Hello Family and Friends,
There is nothing really new to report. Xavier was feeling better yesterday and now it is taking all of Kumari’s and my power to convince that he still needs to rest. Still, though, it is nice that he is able to move around and that the medicine isn’t making him nauseous anymore.
The children came home and did their homework. I got to meet Subala’s and Swetha’s mother. She is very young and pretty, and has a one and a half year old son. When she was four months pregnant with her son her husband, the children’s father, disappeared. She wasn’t able to take care of Swetha, Subala, and now a son, all by herself. She was able to get a death certificate for her husband, even though there is a chance he just ran off, and put Subala and Swetha here at WIDE. She also tried to give Kumari her son, but Kumari did not and does not have the means to take care of such a young child. She offered the mother a place to work here so she could make money, be fed, and stay with her daughters, but the woman didn’t want to leave her hut, which if left vacant for too long would be taken by the government. Each child has such a deep and personal background story; each history is different, but heartbreaking nonetheless.
After everyone was finished their homework I was flooded by children that wanted to sing songs for me. There is a singing contest at one of the schools, and many of the children have entered and now want to practice. Everyone was taking turns singing short tidbits, but when it was Subala’s turn she started sing the longest song I have ever sat through. Several minutes into it all the other children were getting restless, and even I was wondering when it would be over. Finally I said enough, and told her that it was the longest song I have ever heard in my life, which all the children thought was hilarious. For the rest of the night she would come up to me and start singing it all over again, and I would jokingly run away from her.
I realized this week that the way I’ve been interacting with the children the past couple days is much different than I have been in the past. Until now all of the kids have sort off walked on eggshells around me, timidly approaching me to play games, or shyly asking me to go over their homework. This week any reservations they had about me have disappeared. They are pulling on me, demanding my attention. They purposefully poke me just so I will chase them and catch them. Subala is the most aggressive, especially for being so tiny. She will purposefully copy my every move until I grab her and tickle her. She will climb under my chair and pull on my legs or bang the bottom of my seat in an effort to get some reaction out of me. Basically they are treating me like another kid, which I love.
This morning I was low on water so I decided to walk and get some on my own. The little place that I get my water isn’t that far away, and it seems silly to make someone else come and ride the motorbike with me. It was a nice quiet walk through different neighborhood streets. There is a lot of construction going on in several places on the way. It is so different, everything is done by hand. Women sift sand and then carry large bowls of it precariously balanced on their heads. The bowls of sand, along with buckets of water and stacks of bricks, also being carried on top of their heads, slowly make their way up the rickety rope and wood scaffolding. It is an intriguing process and very methodical. One time I was explaining to Kumari how my house is made mostly of wood, and then covered with aluminum siding and sand and tar shingles. She found the whole idea mind boggling, and after pondering it for several seconds she declared that such houses would not do in India, and that was that.
One funny side note, when I got my water I was approached by to young, who seemed pretty convinced that I was Marc Anthony. They were pretty disappointed to find out that, alas, I am only Robby Pagels. I thought it was pretty funny that I, a nineteen year old white boy, was mistaken for a famous forty year old Latin American man.
After that I did some paperwork with Kumari. With only a week left, there is still a lot that I want to get done here, including (but not limited to): creating and organizing a library, creating an office in the new house, finishing the paperwork needed for inspection, finish typing final drafts of the children’s bios, taking pictures of every child individually to go along with their information, and making sure that everything is worked out with Xavier’s health and the doctor before I leave, because their doctor does a poor job of explaining things in ways that non-medical people can understand. I think that may be all I have planned so far, but I’m sure more jobs will pop up.
Peace,
Robby
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Baboolu goes to school, and we go shopping
Hello All,
Yesterday evening I didn’t get much rest, I wanted to be awake when Kumari and Xavier returned from the doctor’s. Five hours later they returned. The wait in the doctor’s office is terrible, and you can’t make appointments in advance; instead you have to make the appointment in person on that same day. Kumari thought it was very strange when I told her that I already had a doctor’s appointment set up for a couple weeks after I get home, and that the appointment was made before I even left for India. While waiting there was no place for Xavier to lie down and he ended up vomiting several times. The doctor said that his feelings were all side effects of the medicine, and that it was something he would have to deal with until his body got used to the drugs. He did, however, change the times that Xavier is supposed to take the meds. Before he took everything at once in the morning, but now it is split into the morning and the night. The doctor also suggested drinking a lot of fluids, specifically juices and buttermilk. Today Xavier is feeling better, and tomorrow he will have been taking the medication for five days, so we will go back to the doctor again.
It was a relatively relaxing evening, the kids all had a lot of work so there was little for me to do. Prithivi actually came back after school; this is the first time he has gone to school without running away. A couple days ago I talked to Kumari about making Prithivi feel like he is here for us, not that we are here for him. We worked out jobs to give him so that he will feel like he has a purpose and is needed here. Kumari also had a talk with him about how he is the oldest so he is in charge of all the other children. He seems to like this position of power and has been to be a little more upbeat.
This morning I woke up, for the second time in a row, to Baboolu screaming. His grandmother was holding him and he was shaking all over and completely freaking out. Tomorrow, tomorrow, he kept pleading. I told Kumari that if she let him stay home then I would carry him to school myself; everyday he stays here it is only going to be worse. I can’t believe that Kumari, who is so strict about studying with all of the other children, keeps letting her own son skip school. He doesn’t like school because he feels behind everyone else, but if he keeps staying home than he is going to be even more behind. Xavier was finally able to calm Prince down by bribing him, but I don’t think that was the best solution because now he will expect something every day he goes to school. Hopefully he will start feeling better about school soon.
When everyone left for school I ate and took a much needed bath. Kumari and I then took a short walk to pick up curd for Xavier, since the curd she made the other day still hasn’t finished condensing, and some eggs. It was a tiny shop and Kumari admitted that in the seven years she has lived in this house she has never been to this shop because it is so close that she can just send the children to pick things up when needed. On the way back we got completely sand blasted. The wind here keeps on picking up, and it has gotten terrible. Everything is covered in dust (my book, by the end of the day, usually has a substantial layer on it) and the wind whips the dust, dirt, and sand roughly against any bare skin. Walking down the street you have to keep your head bowed to protect your eyes, and you have to breathe through a handkerchief.
After running that mini errand we went into town. Once again I got to see Kumari’s fine haggling skills at work. The shopkeepers always point at me and say that we could easily pay the full price. She always respond with something along the lines of “who, him? He’s a student; he has no money at all!!! Why, he’s poorer than you are!” or “We are buying two things, so you can take at least thirty percent off the marked price. Otherwise we will only buy one thing… or maybe nothing at all.” She gets excited about every rupee she is able to mark down. If, in the end, the price ever comes out as a strange number she always rounds down to the nearest 10 or 50 rupees, even if the price has already been marked down a lot, and the shopkeepers just grumble and agree.
