First Day of a New Love

After finally arriving in India 36 hours later, we're still not in the right city. My dad and I had to spend the night in Mumbai. We only had about three hours of sleep then headed for the airport for Chennai.  Airport security in India is something else. First they separate men and woman, second, they don't know how to take change out of their pocket and the women have so much jewelry on that everyone beeps. Except for me. But they magic wanded me down anyway...just for good measure? Arriving in Chennai, we knew we had another few minutes of struggle time before we found out how to get a hold of the Marriott to pick us up. Our driver's name was Christopher. What's better than Indian airport security? Indian traffic systems. Sure they have lanes...three..but no one drives in them; sure they have seatbelts...wait, do they even know what they're for?; and sure they have cars big enough for the whole family...but it's just as good to have one motor bike as long as you trust your wife enough not to let go of your three of four kids riding on with the two of you. They honk soooo much! Not like Americans, though, who say "get out of my way, learn how to drive!" it's more like beep beep I'm on your left or beepidy beep, on your right or even beeeep bep beep I'm coming in hot just drive normal and I'll swerve around you. I haven't figured out how no one gets accidents yet but I'll learn the ways and secrets of the horn one day. It's like...orderly chaos. That is the best way to describe it. They are experienced dangerously safe drivers. So we're zipping along narrowly avoiding, or is it perfectly distancing ourselves from the tiny Indian vehicles trying to make out a single sign. Then my dad says "that one looks just like the one on Parley's Stake Center!" We found the branch and went in. Other RSO (Rising Star Outreach) volunteers were there. It was awesome how beautiful new church building which needed to be built in order to accommodate the growing numbers. After church we slept and watched James  Bond and golf on the TV and hung out with Kyle and Audrey, happy for a little familiarity.

The next morning we met as a group and loaded up for the RSO campus. It took all of three hours in a super cramped, hardly air conditioned, sweaty bus until we arrived! The campus is awesome! A school was built recently as well as a volunteer hostel as well as a cafeteria and housing for the kids. Instead of explaining the role of an RSO volunteer and trying to do the work and the facility justice, follow the link if you are interested.
http://www.risingstaroutreach.org/
After standard protocol all 50 of us anxiously skipped on over to play time with the kids. It was raining a little so they were all inside. But, they have learned that with the short amount of time they have with each session, they lose precious time and memories with the volunteers if they are shy. I love this! They ran up to me asking my name as I tried to keep up with theirs (an impossible task for sure!) and wanted to go out and play. We all spent the next hour playing all sorts of games! It is so hard to remember all their names! So many of them are impossible to understand and then more impossible to pronounce. I made a goal to remember ten for each day. One of the boys I asked wouldn't tell me his name. He just sat there giggling and smiling and shaking his head. So I named him Smiley. Audrey told me his name but he still insists I call him smiley. He is my favorite so far. We played soccer with four other boys around 6 or 7 years old the whole time and every time he did something good he sprinted over to me for a high five, even if it meant losing a goal in the meantime. He also has the cutest smile on campus which, though of course it is appropriate considering his name, I didn't realize his nickname would be so true! His little friend Michael (one of the few American names) got jealous and tickled me at every opportunity. He is also VERY cute. Then the volunteers left for the daily dinner on the roof served on banana leaves of course. I LOVE INDIAN FOOD!!! It is so yummy and spicy! During dinner everyone went around and told their highs and lows of the day then we went to tuck them in their...not beds..they like to sleep on the floor. The little girls I am assigned to will be photographers one day, they wouldn't put my camera down!

I'm so tired haha and I can't wait for another day in the country I already love!