I can't believe that it's already been a week since I got here. My mom wasn't lying... TIME FLIES! We spent our first week getting all situated and preparing for this coming week's projects. I was hoping to get into the slums and start on our projects on day 2, but Ben told us that he wanted us to actually enjoy India and not be worn out on day one wanting to go home.
Last Friday, we spent the day running errands. Before I go on with more details, I need to tell you about the streets and stuff. THEY ARE CRAZY!! It blows my mind at how many people are here. We ride in these things called "Autos". They are a thee-wheeled cars that are their taxis. There are usually about 3 lanes in the roads but it gets turned into 6 because no one follows traffic laws. There autos weasel their way through cars, buses, you name it. SO many people drive. It's unreal. I haven't seen the sun nor any clouds yet...the air is SO bad.
They have a store here called Q-Mart that sells American goodies. We got some groceries for when we are wanting food from home. We also exchanged money and got some other things. We had lunch at a place called "The Chocolate Room". For those of you who know me very well will know that I LOVE CHOCOLATE! We went in there and saw that they had a lunch menu. We had lunch there. Bad idea. I ordered a salad and everyone else ordered there wrap things. My salad was nasty. It was smothered in BBQ sauce and some other unknown dressing. The chicken had this weird texture that I couldn't move past. We all regretting ordering food. Julia and I split an Oreo Milkshake. Their milkshakes are actually really good here! That was by far a good choice. After a long trip home, all of the volunteers met together and read about India. Heck! We are so stoked. We read some interesting facts about holidays. There is something called "Friendship Day". August 13th. The day before I leave. It's perfect! A couple named Brandon and Sirisha came over to say hello. They were both Help volunteers a few years ago and were in town to visit family. We took the night to celebrate my birthday! Since I celebrated my birthday on an airplane, Ben thought it would be fun to go do something well...fun! We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Goodness it was so good! For 150 rupees ($3) I got a soda, potato wedges and my own pizza. THREE DOLLARS! Don't worry mom...I didn't eat the crust. We were planning on going to a movie after but we were all so worn out so we went home to bed. I was super happy that I was able to have some sort of a birthday. And in INDIA!!
Saturday was a fun day too! We were able to go shopping for some Indian clothing! Sirisha came with us since she knows where to get the good stuff. Eliza and I bought churidars. They are so comfy and beautiful! Jenny, Eliza and I also bought these sweet Aladdin pants! Such a find! The area that we went shopping around is called a General Bazar. It was a Saturday and so everyone was out to shop so it was crazy busy and crowded. We headed home to get some sleep. Around 3:00 AM, Eliza and I both woke up. Let me tell ya... we were WIDE awake. We sat and talked for a bit and tried to fall back asleep. Around 4:00 I heard this yelling outside. You know in the movie "The Other Side of Heaven" how when someone dies, the whole town and family mourn and chant? That's what it sounded like. "Eliza, I think someone just died." I said...Eliza said, "No...he's praying!" I guess some people here wake up at 4:00 AM to pray. It was so loud and really cool! The praying only lasted for a few minutes. Next thing you know, it's 7:30 and I am still wide awake. Darn jet lag.
Sunday came and I was so happy. We got ready church and all I thought in my mind was, "I'm going to church...in INDIA!!!!" I was so excited to go to church!!! The church building is BEAUTIFUL! It is surrounded by a big white wall and gate with a guard and everything. The second I walked into the building, I couldn't hear the crazy streets or anything. It reminds me of the NYC temple. The members of the ward are so welcoming and loving. We were surrounded by beautiful Indians wanting to learn our names and shake our hands. Sacrament meeting was beautiful. I have never felt the spirit so strongly in my life. I look up at the piano and there is a white missionary! During the meeting, he got up to give a talk and I'm thinking to myself, "I know this guy...how?" Then I remember that Aubrey had told me about a year ago that one of her friends got called to India, english speaking. We both thought it was so cool because it's a crazy foreign country and to be able to just speak English is awesome. The missionary was her friend! Elder Head! I just laughed and laughed. What a small world? I introduced myself to him and he told me he remembered me. We got a picture together. So Aubrey....here's your amigo Elder Head! What a guy!
