So, returning to India has been a whirlwind. I landed in Delhi at 10:30pm Sunday the 19th (the flight to India is about 14 hrs btw), only to wake up on Monday to catch a 9:00am flight to Pune. THEN a 4-6 hour cab ride down south to Ashraya Mission. At least the cab had air conditioning. Needless to say I've been a bit tired, but things are going well. Since being here at Ashraya Mission (it's only been 4 days?!) we have managed to cram what seems like endless activities into our daily schedules. I wake up at about 5:30am to shower then Katie Beth and I do yoga on the roof to get energized for our day. Next we have team devo, breakfast, then Hindi lessons.
From 11:00-1:00 KB and I have been tutoring our friend Gita. We teach her basic English and Math skills. SHe's never had any formal education, but she is so smart and eager to learn, and she learns.. FAST. This could very well be my favorite part of the day.
After Gita leaves it's time for lunch. We use the afternoons for study hall, free time and ministry. The boys have been great- they go out and hang out with new friends in the neighborhood.
The team has been asked to teach at the school for a month. We call our class, "A Century Through Song". Today KB taught the kids about modern-day slavery and how it affects the world. The kids were astonished at the statistic that the USA has 14,000 slaves, little did they know- India has even MORE trafficked slaves.
The kids love to learn, they are so interested in the topic of slavery. They ask questions and want to learn more. Doesn't this scene looking so different from American classrooms, the students' attentiveness in India never fails to amaze me.
Today for evening ministry, KB and I met our new friend Tanzilla at the park. She did henna on our hands.
The rest of our evenings are spent hosting visitors in the office of Ashraya Mission, cooking dinner then eating and cleaning up. At night we watch an episode of Arrested Development (well, I fall asleep during this) then we all crash into bed.
It has been so great being back in India. It wasn't surreal at all getting here, it was just a relief to be back. Southern India is so different from Delhi, it's a bit wilder. There's a mountain in our backyard. While we were at the park today a herd of goats were lead through by their shepard, and strangely enough it wasn't strange. The electricity goes out for 2 hour increments twice a day. We have to sanitize (boil) every dish after we wash it. It's all a part of being back in India and I have loved every second of it.
Until next time, Namaste!