On the way back she got into a fight with the auto driver (again!). She always works out the price of a ride before we get in the auto, but still, when it comes time to pay, they try and charge more. I paid the driver the amount he had told us in the beginning, and while he was yelling for the extra ten rupees he was trying to charge us (aka, 20 cents) Kumari grabbed my hand and pulled me away. She looked very smug and never looked back while the man continued to yell and demand for us to come back.
We had lunch; Kumari made dal, pepper water, and rice. I’m not a big fan of pepper water, it is basically like tea made of peppercorns with some oil and a few other spices and herbs thrown in; there is no real substance to it. The dal was fantastic, though.
That is all for now,
Peace,
Robby
Yesterday evening I didn’t get much rest, I wanted to be awake when Kumari and Xavier returned from the doctor’s. Five hours later they returned. The wait in the doctor’s office is terrible, and you can’t make appointments in advance; instead you have to make the appointment in person on that same day. Kumari thought it was very strange when I told her that I already had a doctor’s appointment set up for a couple weeks after I get home, and that the appointment was made before I even left for India. While waiting there was no place for Xavier to lie down and he ended up vomiting several times. The doctor said that his feelings were all side effects of the medicine, and that it was something he would have to deal with until his body got used to the drugs. He did, however, change the times that Xavier is supposed to take the meds. Before he took everything at once in the morning, but now it is split into the morning and the night. The doctor also suggested drinking a lot of fluids, specifically juices and buttermilk. Today Xavier is feeling better, and tomorrow he will have been taking the medication for five days, so we will go back to the doctor again.
It was a relatively relaxing evening, the kids all had a lot of work so there was little for me to do. Prithivi actually came back after school; this is the first time he has gone to school without running away. A couple days ago I talked to Kumari about making Prithivi feel like he is here for us, not that we are here for him. We worked out jobs to give him so that he will feel like he has a purpose and is needed here. Kumari also had a talk with him about how he is the oldest so he is in charge of all the other children. He seems to like this position of power and has been to be a little more upbeat.
This morning I woke up, for the second time in a row, to Baboolu screaming. His grandmother was holding him and he was shaking all over and completely freaking out. Tomorrow, tomorrow, he kept pleading. I told Kumari that if she let him stay home then I would carry him to school myself; everyday he stays here it is only going to be worse. I can’t believe that Kumari, who is so strict about studying with all of the other children, keeps letting her own son skip school. He doesn’t like school because he feels behind everyone else, but if he keeps staying home than he is going to be even more behind. Xavier was finally able to calm Prince down by bribing him, but I don’t think that was the best solution because now he will expect something every day he goes to school. Hopefully he will start feeling better about school soon.
When everyone left for school I ate and took a much needed bath. Kumari and I then took a short walk to pick up curd for Xavier, since the curd she made the other day still hasn’t finished condensing, and some eggs. It was a tiny shop and Kumari admitted that in the seven years she has lived in this house she has never been to this shop because it is so close that she can just send the children to pick things up when needed. On the way back we got completely sand blasted. The wind here keeps on picking up, and it has gotten terrible. Everything is covered in dust (my book, by the end of the day, usually has a substantial layer on it) and the wind whips the dust, dirt, and sand roughly against any bare skin. Walking down the street you have to keep your head bowed to protect your eyes, and you have to breathe through a handkerchief.
After running that mini errand we went into town. Once again I got to see Kumari’s fine haggling skills at work. The shopkeepers always point at me and say that we could easily pay the full price. She always respond with something along the lines of “who, him? He’s a student; he has no money at all!!! Why, he’s poorer than you are!” or “We are buying two things, so you can take at least thirty percent off the marked price. Otherwise we will only buy one thing… or maybe nothing at all.” She gets excited about every rupee she is able to mark down. If, in the end, the price ever comes out as a strange number she always rounds down to the nearest 10 or 50 rupees, even if the price has already been marked down a lot, and the shopkeepers just grumble and agree.
On the way back she got into a fight with the auto driver (again!). She always works out the price of a ride before we get in the auto, but still, when it comes time to pay, they try and charge more. I paid the driver the amount he had told us in the beginning, and while he was yelling for the extra ten rupees he was trying to charge us (aka, 20 cents) Kumari grabbed my hand and pulled me away. She looked very smug and never looked back while the man continued to yell and demand for us to come back.
We had lunch; Kumari made dal, pepper water, and rice. I’m not a big fan of pepper water, it is basically like tea made of peppercorns with some oil and a few other spices and herbs thrown in; there is no real substance to it. The dal was fantastic, though.
That is all for now,
Peace,
Robby
Monday, July 13, 2009
Moving and Stuff
Hello Everyone,
Yesterday was the most tiring day I have had here yet. With waking up early and then the mountain climb and then moving, the activity never stopped. The movers helped with all the big things, but we carried everything else. We made dozens of trips by foot carrying large bundles of things wrapped and tied up in sheets. Going through all of their things you could tell that they used to have money. Kumari had piles and piles of high quality and finely made saris, but each was faded and obviously worn. Once we got everything to the new house that needed to be there we started unpacking. By this time it was pretty late, and I wasn’t that much help unpacking because Kumari needed to know exactly where everything was going. She ended up doing it mostly herself while Xavier looked on grimly, unable to help.
That night everyone migrated back to the old house and we ate dinner. It was a quiet night, and being the last day of the weekend I was a little sad that I wasn’t able to spend more of it with the kids. We all went to bed early; no one had rested at all that day. Kumari and Xavier, however, didn’t get any sleep. The medicine he is on has nausea as one of its side effects and the doctor prescribed another drug to counteract this nausea. Despite this second drug, Xavier could not sleep at all. He felt like he had diarrhea, needed to throw up, and that his bladder was about to explode with urine. Not once did he vomit, have a bowel movement, or urinate despite these feelings. When I woke up this morning, a tired looking Kumari was chasing a wet, naked, and screaming Prince around the house. After the weekend he refused to return to school. Xavier is the only one Prince will really listen to, but Xavier was unable to get the energy to be stern with Baboolu, and thus he stayed home. Xavier finally felt a little better and fell asleep around 9:30.
With everything settled down, Kumari and I sat and talked, something we haven’t really done in a few days. We talked a lot about Priya. Yesterday Priya and Vamil, the friend that went climbing with us, came to the house alone to eat. Priya’s grandmother was here too and got very angry with Priya, and Priya ended up making her cry. Kumari explained to me that Priya was a very free girl in comparison to most in India, and especially in a town like Tiru. Kumari asked if I had seen the girl next door. I admitted that I had not, and she explained that girls weren’t supposed to be out and about like Priya; they aren’t supposed to be seen. If a girl’s girlfriend come to visit, then the girl leaves the house and they talk on the porch for two or maybe three minutes, and then the girl must return inside. Her friends never enter the house, and she is never supposed to be visited by men. Priya has never been visited by a girl; the four or five friends of hers that I have met have all been boys. They always come inside, and they are always punching each other and having friendly fights. It is all innocent. Kumari went to a western school where it was okay to be friends with the opposite sex, and Priya spent her young childhood in Mumbai, a big city where the cultural rules are a little more relaxed. Kumari was always okay with Priya having friends that were boys, but now people in the town are talking about it and the family is worried that they won’t be able to find a good husband for her because no family will want their son to be associated with her. It is so different from America where guys and girls are free to mingle and be friendly. Priya, though, thinks the Indian rules are outdated and refuses to bide by them. In addition, Vamil, one of her closest friends, come from the lowest class. In her grandmother’s eyes, this added insult to injury, which is why they fought. Priya hopes some day to study in a university in Europe, where she will be able to do what she wants.
