went was Mahatma Gandhi Road, a touristy area that has food, coffee shops, book stores, and all the shopping we could imagine. Our first stop for food was the Mateo Coffea shop which was like a dream come true! They had delicious pictures of coffees and desserts and scrumptious descriptions of pasta dishes and sandwiches lining the multi-paged menu… This place was just about like heaven. We treated ourselves to “Shekerato’s” (their version of a frappeccino) and espresso and enjoyed the nice atmosphere where everyone wasn’t stopping to get a good look at us. It was great!

Zach and Jeff Gilbert arrived soon after and we spent the rest of the day chatting and catching up with them. It was fun to share our stories that were similar in so many ways…ha! We ate at McDonalds and discovered that they have 12 rupee soft serve cones, which is only about 25 cents so we spoiled ourselves on these! Later that night we even went to Pizza Hut and ate some more American food… That day definitely ended with satisfied bellies.

Day two in Bangalore started with breakfast at the local Indian shop next to Lowry College. Here you can get three dosa (similar to crepes or pancakes), puri (I would call these an elephant ear without the sugar), or chappati for 20 rupees. Much cheaper than the American style food in the area! So with our bellies full, we set out for the Iskon Temple where we may have accidently become Hindu. We were ushered through the tourist section and given a card with lines to repeat outloud as we crossed over 108 stepping squares in our bare feet and up into the ‘worship area.’ The phrase consisted of four lines and went something like this, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare.” So after 108 repetitions of this, we made it into the temple and even sat down to try and sneak a photo of the golden statues and incense… They confiscated all cameras before we entered, but Zach luckily was able to sneak his in. He got a good picture of our clan (all in matching blue attire, accident ha!). The security seems very tight, but it really isn’t that thorough when it comes to searching… The rest of the temple was a maze of tourist attractions and shops selling coloring books of the gods and snacks. At the end we were given a free bowl of soupy rice that was really good!

After the Iskon, we piled all five of us into the small back seat of the only auto that would allow it to Mantri Square. The auto charges one rate, so the more people there is to split it between the better. We were surprised when most of the auto drivers wouldn’t allow us to put more than three people in because back in Vempalli, they pile six people inside, a few on the back, and some more on the roof! Mantri Square is a huge 5 story mall with a giant food court up top and a supermarket similar to Walmart downstairs. I’m pretty sure I may have experienced culture shock in that supermarket. Or maybe it was just because I was overwhelmed trying to look at every single item they had for sale to make sure it wasn’t something I needed to buy and take back to school with me. Ha! Probably the most exciting part of this mall was the fact that they had a Taco Bell (although I didn’t have any, the boys tell me the burritos didn’t quite measure up, but it was still a little taste of home!)

Sketchy photo of the Palace

From Mantri Square, we walked about 30 minutes up to the Bangalore Palace and tried to snag a few photos and avoid the guards with their whistles. Then we found an auto who would give us a free ride back to MG road if only he could take us to one shop for 5-10 minutes. This is the scam that many of the auto and taxi drivers try to trick tourists into. If they can get tourists to go to these several different shops with WAY over priced souvenirs, they get a 30% off gas card, or something like that. They are so desperate for these things that they will even drive you somewhere for free just so they can get it! So we got our free ride, all five in one auto once again, back to MG road and spent the rest of our night hanging out there at the shops.

We were pretty tired after that busy day, so Sunday we took it easy. We met a nice western guy at our favorite Mateo Coffea place who was from LA and had only been in India for three days. He is part of the Watson program where you are given a yearly salary and told to go travel anywhere in the world that you have never been and study some topic of your interest for a year. During this year you aren’t supposed to work or go to school, just simply learn! He had previously been in London for 3 months and now he would be spending 3 months in Bangalore, and his next stop was Australia. He was a real interesting guy! He had even heard of Walla Walla University. I love meeting new people that have something small in common with you in an unfamiliar place.

