Tuesday we did construction on the campus, and Wednesday my group did education. During education we pull some kids out of class and spend 20 minutes of one-on-one time with a child.
Most the day was spent with the UKG (Kindergarten) kids and that was. . . . Mentally exhausting. Most of them do not speak or understand English, so entertaining them and communicating with them was so hard! We gave the children an option to read, color, or make the letters of the Abc's with Popsicle sticks. Most of them opted for coloring, and it was so sweet.
Indian culture does not really promote creativity and imagination so it was really hard to get the children to draw their own things instead of looking at what you were drawing. And then when the kids wanted to read, their attention span lasted approximately 2.739 minutes, so that was great. It was still really fun to work with the kids, even though by the end of the day my brain hurt.
On Thursday I had an amazing day. We took the kids to the beach and Universal Kingdom, which is a ghetto Indian combination of Universal Studios and Magic Kingdom. The younger kids went on Thursday (UKG to 5th grade) and the older kids went on Friday. I went on Thursday with the younger kids and we had so much fun. We were divided into little groups and assigned certain children to watch to make sure we didn't lose anyone. It was another exhausting day, but it was so cool to see how happy all of the kids were. This field trip was an extremely rare experience because its expensive.
As I watched the kids on the rides and took pictures of their amazing smiles and laughter I realized that without RSO, these children would probably never have an opportunity like this. I think I took 500+ pictures that day, because I never want to forget their smiles and laughter, especially from that day. Here are a few of my favorites.
The beach!
Sweet little Gracy and me on the swings!
Lakshmi started crying before the ride started, so she came and squeezed with us on our swing.
This picture just melts my heart. Totally candid and so adorable. Even though these beautiful children are away from their parents and families, they have created their own little families at Rising Star and it is so amazing for me to see how much love they have for each other. I love it.
We were at the amusement park for most the day and then made the (miserable) bumpy 2 1/2 hour drive home. It was again, so exhausting but so worth it and I'm grateful everyday for the things I am experiencing here.
I'm hoping to make another blog post tonight about being on medical in the leprosy colonies yesterday. But first I have to get the pictures from Mary. But I loved it. It was amazing.
Again, I am just so incredibly grateful to be here working with RSO. it's been one of the best things I've ever experienced. I don't want to leave.
Namaste!
-Kir
I love your posts Kirsten! You are one amazing woman!!! (love, Mary's Mom) :)
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