When Xavier woke up an hour later he had a fever and threw up. Kumari decided to take him back to the doctor to see what can be done, and I am left here with Prince and Durga, who also didn’t go to school. Hopefully I will hear from Kumari soon.
Peace,
Robby
Yesterday was the most tiring day I have had here yet. With waking up early and then the mountain climb and then moving, the activity never stopped. The movers helped with all the big things, but we carried everything else. We made dozens of trips by foot carrying large bundles of things wrapped and tied up in sheets. Going through all of their things you could tell that they used to have money. Kumari had piles and piles of high quality and finely made saris, but each was faded and obviously worn. Once we got everything to the new house that needed to be there we started unpacking. By this time it was pretty late, and I wasn’t that much help unpacking because Kumari needed to know exactly where everything was going. She ended up doing it mostly herself while Xavier looked on grimly, unable to help.
That night everyone migrated back to the old house and we ate dinner. It was a quiet night, and being the last day of the weekend I was a little sad that I wasn’t able to spend more of it with the kids. We all went to bed early; no one had rested at all that day. Kumari and Xavier, however, didn’t get any sleep. The medicine he is on has nausea as one of its side effects and the doctor prescribed another drug to counteract this nausea. Despite this second drug, Xavier could not sleep at all. He felt like he had diarrhea, needed to throw up, and that his bladder was about to explode with urine. Not once did he vomit, have a bowel movement, or urinate despite these feelings. When I woke up this morning, a tired looking Kumari was chasing a wet, naked, and screaming Prince around the house. After the weekend he refused to return to school. Xavier is the only one Prince will really listen to, but Xavier was unable to get the energy to be stern with Baboolu, and thus he stayed home. Xavier finally felt a little better and fell asleep around 9:30.
With everything settled down, Kumari and I sat and talked, something we haven’t really done in a few days. We talked a lot about Priya. Yesterday Priya and Vamil, the friend that went climbing with us, came to the house alone to eat. Priya’s grandmother was here too and got very angry with Priya, and Priya ended up making her cry. Kumari explained to me that Priya was a very free girl in comparison to most in India, and especially in a town like Tiru. Kumari asked if I had seen the girl next door. I admitted that I had not, and she explained that girls weren’t supposed to be out and about like Priya; they aren’t supposed to be seen. If a girl’s girlfriend come to visit, then the girl leaves the house and they talk on the porch for two or maybe three minutes, and then the girl must return inside. Her friends never enter the house, and she is never supposed to be visited by men. Priya has never been visited by a girl; the four or five friends of hers that I have met have all been boys. They always come inside, and they are always punching each other and having friendly fights. It is all innocent. Kumari went to a western school where it was okay to be friends with the opposite sex, and Priya spent her young childhood in Mumbai, a big city where the cultural rules are a little more relaxed. Kumari was always okay with Priya having friends that were boys, but now people in the town are talking about it and the family is worried that they won’t be able to find a good husband for her because no family will want their son to be associated with her. It is so different from America where guys and girls are free to mingle and be friendly. Priya, though, thinks the Indian rules are outdated and refuses to bide by them. In addition, Vamil, one of her closest friends, come from the lowest class. In her grandmother’s eyes, this added insult to injury, which is why they fought. Priya hopes some day to study in a university in Europe, where she will be able to do what she wants.
When Xavier woke up an hour later he had a fever and threw up. Kumari decided to take him back to the doctor to see what can be done, and I am left here with Prince and Durga, who also didn’t go to school. Hopefully I will hear from Kumari soon.
Peace,
Robby
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Mountain Climb
Hello Everyone,
We spent most of yesterday, surprise, surprise, waiting in vain for people to come help us move. It never happened, and we had our afternoon rest very late because no one wanted to sleep in case someone showed up. No one slept for long because when we finally did lie down the power went out and the heat was unbearable. I sat in Kumari’s room and we discussed the problems ahead, specifically how the next month and a half will work with the family living separately from the children. I think I have already explained this, but we only have the top floor of the new house because the bottom floor has refused to move. In order to keep the house we have to pay for the top floor until we get the bottom floor. The children, though, really need more room, so Kumari wanted to move out of this house to open up the other two rooms for the kids. The plan before was that Xavier would spend the night with the children here, but now he is too sick to travel back and forth between the old and new houses. Kumari, though, needs to get Prince ready for school, and needs to cook him a lunch in the morning because his school is the only one that doesn’t provide lunch. There are so many things to do, and Xavier is very limited in the amount he can help.
I took a bath, and afterwards when I went outside I found all the children sitting quietly and listening to Kumari. She was going through the rules with them, and telling what was good and bad about the week. Every week she does this, and for the rest of the day and half of the next day they will be very well behaved and then go back to their usual ways. After she finished, each child stood up and gave their complaints. The complaints were all very funny and usually was them tattling on each other. Kumari listened to each one very seriously, though a lot of the time she had to look away and laugh about how serious they were being about such petty problems. The children and I ate dinner, and then Kumari needed to tend to Xavier, so I went outside with the kids by myself. They started to talk about different Indian movies, and to my surprise and pleasure they turned the raised part of the front porch into a stage. The boys preformed first. I could not believe the way these kids had picked up song and dance routines from watching a movie. It was incredible. Plus, of course, it was hilarious watching a group of young boys sing and dance and act all macho, and then yell at each other when they messed up the moves. After the boys, a group of girls sang and danced, led by Maha. The moves were much more complicated, and Maha was like a pro; I could not take my eyes off her. Her dancing was perfect, from the point of her toes, to her twisting fingers, to her bouncing hips, and even her ever changing facial expressions. Then they did a group routine which was loud and fun. I’m hoping to get them to do it again so I can record it, it really was amazing.
Near the end of all this hustle and bustle Mukesh pointed out Sangeetha to me. She was sitting with her fingers curled strangely. She was wobbling her head and banging her fists spastically on the ground. I ran and got Kumari. Kumari had told me about this; Sangeetha has something wrong in her brain and she will go into fits pulling her ears and rapping her knuckles against her teeth or other things like that. Then she will go completely limp and be passed out for over an hour. When she wakes up she doesn’t remember a thing. She is being treated for it and since being on the treatment she hasn’t had any episodes, until now. She didn’t end up passing out, but she was really out of it for the rest of the night. Kumari made her lie in a special position, and she stayed that way twitching for the rest of the night.