Cubbon Park

Zach and Jeff had to take off for their train back to Nuzvid around noon, so we went to Cubbon Park and relaxed there for a while and did some more exploring and walking around that area. It was nice to just take it easy. Our bus was leaving that night at 10:30 pm. Before we left, we treated ourselves to a great meal (unfortunately mine left me sick as a dog for the whole six hours of bumps back home) and made it to the bus station to experience something else completely new. The bus station was so packed with buses that all seemed to be itching to get out of there and were slowly creeping and honking at one other toward the main exit. There was no organization. There was a platform with a number, but this number really had nothing to do with where your bus was! It was completely random. In Sid’s words, “This must be what it is like to be on the Amazing Race.” Thankfully all the people who work there roam through the buses and each one stopped us to ask which bus we were looking for. After being led around by several different official looking people for 10-15 minutes, we were finally directed toward the correct bus and took off for our bouncy ride home!

Our trip to Bangalore was fun and refreshing! This modern city reminded us of the many things we have at home and it was fun to get out of the normal weekend routine and experience a different part of India. But when it all comes down to it, we were very relieved to be back in our home on Monday morning. Somehow the big, bustling city made the quiet farmlands of Andhra Pradesh seem more inviting, and it was a good feeling to be back!

Auto ride!

India#8 - Brooke Updates Us in Bangalore

Pizza, Pumpkins, and Poisonous Snakes

The end of October found us missing home as we thought of fall, pumpkins, and Halloween treats back in the US.  However, our last weekend in October was special in a way we didn’t expect.  On Saturday morning we went to church and were greeted by three Americans, Sue, Nancy, and Jack.  They sponsor children at the school and have been involved with it since the beginning so they visit every year.  These were the first white faces we had seen in a month.  The sponsors were pretty busy that day talking with their kids and catching up with people at the school but Sue invited us over the guesthouse that night to talk with them.  It was extremely interesting to hear about the history of the school and how much progress the kids really have made since first coming from their villages to the school.

The next day we had scheduled a shopping tip to Kadapa to stock up on groceries at the More store that we can’t get here in town.   We invited Sue to come along and since this was her seventh trip to India, she had no lack of wisdom, stories, and information to share with us on the car ride.  One such interesting bit of information was that one of the villages we drive through on our way to Kadapa recently was a terrorist town and home to a terrorist leader. The road had to be paved on either side of the town but not through because of the violence towards the construction crews.  The road is now finished but lets just say we won’t be stopping in that town for tea anytime soon.

The last time we had gone to the More store in Kadpa had been our second say in India so we didn’t really know what to buy.  This trip found us walking every aisle with a magnifying glass.  An hour later found the van loaded with cereal boxes, ramen like noodles, jelly, and ketchup.  The highlight of our trip was when Sue treated us to dinner at the Kadapa Café.  Although the food had a slight Indian twist, we enjoyed sandwiches, pizza, ice cream, and we even got some cakes to take home.  On our final stop in town, Sid and I each bought a lungie, which is one of the traditionally pieces of clothing men in this area wear.

Mom I know you’re not going to want to hear this but Sunday night was a bit exciting when the principle’s daughter found a cobra by her house and beat it to death with a stick.  We joined the circle of kids peering at the snake as it still twitched and of course took some pictures with the snake on the end of the stick.

After school on Monday Brooke and Sid went into Vempalli to hopefully find pumpkins for us to carve.  They came back with green pumpkins, or at least relatives to them and we spent the night sitting on our floor carving pumpkins.  The kids and teachers got quite the kick out of them when we lit them the next night.

We would like to thank Sue Smith for everything.  The love that Sue has for India and its people is so apparent and definitely inspiring to us.  She treated us like her own children for the weekend and even brought us some peanut m&ms on Halloween.  Her advice, wisdom, and support were all much needed and helped make the conclusion of our first full month in India a special one.

-T

Diwali-Gettin Crazy in India

Wednesday the 26^th of October marks a Hindi holiday here in India called Diwali or the Festival of the Lights, or more accurately fireworks, bangs, and sparklers.  I don’t think words, pictures, or even videos can express the fun and craziness Sid, Brooke, and I experienced on this day but I will try.

Since a large number of the students here at the school are Hindi there was no school.  Things got even better as it has been raining here lately, and periodic torrential downpours provided the perfect weather for a relaxing day with no school.