Word got out that I play the piano. I was asked 4 different times within an hour to play/teach a lesson. I played "The Spirit of God" for the relief society and the whole time I was thinking "Thank you mom for making me stay in piano lessons for as long as I did....cause this is pretty neat." After RS, I was asked to each a young boy part of a hymn that he was struggling with so he could play it in priesthood. He was so eager to learn. I was also asked to play for the stake choir for the upcoming stake conference. That night Ben and I headed over to the church for practice. The members there were so eager to sing and be there. They kept wanting to go over the music over and over again. It got tiring but I was just happy to be there and help out. It was an amazing first Sunday in India and I can't wait have more!
Our other roommate, Meera flew in early this morning so it has been fun getting to know her! She's a hoot. I freaking love her.
Monday-Wednesday were spent meeting with partners for our projects this summer. I am so excited and ready to work. We also spent time shopping around for Sares. We were invited to an Indian wedding this weekend which is amazing!!! We found Sares for about $200. I was really sad because that's expensive and I REALLY want one. The next day we went to a store and found out that they were only $18 there. STEAL OF A DEAL! Plus they had a sale and Eliza and I figured out a way to get them super cheap. How cheap? $7 each! I am so happy! I can't wait for this wedding.
The partners we have been meeting with are amazing. I am the team lead for the LEPRA/MV Foundation for the leper colony projects. This is a dream of mine and I can't wait to take on this project. Ben knew to put me as the team lead because he knew how much I wanted this. We meet with MVF tomorrow!
Some of the projects we will be working on:
-GLOW (Girls Leading Our World): This is a project to help the teenage girls here learn leadership skills over in the slums.
-Painting Murals: We will be painted murals in 4 of the schools in the slums. This will be one of my favorites!
-Borewells: These are pipe systems/wells that provide water for the slums. We will be building about 5 of these.
-Summer camps: We will hold a summer camp while students in the slums are out of school. This will help them stay out of trouble and we will be teaching them games and fun activities.
-Leper Colonies: We will be working in the leper clinics. I seriously can't wait for this project. I am just dying to get over there.
-UVU Scholarships: We will be on a scholarship board to help decide which students to get scholarships to. This is a huge opportunity and I can't wait to be apart of this.
Some fun facts about India:
-The people here do a thing called a head bobble. It means "yes" "okay" or that they are agreeing with you. It's confusing because when I am asking an auto for a ride, they bobble their head and it looks like they are either confused or not wanting to help out. I am actually starting to pick up the head bobble...it's hilarious.
-The Auto drivers can say no to you if they don't want to take you to places.
-Food here in Hyderabad is SUPER spicy.
-No one responds to ambulances when their sirens are on.
-Women don't shake men's hands unless the man offers it to you.
-Everything here is super cheap. It is 54 rupees to a dollar. A typical meal here is about 150 rupees.
-The women ride side saddle on the vespas/motorcycles.
-The cows just roam the streets.
-Water here is dirty unless it's bottled and mineral.
More to come! Love you all! I am missing family and friends, but I don't want to be anywhere else in the world right now. We start our projects on Monday. Ah! I can't wait!!!!
Last Friday, we spent the day running errands. Before I go on with more details, I need to tell you about the streets and stuff. THEY ARE CRAZY!! It blows my mind at how many people are here. We ride in these things called "Autos". They are a thee-wheeled cars that are their taxis. There are usually about 3 lanes in the roads but it gets turned into 6 because no one follows traffic laws. There autos weasel their way through cars, buses, you name it. SO many people drive. It's unreal. I haven't seen the sun nor any clouds yet...the air is SO bad.
Saturday was a fun day too! We were able to go shopping for some Indian clothing! Sirisha came with us since she knows where to get the good stuff. Eliza and I bought churidars. They are so comfy and beautiful! Jenny, Eliza and I also bought these sweet Aladdin pants! Such a find! The area that we went shopping around is called a General Bazar. It was a Saturday and so everyone was out to shop so it was crazy busy and crowded. We headed home to get some sleep. Around 3:00 AM, Eliza and I both woke up. Let me tell ya... we were WIDE awake. We sat and talked for a bit and tried to fall back asleep. Around 4:00 I heard this yelling outside. You know in the movie "The Other Side of Heaven" how when someone dies, the whole town and family mourn and chant? That's what it sounded like. "Eliza, I think someone just died." I said...Eliza said, "No...he's praying!" I guess some people here wake up at 4:00 AM to pray. It was so loud and really cool! The praying only lasted for a few minutes. Next thing you know, it's 7:30 and I am still wide awake. Darn jet lag.