This morning I woke up bright and early at five, ready to climb the mountain. Normally I wake up around seven, but I may have to change my sleeping schedule; the early morning here is beautiful and dare I say even a little chilly. One of Priya’s friends came, and he, Priya, Pown, Kartic, and I took two motor bikes to the ashram. The only main path up the mountain starts in the ashram, and since you have to leave your shoes at the door, the climb was made barefoot. It wasn’t too bad to start; the path was clean and made of large stones cut out of the mountain, so it didn’t hurt your feet if you chose your steps carefully. I also think my feet are finally starting to toughen up from always being barefoot. The path was pretty steep, probably as steep as climbing up a huge flight of stairs. On the way up we saw many people meditating on large rocks that jutted out like tiny cliffs. The views were amazing, and the early morning haze blocked all but a hint of the far off mountains. Tiru is even bigger than I realized, and from so high up it looked so lifeless and peaceful, neither of which I would normally use to describe the busy town. On the way up we saw several men carving intricate figurines out of stone. About an hour later we reached the end of the main path. We were maybe two thirds of the way up, and at the end of it was a mini ashram full of potted tropical plant and a small wood hut for meditation. We asked if we could go any further and we were pointed to a solid wall of stone with an arrow pointing up painted on it. We looked further up the wall, and there was another arrow, tiny in the distance, also pointing up. Before I knew it Kartic started climbing like a monkey up the rock. I’m talking real rock climbing. Priya said that I wasn’t allowed to go because Kumari would get mad at her if I did, but when Pown and Priya’s friend also started to climb, I had to go. The only word I have to describe those next twenty minutes is intense. Never have I been so exhausted. I was actually happy to be barefoot because my feet could grab at the tiny cracks and bumps in the smooth rock, and the sweat on my feet gave good traction even if there was nothing for them to hold on to. It got to the point where it was a little easier to climb, but we knew that if we went any farther we would never be able to make it down. We rested and came down the rock cliff in a not so graceful controlled fall. When we finally got back to Priya and the normal path, my legs were shaking uncontrollably from the climb.
We took a different path down so we could see the cave that a holy man spent over sixteen years of his life in. The cave was painted white and beautifully decorated with a small shrine inside. We prayed, put the red and white chalk on our foreheads, and left. The path we took down the mountain was a lot shorter, but also a lot steeper, than the one we took up the mountain. It ended randomly in a tiny neighborhood. The road was very narrow, and little channels on the sides were used for trash, drainage, and sewer. We trekked barefoot through town back to the ashram.
When we got home we came in on a huge commotion. Finally the movers had come. I was tired, sore, and still hadn’t had breakfast, but I helped lug everything onto the big cart nonetheless. Getting everything out of this house wasn’t a problem, but getting it onto the second floor of the new one was. The stairs were way to narrow, so we had to stand on the cart with the fridge and other items raised above our heads while people on the second floor terrace hoisted it over the terrace ledge. Finally, after being up for over six hours, I had breakfast. And now, I think I will sleep.
Peace, Robby
A good view of Tiruvannamalai. The temple is huge!
The crew, looking adventury while taking a rest.
Another view of the temple while coming down the mountain.
We spent most of yesterday, surprise, surprise, waiting in vain for people to come help us move. It never happened, and we had our afternoon rest very late because no one wanted to sleep in case someone showed up. No one slept for long because when we finally did lie down the power went out and the heat was unbearable. I sat in Kumari’s room and we discussed the problems ahead, specifically how the next month and a half will work with the family living separately from the children. I think I have already explained this, but we only have the top floor of the new house because the bottom floor has refused to move. In order to keep the house we have to pay for the top floor until we get the bottom floor. The children, though, really need more room, so Kumari wanted to move out of this house to open up the other two rooms for the kids. The plan before was that Xavier would spend the night with the children here, but now he is too sick to travel back and forth between the old and new houses. Kumari, though, needs to get Prince ready for school, and needs to cook him a lunch in the morning because his school is the only one that doesn’t provide lunch. There are so many things to do, and Xavier is very limited in the amount he can help.
I took a bath, and afterwards when I went outside I found all the children sitting quietly and listening to Kumari. She was going through the rules with them, and telling what was good and bad about the week. Every week she does this, and for the rest of the day and half of the next day they will be very well behaved and then go back to their usual ways. After she finished, each child stood up and gave their complaints. The complaints were all very funny and usually was them tattling on each other. Kumari listened to each one very seriously, though a lot of the time she had to look away and laugh about how serious they were being about such petty problems. The children and I ate dinner, and then Kumari needed to tend to Xavier, so I went outside with the kids by myself. They started to talk about different Indian movies, and to my surprise and pleasure they turned the raised part of the front porch into a stage. The boys preformed first. I could not believe the way these kids had picked up song and dance routines from watching a movie. It was incredible. Plus, of course, it was hilarious watching a group of young boys sing and dance and act all macho, and then yell at each other when they messed up the moves. After the boys, a group of girls sang and danced, led by Maha. The moves were much more complicated, and Maha was like a pro; I could not take my eyes off her. Her dancing was perfect, from the point of her toes, to her twisting fingers, to her bouncing hips, and even her ever changing facial expressions. Then they did a group routine which was loud and fun. I’m hoping to get them to do it again so I can record it, it really was amazing.
Near the end of all this hustle and bustle Mukesh pointed out Sangeetha to me. She was sitting with her fingers curled strangely. She was wobbling her head and banging her fists spastically on the ground. I ran and got Kumari. Kumari had told me about this; Sangeetha has something wrong in her brain and she will go into fits pulling her ears and rapping her knuckles against her teeth or other things like that. Then she will go completely limp and be passed out for over an hour. When she wakes up she doesn’t remember a thing. She is being treated for it and since being on the treatment she hasn’t had any episodes, until now. She didn’t end up passing out, but she was really out of it for the rest of the night. Kumari made her lie in a special position, and she stayed that way twitching for the rest of the night.
This morning I woke up bright and early at five, ready to climb the mountain. Normally I wake up around seven, but I may have to change my sleeping schedule; the early morning here is beautiful and dare I say even a little chilly. One of Priya’s friends came, and he, Priya, Pown, Kartic, and I took two motor bikes to the ashram. The only main path up the mountain starts in the ashram, and since you have to leave your shoes at the door, the climb was made barefoot. It wasn’t too bad to start; the path was clean and made of large stones cut out of the mountain, so it didn’t hurt your feet if you chose your steps carefully. I also think my feet are finally starting to toughen up from always being barefoot. The path was pretty steep, probably as steep as climbing up a huge flight of stairs. On the way up we saw many people meditating on large rocks that jutted out like tiny cliffs. The views were amazing, and the early morning haze blocked all but a hint of the far off mountains. Tiru is even bigger than I realized, and from so high up it looked so lifeless and peaceful, neither of which I would normally use to describe the busy town. On the way up we saw several men carving intricate figurines out of stone. About an hour later we reached the end of the main path. We were maybe two thirds of the way up, and at the end of it was a mini ashram full of potted tropical plant and a small wood hut for meditation. We asked if we could go any further and we were pointed to a solid wall of stone with an arrow pointing up painted on it. We looked further up the wall, and there was another arrow, tiny in the distance, also pointing up. Before I knew it Kartic started climbing like a monkey up the rock. I’m talking real rock climbing. Priya said that I wasn’t allowed to go because Kumari would get mad at her if I did, but when Pown and Priya’s friend also started to climb, I had to go. The only word I have to describe those next twenty minutes is intense. Never have I been so exhausted. I was actually happy to be barefoot because my feet could grab at the tiny cracks and bumps in the smooth rock, and the sweat on my feet gave good traction even if there was nothing for them to hold on to. It got to the point where it was a little easier to climb, but we knew that if we went any farther we would never be able to make it down. We rested and came down the rock cliff in a not so graceful controlled fall. When we finally got back to Priya and the normal path, my legs were shaking uncontrollably from the climb.