We were slightly worried about the heavy rains as we were preparing to go into the nearby town of Vempalli to see what the festivities were all about.  But the rain let up to a slow drizzle and we piled into an auto rickshaw and rode into town not knowing what the night would hold.  We began walking through the town and ran straight into our friend Raju standing under an umbrella in the middle of the street.  Raju and his wife Vani have been nothing but kind to us.  Their absolute generosity has blown us away on numerous occasions.  We walked to his house where we were served coffee and a complete meal including warm chipote as we waited for it to get dark.  Brooke was under constant attack from the almost two year old Blaine, who kept dumping curry leaves and chilies into her hands and onto her plate.

  We all slightly jumped at what sounded like a gunshot right outside the door.  We excitedly went outside to see what was going on.  What sounded like bombs echoed across the town.  Sidney remarked, “This is what living in Iraq must be like.”  Imagine the booms you hear at fireworks shows, except instead of in the sky they are five feet away.  The neighbors and their children were already setting of fireworks, lighting sparklers, and soon we were joining in.  After a while Raju led us through the town on our way to buses so we could go back to the school.   Every alley we looked down was a glow with candles and sparks from a new firework.  Even on the main streets storeowners were lighting fireworks.  The whole town had a smoky haze from so many fireworks being lit off.  Upon getting on the bus we felt somewhat disappointed to be leaving the excitement so soon but we had no idea what lay ahead for us back at the school.

The day before many of our students had informed us about how they were going to have “crackers” the next night for Diwali.  I figured some sparklers maybe a few little fireworks etc.  Boy was I wrong.  We got back to our room that night and started unpacking before we heard the first few bangs.  We all looked at each other, and made a dash for the door. We were about to truly experience Diwali. I began running towards the noise and was welcomed by a rocket shot straight at my head.  As it exploded by me I could already see the boys starting to laugh at my surprise.  The entire boys dorm was outside, around 140 since some had gone home for the holiday.  It seemed each boy was armed with an arsenal of fireworks.  Now these are not your average fireworks.  They put US fireworks to shame.  We were immediately surrounded by a mass of chaos.  Sparklers were thrust into our hands and we were told to jump and wave them over our heads.  Rockets were shooting across the field and up over the fence across the road while sparks were raining down.

Now usually in America, when we lights fireworks at home, one person lights the fuse, everyone stands back, waits, and then watches and ooohhs.   Here is India with the boys, it was more like a war zone.  We had to be careful with every step, similar to a real life game of Minesweeper.  Nowhere was safe, fuses were various lengths, giant bangs often made our ears ring, and just because a rainbow rocket was aimed towards the sky did not mean that was the direction it was going to travel.   My feet found that out after Brooke lit one.  My favorite was a firework they would light on the floor that would spin like a top sending sparks in all directions.  We soon found that you jump in the sparks as it spins.   This nonstop lighting of rockets, sparklers, bombs, and bangs went on for two hours non-stop.   As the supply finally began to dwindle the attention turned to dancing.  Some of the boys definitely have some moves and they loved it as they would do a dance move and then thrust us into the middle of the circle to imitate it.  Sidney was definitely the star of this activity as he gave them a run for their money.

We danced, laughed, yelled, jumped, acted crazy, and celebrated, all for a holiday we really knew nothing about.  But it didn’t matter, it meant so much more than that.  Lighting those fireworks made us feel a part of India, a part of our kids here. Diwali is definitely a memory that will help make India a place we will never forget.

-T

Discovering the life of a teacher...

It’s week two and we have decided that we have to go backwards in our teaching material… I gave them their first homework assignment and the next day I was met with blank stares and empty answer sheets. So we are going back to basic English words and phrases! Hopefully we are more successful this way. Sometimes we can use their English textbook (usually taught by our neighbor Chandu) but it’s difficult to teach English when their text books are full of grammatical and spelling errors… I always cringe when we do reading comprehension and half of the sentences aren’t capitalized and it switches from present to past tense randomly!

The other struggle we have with the kids is their focus. Now that they are getting used to white people being around, they are letting their true colors show and like to be disrespectful. It’s even harder when you can’t tell if they understand you when you tell them to be quiet! The teachers here have sticks that they use to keep the kids in line, and we recently got our own to use when the kids start to get rowdy. One of Trevor’s third graders actually gave us this stick and told him to hit the trouble makers… haha! India definitely has a different standard for corporal punishment.