Sunday came and I was so happy. We got ready church and all I thought in my mind was, "I'm going to church...in INDIA!!!!" I was so excited to go to church!!! The church building is BEAUTIFUL! It is surrounded by a big white wall and gate with a guard and everything. The second I walked into the building, I couldn't hear the crazy streets or anything. It reminds me of the NYC temple. The members of the ward are so welcoming and loving. We were surrounded by beautiful Indians wanting to learn our names and shake our hands. Sacrament meeting was beautiful. I have never felt the spirit so strongly in my life. I look up at the piano and there is a white missionary! During the meeting, he got up to give a talk and I'm thinking to myself, "I know this guy...how?" Then I remember that Aubrey had told me about a year ago that one of her friends got called to India, english speaking. We both thought it was so cool because it's a crazy foreign country and to be able to just speak English is awesome. The missionary was her friend! Elder Head! I just laughed and laughed. What a small world? I introduced myself to him and he told me he remembered me. We got a picture together. So Aubrey....here's your amigo Elder Head! What a guy!
Word got out that I play the piano. I was asked 4 different times within an hour to play/teach a lesson. I played "The Spirit of God" for the relief society and the whole time I was thinking "Thank you mom for making me stay in piano lessons for as long as I did....cause this is pretty neat." After RS, I was asked to each a young boy part of a hymn that he was struggling with so he could play it in priesthood. He was so eager to learn. I was also asked to play for the stake choir for the upcoming stake conference. That night Ben and I headed over to the church for practice. The members there were so eager to sing and be there. They kept wanting to go over the music over and over again. It got tiring but I was just happy to be there and help out. It was an amazing first Sunday in India and I can't wait have more!
Our other roommate, Meera flew in early this morning so it has been fun getting to know her! She's a hoot. I freaking love her.
Monday-Wednesday were spent meeting with partners for our projects this summer. I am so excited and ready to work. We also spent time shopping around for Sares. We were invited to an Indian wedding this weekend which is amazing!!! We found Sares for about $200. I was really sad because that's expensive and I REALLY want one. The next day we went to a store and found out that they were only $18 there. STEAL OF A DEAL! Plus they had a sale and Eliza and I figured out a way to get them super cheap. How cheap? $7 each! I am so happy! I can't wait for this wedding.
The partners we have been meeting with are amazing. I am the team lead for the LEPRA/MV Foundation for the leper colony projects. This is a dream of mine and I can't wait to take on this project. Ben knew to put me as the team lead because he knew how much I wanted this. We meet with MVF tomorrow!
Some of the projects we will be working on:
-GLOW (Girls Leading Our World): This is a project to help the teenage girls here learn leadership skills over in the slums.
-Painting Murals: We will be painted murals in 4 of the schools in the slums. This will be one of my favorites!
-Borewells: These are pipe systems/wells that provide water for the slums. We will be building about 5 of these.
-Summer camps: We will hold a summer camp while students in the slums are out of school. This will help them stay out of trouble and we will be teaching them games and fun activities.
-Leper Colonies: We will be working in the leper clinics. I seriously can't wait for this project. I am just dying to get over there.
-UVU Scholarships: We will be on a scholarship board to help decide which students to get scholarships to. This is a huge opportunity and I can't wait to be apart of this.
Some fun facts about India:
-The people here do a thing called a head bobble. It means "yes" "okay" or that they are agreeing with you. It's confusing because when I am asking an auto for a ride, they bobble their head and it looks like they are either confused or not wanting to help out. I am actually starting to pick up the head bobble...it's hilarious.
-The Auto drivers can say no to you if they don't want to take you to places.
-Food here in Hyderabad is SUPER spicy.
-No one responds to ambulances when their sirens are on.
-Women don't shake men's hands unless the man offers it to you.
-Everything here is super cheap. It is 54 rupees to a dollar. A typical meal here is about 150 rupees.
-The women ride side saddle on the vespas/motorcycles.
-The cows just roam the streets.
-Water here is dirty unless it's bottled and mineral.
More to come! Love you all! I am missing family and friends, but I don't want to be anywhere else in the world right now. We start our projects on Monday. Ah! I can't wait!!!!
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