We took a different path down so we could see the cave that a holy man spent over sixteen years of his life in. The cave was painted white and beautifully decorated with a small shrine inside. We prayed, put the red and white chalk on our foreheads, and left. The path we took down the mountain was a lot shorter, but also a lot steeper, than the one we took up the mountain. It ended randomly in a tiny neighborhood. The road was very narrow, and little channels on the sides were used for trash, drainage, and sewer. We trekked barefoot through town back to the ashram.
When we got home we came in on a huge commotion. Finally the movers had come. I was tired, sore, and still hadn’t had breakfast, but I helped lug everything onto the big cart nonetheless. Getting everything out of this house wasn’t a problem, but getting it onto the second floor of the new one was. The stairs were way to narrow, so we had to stand on the cart with the fridge and other items raised above our heads while people on the second floor terrace hoisted it over the terrace ledge. Finally, after being up for over six hours, I had breakfast. And now, I think I will sleep.
Peace, Robby
A good view of Tiruvannamalai. The temple is huge!
The crew, looking adventury while taking a rest.
Another view of the temple while coming down the mountain.Saturday, July 11, 2009
Prithivi, Skin, Doctor's Office
Hello Family and Friends,
So I know I always say this, but last night / this morning seriously were really quiet.
Yesterday Prithivi was brought back again. He is Prasad’s older brother. Their parents died a while back, and they were being taken care of by their grandmother and their uncle. I guess it became too much to look after them, because a month before I got here both Prithivi and Prasad were brought here. Prasad has adapted very well and has a lot of friends here; Prithivi, not so much. Prithivi has yet to spend more than two nights in a row here. He constantly runs away to his uncle or his grandmother. Every time it is the same story; they beg Kumari to take him back and promise that they have talked to him and that he understands that he needs to stay, and every time Kumari gives in. Finally, though, she said enough and enrolled another boy because she likes to keep the number at thirty, never even one more or less. When we woke up from our rest, though, there was Prithivi with his grandmother. Kumari is taking him in until we can decide what to do permanently, she refuses to have thirty one children at her current financial state. There is an orphanage in a nearby town that runs its own school. Because everything is all together, he will have less of a chance of running away, so Kumari is going to try and get him a spot there. I never have really interacted with Prithivi, but the thought of him has always made me kind of upset. Every time he runs away he is leaving his younger brother behind. In my mind, he has already lost his parents, why purposely try and loose your brother? Not only that, he takes things from his brother to help pay for his bus rides when he runs away several towns over to his grandmother.
Yesterday for the first time I got to know him. My first impression was that he was a very handsome boy and that he had perfect skin. Many of the children have scars and pimples from the heat, but Prithivi’s skin is flawless, even in comparison to the wealthy children I have seen in passing. He is also very, I don’t know how to put it, upright. He stands in a stretched sort of way, and always has perfect posture. He is very intelligent, and speaks with his eyes. He is twelve years old, but it is intimidating the way he comes off so perfect and almost better than everyone else. He was obviously intrigued by having a westerner here, and he spent a lot of yesterday evening with me. Conversation was difficult; he understands English but can’t speak it. Whenever I say something to one of the kids and they don’t understand, he quickly translates it to Tamil. But he has a hard time speaking to me. I’m trying to make this weekend interesting for him to try and see if by giving him attention he will be less likely to run away. I doubt he will leave this weekend, but come time for school Monday, we shall see.
Speaking of boils and pimples, Santhosh (there are two, both the same age, so all I can say is that he is the one with the skinnier face) came home with a huge swollen eye. He has had large boils on his head, which Kumari says occur when sweat glands get blocked up in the heat and then become infected. It is a vicious cycle, because they get huge, and if one pops, anywhere the fluid ends up another boil while form. He got several near the outside edge of his eye a couple days ago, and now they have gotten so big they have made it impossible for him to open his left eye. It is obviously painful, and a distant relative was going to pick him up to take him to a doctor. This elusive family member never showed up, so we will have to take him on Monday since it is too crowded on the weekend. So many of the kids have little skin problems. Kasthuri has had patches of skin that look like large grit sandpaper ever since she has been here. The doctor said it was from a lack of a certain vitamin, and she has been on supplements for over a year now with no result. I am a natural skin picker, if there is anything on my skin I feel the need to pop it or scratch it or pick at it. I have had to work really hard not to mess with my skin because who knows what I could end up with.
Last night we took Xavier to have his PPD (tuberculosis) test read. The doctor was hoping it would be the final conformation that Xavier did indeed have tuberculosis, but the raised area wasn’t as big as he hoped. He had us wait for a half an hour so he could then read it again, which I didn’t think would make a difference since the test is done over several days in the first place. It didn’t make a difference, but the doctor decided to go ahead with the tuberculosis treatment and have us come back in five days. While waiting for that half an hour, a group of men came in yelling and screaming for a doctor. They put a young man, probably in his mid to late twenties, on the floor. I could tell immediately from his color and by how stiff he was that the man was dead, and it took the doctor only a few seconds to come to the same conclusion. The man had died from an electric shock. Kumari was very upset from seeing him, especially since he was so young. The ride back was quiet.
This morning Kumari left for the market and I stayed home. Once again we are spending our day waiting to see if people will come to help us move. I am getting a little frustrated with the fact that we are wasting so much of our time waiting, but Kumari says that this is how it is here. People say they will do things and never follow through, or follow through much later. Hopefully, though, today will be different.
Have a good weekend,
Peace,
Robby
So I know I always say this, but last night / this morning seriously were really quiet.