This weekend we are speaking for vespers (they said only about a 30-40 minute talk of course), doing music for church, and leading out Bible study on Sabbath afternoon. They asked us to do the sermon for church as well, but we politely declined and said we would work up to it. We have also acquired a few other jobs during the week such as supervising a study hall period after school and opening the computer lab for students to practice their typing. We have been playing volleyball with teachers and the older students, which are pretty fun (and gets a little intense!) and have learning to play cricket a little bit too.

Right now the dengue fever from the morning mosquitoes is raging in this area and kids are going home or to the hospital for shots every day. There is also a viral flu going around that we are trying not to catch… I may have already gotten it but I’m hoping it’s just a little cold. (sometimes people give us really sugary Indian sweets and tell us to “eat! eat!”) So with all of that and the sugar we drink in our tea, my body isn’t handling it so well! Praying that it will go away soon…

In the morning I get to watch a pretty cool sunrise sometimes (while Sid and Trevor are sleeping away). Although we are in one of the more hot, dusty, and smoggy places in India, it’s still really pretty when the smog burns off every once in a while! Sunsets are pretty cool too. We are still waiting on the rain to come and cool us off and Chandu was telling us it will also kill off the virus that’s going around, so pray for rain!

Both Sid and I got packages this week from home (thanks moms!). I’ve never been so excited to eat Nutella or to open a package of splenda haha… Let’s just say that the jar of Nutella will be licked clean before we are done with it. Same with our peanut butter jars. We try really hard to savor these things, but it’s difficult. Hopefully it helps us appreciate all the peanut butter and other things we get at home! With the supplies we have we are trying to be creative with the cheaper things that grow in this area. So far we have turned our white rice into fried rice with veggies and eggs. Peanuts are popular here (I don’t understand why peanut butter isn’t) so we made candied peanuts out of those. Papaya and coconut are also a big thing, and I just happened to find a recipe online for papaya coconut muffins that we can make into a cake! Also since bananas are abundant and ripen super fast, I am going to try making some banana cake too. So our food situation isn’t as bad as I’ve made it sound, although there is nothing more comforting then eating something from America!

Well I think that about covers it for this week. Trying to keep from being homesick as much as possible…  J

-B

                                                                                        

One week of school down...

This week began with us substituting for every teacher who hadn't arrived back on campus (as well as some who were here but needed some leisure time…….). We taught several math classes, English, biology, physics, computers and some PT (physical training, equivalent to our PE). It was an interesting experience since we hadn't been given any books or notification as to what we would be teaching. Basically we walked the hallway and found classes with no teacher, jumped in, ask the kids to borrow a book and taught the lesson on the spot. I think our improvisation skills improved quite a bit actually. By the end of this week we actually figured out a set schedule and had our own classes to prepare for, which was a relief. The Hindi teacher is gone for a few months doing some training elsewhere so we took over her six classes for 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th grade. Since we know Hindi really well, this is a great opportunity for us! Just kidding. We are teaching English instead and so far we have learned that we have to start very basic… Since this area is pretty rural and most of the kids come from villages where their families work in the farm land, not many of them know English very well. Another obstacle is that the kids don’t have a lot of motivation to learn English because they expect to end up working in the farmland like their family. But to us it seems like having a teacher from America who speaks English is working to motivate them a little bit. So far so good… Along with the English classes, we are teaching all of the PT classes they have. Only some grades get to have PT and usually it means that their teacher takes them outside and supervises while they play, or if they are older, sit and talk. We are trying to make it a little more organized and involve them in some exercises and games that we participate in also. We don’t have a lot of resources for that, but we’re working on it! If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. So far we have volleyball, capture the flag, and running races haha!

We've been asked to take charge in a lot of situations so far, including the sermon for church, afternoon bible study, and many more… it’s a bit overwhelming but we are dealing with it! We have taken on some of the responsibilities but we couldn’t possibly do them all and we let them know that short notice is hard for us. Sooner or later we are going to have to step out of our comfort zones (more than we already have ha!).

Our neighbors, Ramana and Chandu are the sweetest!!! We still have daily tea with them and have started eating lunch at their house too. It’s fun getting to know them and feels a little like our Indian family. According to Ramana, Trevor is “big brother,” Sidney is “small brother,” and I’m the sister! Chandu is teaching us some of the ways of Indian cooking and this morning helped me make something called sweet vermicelli, which is almost like tapioca pudding with noodles in it, and of course a very different flavor… Hopefully we can come home with some great recipes!

