PET!

PET…or otherwise known as PE or Physical Education in America. PET is an acronym for Physical Education Training, or at least that’s what I thought the PET Instructor told me. Every standard gets PET at least once a week. Sometimes they have PET by themselves and sometimes it’s with another standard. The volunteers have the option to do PET and depending on the heat they usually pick it. It brings variety and fun to the education schedule, and there are so many fun games that they play.

Some of my favorites include “Dog and Bone”, “Below the Knee”, and “Catch”. In “Dog and Bone” there are two teams that are standing in a horizontal line facing each other. There is a considerable distance between them with a ball in the middle. Each player is given a number and when your number is called you run up to the ball and have to make a couple of rotations around it. Once you make a couple of rotations, you ultimately either want to grab the ball and get back to your side without being caught or if the other player grabs the ball you want to catch them before they get to their side. I’m not going to brag or anything, but my team has won every time, so far.

In “Below the Knee”, there are two teams and it’s kinda like dodge ball. One team is in the middle of the circle having to dodge the ball below their knee and the other team is on the outskirts of the circle throwing the ball at players inside the circle below the knee. I’m awful at being inside the circle, partly because I am taller than all of the kids and partly because I always forget that I can move when the ball is thrown at me…whoops haha.

Lastly, “Catch” is played with primarily UKG. So they always make any game fun! They all stand in a circle and one person is in the center throwing the ball to someone in the circle. Once you catch the ball you go around the circle 2 times and the best part is the little UKG kids sing “Happy Birthday” to that person the whole time. It makes me crack up every time!

The other day at PET, the instructor told me how he is getting married the following week. Sadly, it is on the last day of the session and I am leaving for Delhi that night with my mom, so I can’t go. I love how inviting and welcoming people are. I met him only a few weeks ago and he wants me to celebrate at his wedding.

I love India. I love the people. I just love it!

Plagues and Storms

The past week has been a whirlwind of adventures. There was a storm, which made the WiFi tower collapse. They said it would take at least a week to fix, but we are expecting about a month. Here's the wifi tower that's supposed to be on top of the building behind it

 I am able to post this, because I am staying at the Marriott for the night BECAUSE MY MOM IS HERE!!! I am so excited for her to experience India and the love I have for the people of this country! I've missed her so much. We went into T. Nagar today, which is a shopping district right outside of Chennai, and we were able to just roam around India in a rickshaw together and laugh and talk and have fun. I love having her here and having her experience India first hand!

Another thing that comes with the rain is bugs…and I mean TONS of bugs. We were sitting up on the roof for dinner one night after it had rained and bugs were crawling all over the place. Everyone was freaking out, including me of course. Then we went downstairs and found out that the bugs were swarming all around the Volunteer Program Director’s and his family’s door to their house. It was disgusting. Like beyond gross! Little did we know that the room I was staying in had bugs in it as well. It was a night of bug killing spray, stomping our feet, and sweeping bugs. Probably around 10,000 of them, might I add. The plague of bugs.

I was able to go to one of the leprosy colonies this past week as well. It was just what I needed. I love going into the colonies and seeing all these beautiful people who are content with so little, but have the biggest hearts. I could see the Light of Christ in their eyes as they put their hands together and welcomed me to their home.

The other day I was tutoring a little boy named Jegadesh in 1^st Standard. We were going through flashcards of different animals and their words and we came across a koala. He looked at the word, then the picture, and then at me. Then he said “wawa!” I then corrected him and said “koala” which then he replied with “Yes! Wawa!”. It was the cutest thing and it was funny for me, because my cousin Kyra used to call herself “Wawa” when she was younger.

We start our 1st session (well technically 2nd session, but the BYU Nurses just do the medical rotation, so I wasn't able to do do education with them) this week and I cannot wait to get to know these new volunteers! 

I forgot my camera back at Rising Star's campus, so I can't upload any pictures, but I promise I will do that next blog post!

I miss and love everyone so much! Happy Father's Day!!

THE KIDS ARE BACK!!

The past week that I was here was definitely a lot different without the kids being here. They bring so much life to the campus and I’ve missed them so much! They got back on Sunday and started school on Monday…it’s been a crazy week so far and it’s only Wednesday.

 UKG in America is Kindergarten, and the UKG kids have never used a computer before. So for computer lab we use the paint program on the computer to teach them how to control the mouse and use the keyboard. Today this little girl named Yaminishri was having a difficult time controlling the mouse and kept clicking on everything except the paint program. Slowly she started to get it more and more, and eventually she drew a straight line!! I was so proud of her. She turned around with the biggest smile on her face and grabbed my cheek, like a grandma would grab their grandchild’s cheek to say how cute they are. It kinda hurt, but I knew she was doing it out of love and affection…I think haha.

I found out yesterday that Sanjay, one of the boys that Carl sponsors, got promoted to 6^th standard!! I was so excited for him! He has been top or at least close to top of his class since he was in UKG! Since he’s in 6^th now, he gets to stay up later with the older boys for story time with the volunteers. He made sure to ask me to come to his room for story time last night, but he was so exhausted that he had already fell asleep by the time I got there.

We (Ashley and I and whoever wants to join) have nightly dancing/singing sessions in our shower stalls. The other night a song we weren’t familiar with turned on and right after the lyrics “turn off the lights” came on, the lights literally turned off and we had to finish our showers in the pitch black. This Is India!

There are no words to describe how happy I am here. I love India. I love serving others. I love it, I love it, I love it! I know these 3 ½ months are going to be trying at times, but knowing I am supposed to be here and having that confirmed to me by my Heavenly Father on several occasions, makes those difficult times worth it.

I love and miss everyone J