Yesterday Prithivi was brought back again. He is Prasad’s older brother. Their parents died a while back, and they were being taken care of by their grandmother and their uncle. I guess it became too much to look after them, because a month before I got here both Prithivi and Prasad were brought here. Prasad has adapted very well and has a lot of friends here; Prithivi, not so much. Prithivi has yet to spend more than two nights in a row here. He constantly runs away to his uncle or his grandmother. Every time it is the same story; they beg Kumari to take him back and promise that they have talked to him and that he understands that he needs to stay, and every time Kumari gives in. Finally, though, she said enough and enrolled another boy because she likes to keep the number at thirty, never even one more or less. When we woke up from our rest, though, there was Prithivi with his grandmother. Kumari is taking him in until we can decide what to do permanently, she refuses to have thirty one children at her current financial state. There is an orphanage in a nearby town that runs its own school. Because everything is all together, he will have less of a chance of running away, so Kumari is going to try and get him a spot there. I never have really interacted with Prithivi, but the thought of him has always made me kind of upset. Every time he runs away he is leaving his younger brother behind. In my mind, he has already lost his parents, why purposely try and loose your brother? Not only that, he takes things from his brother to help pay for his bus rides when he runs away several towns over to his grandmother.
Yesterday for the first time I got to know him. My first impression was that he was a very handsome boy and that he had perfect skin. Many of the children have scars and pimples from the heat, but Prithivi’s skin is flawless, even in comparison to the wealthy children I have seen in passing. He is also very, I don’t know how to put it, upright. He stands in a stretched sort of way, and always has perfect posture. He is very intelligent, and speaks with his eyes. He is twelve years old, but it is intimidating the way he comes off so perfect and almost better than everyone else. He was obviously intrigued by having a westerner here, and he spent a lot of yesterday evening with me. Conversation was difficult; he understands English but can’t speak it. Whenever I say something to one of the kids and they don’t understand, he quickly translates it to Tamil. But he has a hard time speaking to me. I’m trying to make this weekend interesting for him to try and see if by giving him attention he will be less likely to run away. I doubt he will leave this weekend, but come time for school Monday, we shall see.
Speaking of boils and pimples, Santhosh (there are two, both the same age, so all I can say is that he is the one with the skinnier face) came home with a huge swollen eye. He has had large boils on his head, which Kumari says occur when sweat glands get blocked up in the heat and then become infected. It is a vicious cycle, because they get huge, and if one pops, anywhere the fluid ends up another boil while form. He got several near the outside edge of his eye a couple days ago, and now they have gotten so big they have made it impossible for him to open his left eye. It is obviously painful, and a distant relative was going to pick him up to take him to a doctor. This elusive family member never showed up, so we will have to take him on Monday since it is too crowded on the weekend. So many of the kids have little skin problems. Kasthuri has had patches of skin that look like large grit sandpaper ever since she has been here. The doctor said it was from a lack of a certain vitamin, and she has been on supplements for over a year now with no result. I am a natural skin picker, if there is anything on my skin I feel the need to pop it or scratch it or pick at it. I have had to work really hard not to mess with my skin because who knows what I could end up with.
Last night we took Xavier to have his PPD (tuberculosis) test read. The doctor was hoping it would be the final conformation that Xavier did indeed have tuberculosis, but the raised area wasn’t as big as he hoped. He had us wait for a half an hour so he could then read it again, which I didn’t think would make a difference since the test is done over several days in the first place. It didn’t make a difference, but the doctor decided to go ahead with the tuberculosis treatment and have us come back in five days. While waiting for that half an hour, a group of men came in yelling and screaming for a doctor. They put a young man, probably in his mid to late twenties, on the floor. I could tell immediately from his color and by how stiff he was that the man was dead, and it took the doctor only a few seconds to come to the same conclusion. The man had died from an electric shock. Kumari was very upset from seeing him, especially since he was so young. The ride back was quiet.
This morning Kumari left for the market and I stayed home. Once again we are spending our day waiting to see if people will come to help us move. I am getting a little frustrated with the fact that we are wasting so much of our time waiting, but Kumari says that this is how it is here. People say they will do things and never follow through, or follow through much later. Hopefully, though, today will be different.
Have a good weekend,
Peace,
Robby
Friday, July 10, 2009
Results
Hello Everyone,
Once again it was a fairly quiet day. Yesterday evening when I got up Xavier was home from getting the MRI of his back. He was really worn out from all the traveling and his back hurt more than ever after having to lay so still in the MRI machine. He said they had to take it several times because he kept involuntarily twitching from the pain of having to keep so straight.
The children slowly rolled in from school and quickly got to work on their homework. Baboolu had homework too, for the first time. The teachers have been giving him a hard time because he doesn’t know anything and is way behind, and he feels no shame in admitting that they are correct. For homework he had to write the names of different animals in English, ten times each. I have never heard someone whine so much in my life. He kept throwing his arms in the air claiming his hand hurt too much from writing and that he needed a rest. All of the kids thought it was hilarious watching him do work, because usually he is the one harassing them while they try to finish their homework.
Pown and I took the motor bike to get water and print letters out. I have become a real pro at getting water. I get these big ten liter jugs of Bisleri water, and have to hand in my old jug. I read somewhere that this water isn’t always safe; the jugs are sent back to the company to be cleaned and refilled, and most of them are pretty beat up. Their caps are then covered with a piece of shrunk plastic wrap, and it isn’t hard to create counterfeit seals. Still, though, this is the only kind of water that I can buy in such large quantities, and even this much only lasts me two days. Buying hundreds of bottles would cost a lot more, and so far I have had good luck with this water. When we went to print out the letters there was some problem with the printer because I needed it on the WIDE letterhead. I wanted to know when it would be fixed. Should we come back later that night, or tomorrow? I felt really bad for Pown because he was trying so hard to translate and had no idea what I was asking. Finally he threw his hands in the air, stated that he did not understand, and we quietly left.
Later in the night we were all outside playing when the power went off. It was cloudy and everything was pitch black. The kids went crazy yelling and running around banging into one another. For some reason I have always liked power outages at night; it’s a change in the routine and there is something cozy and fun about only being able to see what lies in the small circle illuminated by your flashlight. Because of the power outage we weren’t able to serve dinner until later and everyone was starving. The lights came back in a little over an hour though.
After dinner the children presented Priya with tiny gifts for her birthday. The gift ranged from little handmade cards, to broken necklaces they found outside and then fixed with tape and string. Priya graciously accepted them all, and showed her presents off fondly to everyone. Subala gave her the funniest collection of strange broken knickknacks I have ever seen: a broen makeup mirror, a used container of foundation that only had a bit of powder left in it, several beads wrapped up in a piece of paper, and a colorful scrap of fabric. All of this was lovingly wrapped up between two sheets of ripped notebook paper that she decorated with highlighter and pencil.
Priya also received several figurines of different Hindu gods. The Xavier family is devoutly Christian, however they still respect and practice Hinduism as well. God, is God, Kumari says, and it doesn’t matter what figure or face you have given it, it is still God. All that matters, she believes, is that you pray and that your prayers go somewhere. I wish others could be so open to different beliefs. I spent the rest of the night having the children and Xavier tell me different stories behind the Hindu gods. Each child would yell out extra details to fill out any parts of the story Xavier was missing. When they finished, Kumari would then retell the story to me in English. The tales were fascinating, and I wish I had known the history and stories of the gods before I had gone on the mountain walk, I probably would have understood the paintings and figurines in the temples and shrines a lot better. I think my favorite god, of the ones I have learned so far, is Lord Ganesha. He both creates and destroys obstacles and problems; I like that he has a good and bad side.