We have been walking or running pretty much every day and have explored lots of surrounding villages. We are now used to the staring and expect a crowd of kids to form behind us as we pass through. Today we had kids on bicycles zooming past us only to stop and wait until we passed so they could ride by again. Yesterday we were invited in for some Indian coffee as we walked through a village. They didn’t speak English, but their kindness spoke for them! People are starting to get used to seeing our faces around more often and it’s fun making connections with villagers close by.  

Until next time!

-B

(No Title)

Today, we are exhausted.

That is all...

-S.

INDIA#6

Ready for kids to arrive! -Brooke

For the past week, we have been slowly adjusting and learning the way of life here in India. The concept of time is very different and although life moves a little slower, the traffic certainly does not! We have now experienced riding in the auto rickshaws with our feet dangling out the back, dodging between buses and motorcycles through the Vempalli market, which was exciting. And we still get the stop-and-stare-because-they-are-white look from everyone we pass on the street!

Yesterday, Friday, we experienced our first Indian wedding. It was very different from a quiet, precisely planned, and promptly on time American wedding. Between the camera man walking up and down the aisles in a "my name is Khan, and I'm not a Terrorist" t-shirt with his spot light that blinded you as he filmed and the crowd of children that all brought their chairs to sit as near to us as possible and breath down there necks behind us, we had a good experience! The bride and groom sat in thrones that reminded me of the kings and queens of Narnia and 9 different men sat on chairs between them in order to give their message to the new couple. At the end, the first group to sit down in the long aisle of chairs they created were served rice with daal and chicken and some delicious ice cream, while the second group waited in chairs behind. The first set of people scarf down their food (including us, eating our whole meal with our hands for the first time since we've been here) and then the second group moves in. This continues until all 500 people who attended were fed! It was quite the experience. Overall, it was louder and had a different focus than an American wedding. 

Today we had church here at the school and then made a trip by autorickshaw into Vempalli to our new friends house, Raju, Vani, and their son Blaine (named by Hillary and Kati :)). Raju used to be the english teacher here at the seventh-day adventist school, but now he teaches at a school in Vempalli. When they were at our school two years ago, they became good friends with Kati and Hillary who were the SM's in our position at the time. They are two of the nicest people I have ever met and were so generous to us, feeding us more food than we could handle as well as Indian sweets and coffee! It was neat to be able to meet them even though they aren't here at the SDA school anymore. They even want us to come back every month to visit, and we will definitely be doing that! After we ate lunch, Raju and Vani took us over to their neighbors house where we were served cold thumbs up soda (after we were already stuffed to the brim with food) and gave me a new hairdo, a nose piercing, and a forehead bead!

The only down side to the kindness and generosity people show here is that our stomachs can't hold all the things they give us! Our neighbors Ramana and Chandu give us meals and tea multiple times a day and don't ever ask for anything in return or accept our offers to pay for food etc. Even though we have only been here a little over a week, we have already made good friends that we will hold on to. Everyday we have been going running/walking through the villages that are close to our school and meeting kids and saying hello to villagers. It's fun and I think they get a kick out of seeing us come through with our sweaty faces and funny looking clothes... 

We are excited to start school on Monday and get into some kind of routine. Many of the kids arrive tomorrow and we can't wait!!! Time for some volleyball and cricket games!

Until next time...

-B

We live in that top left room!

Drinking our morning tea provided by Ramana and Chandu.

Lunch at a church in a close by village, DELICIOUS!

INDIA#4 - Cuddapah (Kadapa)

INDIA#3 - Cleaning Our Pad

INDIA#2 - 3AM

INDIA#1 - Late Flights & Long Drives

Videos! - (Sidney)

Hey people of the Americas! Over the last several days I've been filming these random short videos during our travels in India so that you can somewhat visualize what we're up to. I would've had them up earlier but the power goes out for 3/4 of the hours in the day and my computer's battery is shot. Read the posts and then watch the videos! They're like PB & J. They're good separate, but better together, yeah? Have good day and enjoy!

(The first video should be above this post.)

-S

Addresses!!!