Today most of the children had a holiday. Kumari and Xavier took the MRI scan to the doctor to have it read. I wanted to go too, but that would have left James alone with the kids, and he can be very rough and strict with them, so I stayed behind. I was with the kids until lunchtime when Kumari and Xavier returned. It seems that he has tuberculosis. It is in his bone, not his chest or lungs, so it is not contagious according to the doctor. Xavier feels pretty firmly that it is not tuberculosis, despite the tests saying otherwise. Still, the doctor ordered him medicine for five days, and after five days he will return for more tests. If it is looking better, he will need to continue on the medication for nine to ten months, and for one month he must do nothing but rest. If it doesn’t change after these five days, then they will have to open his back to remove fluid from the swollen area and run tests on that fluid. There is the possibility that he has tuberculosis plus some other infection on top of that, causing the swollen back. Time will tell.
The rest of the kids got home very early today; there was a bomb threat in one of the schools, so all the schools closed. Baboolu was probably the most excited about the unexpected break.
That is all for now,
Peace,
Robby
Once again it was a fairly quiet day. Yesterday evening when I got up Xavier was home from getting the MRI of his back. He was really worn out from all the traveling and his back hurt more than ever after having to lay so still in the MRI machine. He said they had to take it several times because he kept involuntarily twitching from the pain of having to keep so straight.
The children slowly rolled in from school and quickly got to work on their homework. Baboolu had homework too, for the first time. The teachers have been giving him a hard time because he doesn’t know anything and is way behind, and he feels no shame in admitting that they are correct. For homework he had to write the names of different animals in English, ten times each. I have never heard someone whine so much in my life. He kept throwing his arms in the air claiming his hand hurt too much from writing and that he needed a rest. All of the kids thought it was hilarious watching him do work, because usually he is the one harassing them while they try to finish their homework.
Pown and I took the motor bike to get water and print letters out. I have become a real pro at getting water. I get these big ten liter jugs of Bisleri water, and have to hand in my old jug. I read somewhere that this water isn’t always safe; the jugs are sent back to the company to be cleaned and refilled, and most of them are pretty beat up. Their caps are then covered with a piece of shrunk plastic wrap, and it isn’t hard to create counterfeit seals. Still, though, this is the only kind of water that I can buy in such large quantities, and even this much only lasts me two days. Buying hundreds of bottles would cost a lot more, and so far I have had good luck with this water. When we went to print out the letters there was some problem with the printer because I needed it on the WIDE letterhead. I wanted to know when it would be fixed. Should we come back later that night, or tomorrow? I felt really bad for Pown because he was trying so hard to translate and had no idea what I was asking. Finally he threw his hands in the air, stated that he did not understand, and we quietly left.
Later in the night we were all outside playing when the power went off. It was cloudy and everything was pitch black. The kids went crazy yelling and running around banging into one another. For some reason I have always liked power outages at night; it’s a change in the routine and there is something cozy and fun about only being able to see what lies in the small circle illuminated by your flashlight. Because of the power outage we weren’t able to serve dinner until later and everyone was starving. The lights came back in a little over an hour though.
After dinner the children presented Priya with tiny gifts for her birthday. The gift ranged from little handmade cards, to broken necklaces they found outside and then fixed with tape and string. Priya graciously accepted them all, and showed her presents off fondly to everyone. Subala gave her the funniest collection of strange broken knickknacks I have ever seen: a broen makeup mirror, a used container of foundation that only had a bit of powder left in it, several beads wrapped up in a piece of paper, and a colorful scrap of fabric. All of this was lovingly wrapped up between two sheets of ripped notebook paper that she decorated with highlighter and pencil.
Priya also received several figurines of different Hindu gods. The Xavier family is devoutly Christian, however they still respect and practice Hinduism as well. God, is God, Kumari says, and it doesn’t matter what figure or face you have given it, it is still God. All that matters, she believes, is that you pray and that your prayers go somewhere. I wish others could be so open to different beliefs. I spent the rest of the night having the children and Xavier tell me different stories behind the Hindu gods. Each child would yell out extra details to fill out any parts of the story Xavier was missing. When they finished, Kumari would then retell the story to me in English. The tales were fascinating, and I wish I had known the history and stories of the gods before I had gone on the mountain walk, I probably would have understood the paintings and figurines in the temples and shrines a lot better. I think my favorite god, of the ones I have learned so far, is Lord Ganesha. He both creates and destroys obstacles and problems; I like that he has a good and bad side.
Today most of the children had a holiday. Kumari and Xavier took the MRI scan to the doctor to have it read. I wanted to go too, but that would have left James alone with the kids, and he can be very rough and strict with them, so I stayed behind. I was with the kids until lunchtime when Kumari and Xavier returned. It seems that he has tuberculosis. It is in his bone, not his chest or lungs, so it is not contagious according to the doctor. Xavier feels pretty firmly that it is not tuberculosis, despite the tests saying otherwise. Still, the doctor ordered him medicine for five days, and after five days he will return for more tests. If it is looking better, he will need to continue on the medication for nine to ten months, and for one month he must do nothing but rest. If it doesn’t change after these five days, then they will have to open his back to remove fluid from the swollen area and run tests on that fluid. There is the possibility that he has tuberculosis plus some other infection on top of that, causing the swollen back. Time will tell.
The rest of the kids got home very early today; there was a bomb threat in one of the schools, so all the schools closed. Baboolu was probably the most excited about the unexpected break.
That is all for now,
Peace,
Robby
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Mini Bios and Errands
Hello All,
Yesterday consisted of, once again, waiting for people to help us move. Once again, they did not show up. For lunch we bought fish from a street peddler. We picked out the fish and the man stuck a stick into its mouth and violently thrust it around. Then he squeezed causing most of the insides to fall out of its mouth. Then he roughly rubbed it against a piece of wood in order to rip off the scales. It was, overall, a very violent process. With the fish in hand, Kumari and I set off to make fish curry. The curry itself was very good, but the fish was full of tiny bones, and it didn’t really seem worth all the trouble. After eating I blew my nose, which was running because of the heat, and a tiny fish bone that was in my throat shot up and entered my soft palate like an annoying little splinter. It took a lot to finally get that sucker out.
We took our rest early because we knew that when Babuloo got home from school he would not let us sleep at all. Babuloo came home (school is shorter for him since he is only 4 ½), and a couple hours later the rest of the children followed. Kumari and Xavier then left for the hospital to get another opinion about his back. Priya and I were in charge for the rest of the night. It was pretty quiet and relaxing; we just corrected homework and played with the ones who were finished. We ate dinner, and before I knew it, it was time for bed. I read for a couple hours, I wanted to be up when Xavier and Kumari returned from the doctor. They got home around 11:30, and I went out to meet them. They had the results of several blood tests, which revealed that something was indeed very wrong, but they needed other test to say just what. Kumari and I looked on the internet to see if we could get anymore information about the test results, but everything said the same thing, that more tests were required. The doctor did, however, order an immediate MRI, which Xavier went in for today. The town with the MRI machine is several hours away, and the scan is very expensive.
This morning I woke up and ate. We knew for sure that no one was coming to help move, so Kumari and I got other work done. We set out to write little mini biographies about each child, including their family background, history at WIDE, and interesting little things about them, such as their interests or personalities. I am going to take portraits of each of them to go with the biographies, and we are going to put them on the WIDE website (which currently is only offered in Dutch…). It was fun sharing stories about each child, and it was good for me to learn more about their backgrounds. I knew that we had several sets of siblings, but I wasn’t aware of just how many. Kumari has taken in siblings since she started, despite it being against the law. The law stated that you could only take in one child from a family, and that all siblings must be separated when being sent to orphanages, an idea that I found very sad. Already these children have been through so much, being separated from their brothers and sisters would only make it harder. Kumari, for the past several years, has ignored that rule. Just this year they changed it to be that you can take in two from the same family, but no more.
At one point I was writing about Mukesh, and I reminded Kumari of how worried he is about Xavier, and how caring he is. She told me that the other night she was outside, and when she came in a small group of four or five children were in a circle praying. She went back outside to let them be. When she came back in she woke up Mukesh and asked him about their prayers, and he said that they were praying for Sir (Xavier). Kumari says that all of the older children know exactly what is going on; they know if Xavier is sick, they know if there is a money or food problem, they are aware of any hardship WIDE is going through, and they always pray for the problems to be solved. It is incredible seeing such young children with such great faith. These children care so much for Kumari and Xavier. Kumari started to cry while she told me that when she and Xavier get old she doubts Priya or Prince, their own children, will take care of them. It will be Anitha, Durga, and Maha who will always be there. It is more than true, the children here love and worship Kumari and Xavier, treating them like the parents they don’t have.
Kumari and I then went into town to get some things, and we fought about whether today is Thursday of Friday. It is, in fact, Thursday, so Kumari won that argument. I get confused sleeping in the middle of the day, it makes one day seem like two. On the way back Kumari got into a huge fight with the auto driver over how much we owed. Everyone tacks an extra 5 rupees (about 10 cents) onto anything I’m involved in, and Kumari refuses to let me pay more than an Indian would, even if it isn’t that much more. The ride cost 30 Rs. (25 for the ride itself, an extra 5 because we had him wait for us), and he wanted to charge 35. I only had a 50 (aka, $1.25), which I gave to him. He didn’t want to give me any change, so Kumari reached into his pocket and pulled the change out for me. She started laughing very hard as we walked away from the stunned driver. All I can say is that I’m glad to have her on my side, she is vicious!
That is all for now,
I miss you all,
Peace,
Robby
Yesterday consisted of, once again, waiting for people to help us move. Once again, they did not show up. For lunch we bought fish from a street peddler. We picked out the fish and the man stuck a stick into its mouth and violently thrust it around. Then he squeezed causing most of the insides to fall out of its mouth. Then he roughly rubbed it against a piece of wood in order to rip off the scales. It was, overall, a very violent process. With the fish in hand, Kumari and I set off to make fish curry. The curry itself was very good, but the fish was full of tiny bones, and it didn’t really seem worth all the trouble. After eating I blew my nose, which was running because of the heat, and a tiny fish bone that was in my throat shot up and entered my soft palate like an annoying little splinter. It took a lot to finally get that sucker out.
We took our rest early because we knew that when Babuloo got home from school he would not let us sleep at all. Babuloo came home (school is shorter for him since he is only 4 ½), and a couple hours later the rest of the children followed. Kumari and Xavier then left for the hospital to get another opinion about his back. Priya and I were in charge for the rest of the night. It was pretty quiet and relaxing; we just corrected homework and played with the ones who were finished. We ate dinner, and before I knew it, it was time for bed. I read for a couple hours, I wanted to be up when Xavier and Kumari returned from the doctor. They got home around 11:30, and I went out to meet them. They had the results of several blood tests, which revealed that something was indeed very wrong, but they needed other test to say just what. Kumari and I looked on the internet to see if we could get anymore information about the test results, but everything said the same thing, that more tests were required. The doctor did, however, order an immediate MRI, which Xavier went in for today. The town with the MRI machine is several hours away, and the scan is very expensive.
This morning I woke up and ate. We knew for sure that no one was coming to help move, so Kumari and I got other work done. We set out to write little mini biographies about each child, including their family background, history at WIDE, and interesting little things about them, such as their interests or personalities. I am going to take portraits of each of them to go with the biographies, and we are going to put them on the WIDE website (which currently is only offered in Dutch…). It was fun sharing stories about each child, and it was good for me to learn more about their backgrounds. I knew that we had several sets of siblings, but I wasn’t aware of just how many. Kumari has taken in siblings since she started, despite it being against the law. The law stated that you could only take in one child from a family, and that all siblings must be separated when being sent to orphanages, an idea that I found very sad. Already these children have been through so much, being separated from their brothers and sisters would only make it harder. Kumari, for the past several years, has ignored that rule. Just this year they changed it to be that you can take in two from the same family, but no more.
At one point I was writing about Mukesh, and I reminded Kumari of how worried he is about Xavier, and how caring he is. She told me that the other night she was outside, and when she came in a small group of four or five children were in a circle praying. She went back outside to let them be. When she came back in she woke up Mukesh and asked him about their prayers, and he said that they were praying for Sir (Xavier). Kumari says that all of the older children know exactly what is going on; they know if Xavier is sick, they know if there is a money or food problem, they are aware of any hardship WIDE is going through, and they always pray for the problems to be solved. It is incredible seeing such young children with such great faith. These children care so much for Kumari and Xavier. Kumari started to cry while she told me that when she and Xavier get old she doubts Priya or Prince, their own children, will take care of them. It will be Anitha, Durga, and Maha who will always be there. It is more than true, the children here love and worship Kumari and Xavier, treating them like the parents they don’t have.
Kumari and I then went into town to get some things, and we fought about whether today is Thursday of Friday. It is, in fact, Thursday, so Kumari won that argument. I get confused sleeping in the middle of the day, it makes one day seem like two. On the way back Kumari got into a huge fight with the auto driver over how much we owed. Everyone tacks an extra 5 rupees (about 10 cents) onto anything I’m involved in, and Kumari refuses to let me pay more than an Indian would, even if it isn’t that much more. The ride cost 30 Rs. (25 for the ride itself, an extra 5 because we had him wait for us), and he wanted to charge 35. I only had a 50 (aka, $1.25), which I gave to him. He didn’t want to give me any change, so Kumari reached into his pocket and pulled the change out for me. She started laughing very hard as we walked away from the stunned driver. All I can say is that I’m glad to have her on my side, she is vicious!
That is all for now,
I miss you all,
Peace,
Robby
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