For Letters:

Seventh- Day Adventist High School,
Duggannagaripalli ,
Thallapalli Post
Vempalli,
Kadapa District,
Andhra Pradesh, India 516350

For Boxes:

Brooke, Trevor or Sidney
SDA High School
Duggannagaripalli
Thallapalli (PO)
(Via) Vempalli
Kadapa ,India 516350

We're online! -Brooke

 Hooray! We finally have internet! So far it has been an exciting experience and we have a lot of adjusting to do in order to adjust to this lifestyle. Today is Sunday and we still have a whole week until the kids come back from their vacation… so things are slower than we had hoped, but at least we have some time to get settled. It’s definitely hot and humid but also kind of windy, which we are so thankful for! It cools it off quite a bit. The power is off and on so sometimes we have fans that keep us cool too. The people here are so kind and we have made good friends with them already! The families that live next door to us and below us are very caring and generous, feeding us lots of food and tea.

On Friday, we made a trip into the small town of Kadapa (pop. 2 million ha!), which is about an hour away. Here we bought some things we needed such as a gas stove, dishes, pots and pans, and food. Now we can cook our own food and get started on that mac and cheese and top ramen we all brought! This morning we cooked up some scrambled eggs and even had some ketchup to go with it. We even made apple sauce today with some great mushy imported Washington apples! Food is one thing we are doing well with that’s for sure. They feed us more than we can eat here and everything tastes SO GOOD. Although my mouth is on fire at almost every meal haha! Hopefully we will get better at eating spicy foods. In Kadapa, life was bustling and everyone had to stop and stare at us with our white skin and light colored hair. We ended up having an all day shopping trip to get everything we needed and were tired and ready to go home by the end.

Although homesickness has hit me a few times when I’m lying in my bed, sweating and listening to loud Indian music from cars passing by, the new things we are experiencing during the day are keeping me optimistic. The people here really make a difference in this and help us feel so welcome and cared for.

We’re glad we finally get to share some of our trip with you! More to come with our new (hopefully consistent) internet connection.

-B

And it Begins-Trevor

It’s now Sunday in India.  We’ve been in India since 3:00 am after flying into Chennai.  As soon as those airport doors opened we met with India’s heat and humidity, sometimes it feels like we have been sweating since the moment we got here but we are slowly starting to adjust and I never thought I would be so thankful for the breeze we sometimes get which keeps us much cooler.  Some of the school officials met us at the airport, which was extremely helpful.  With luggage strapped to the top of the car and the rest of it on our laps we began the drive to the school.   After only a few short miles we could tell that this was no America, driving on the left side of the road, any time is an opportunity to pass even if there is about 100 feet until an oncoming car, horns are used about every other second.  In Brooke’s words, “Man driving in America is boring.” 

After arriving at the school, and beginning to unpack lets just say we experienced the full joys of jet lag.  Early afternoon we could not keep our eyes open no matter how hard we tried.  It’s a twelve and a half hour difference from home.  We opted for a short nap, which ended up being two hours.  For some exercise we walked through the surrounding villages, the people either smile when they see us or stare in disbelief.  The children follow us through the village and yell good-bye over and over again until they can’t follow us any longer.  Later that night we made it to the extremely late hour of 7:00 before falling asleep but we were all ready to go and wide awake at 3:00 am.  We laid on the floor, stretched, did some pushups. 

We live beside a husband and wife and above another family.  They have already brought us numerous amounts of food, yes our mouths are often on fire for a few minutes but it’s worth it for the amazing food. Ramana the man next door loves tea and has discovered that Sid works at a coffee shop, inviting him over for tea numerous times a day.  The people, the food, the weather, yes they are all different but also amazing.  Sunita, the headmaster’s wife who lives below us has told us to come down anytime and eat whatever we want.  She says that we are going to sample every curry she makes and then let her now which one we like the best.  That’s the type of hospitality we are being shown.  I, and I think I speak for all of us, miss home, my friends, and my family, but I am excited for this incredible experience.

-T

The Final Countdown

Tomorrow is the big day, we will officially be headed to India for 7 months to volunteer at the Kadapa Seventh Day Adventist School.  We're excited and nervous and struggling to get our bags under the weight limits.  We'll try to keep you guys updated about our adventures and thank you to everyone who has supported us in so many ways!