strawberry fields.

Took a motorbike trip on Sunday to a place up in some mountains, where there are strawberry fields and restaurants with strawberry shakes, strawberries & creme and strawberry ice cream.. It was beautiful as well as delicious!

princes & princesses

you take chai?

Thursday night, was quite the night. Two of the staff from House of Hope, Agnes & Pinky both live in one of the local slums. Agnes has been inviting Anneloes and I to come visit their slum for the past couple of weeks and we finally got the chance on Thursday. I didn't know what to expect, it was my first time going to a slum. They are everywhere, I see slums everyday, but never actually walked through one. We love Agnes and Pinky and knew this would be such a good experience. So off we went! We had lots and lots of chai, and felt so welcomed by everyone. We only got to see part of their slum so we are going back sometime soon to see the rest and to see more of where the kids from Bright Star live... but here are some photos from the parts we did see.

Kavita and Simon. Kavita used to work at House of Hope during the nights. Simon attends Bright Star Education!
Walkways.

Ah, so happy.

Sapna and her sister. Sapna also goes to Bright Star!
Neha, her younger sister, mom & grandma.
Neha, also a Bright Star student !
Agnes & I at her front door, it was beautiful. They had lots of plants, they even had a bird cage with birds chirping away.
Agnes' house, decorated for Christmas :)
Pinky & Agnes serving chai and our favorite snack...which I cannot spell, but its like a pastry with coconut and sugar, some nuts.. really no idea how to explain it either.

... ... ...

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right?

Kids on a little boat ride!
Trip to the local garden!

Family.

One of the local hospitals had a Christmas party for House of Hope and one other orphanage... filled with games, food, coloring, and an Indian Santa even came to visit.
Shaheena.
Took the kids to an Indian amusement park over their Christmas holiday, I believe the park consisted of all of the reject rides from America.. no problem. The kids had a blast.
The House of Hope boys on Christmas!
Anneloes, my roommate, and I decorated a Christmas tree and filled each other's stockings for Christmas!
Sakshi and Simon at the schools Christmas program.Sahara.

The boys received hats from someone, and are now obsessed with them.

Chetan and I. He is quite a sass. Sometimes we refer to him as Baby Chetan. But lets be real here... we are best friends.

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas, and have a very Happy New Year!

'tis the season!

A group of Christmas Carolers showed up at the apartment!

Christmas program at Bright Star Education!

wait, what?

I tend to forget that everything that has become normal and routine to me, is not really normal at all. Some things that happen to me on a daily basis are totally worth writing about, and something that many back in America will find strange, humorous, disgusting, etc..

Some things that have become normal to me and/or a fact of life...

1) Every Thursday there is no electricity for the majority of the day. It is something we all plan on happening anyway, so thats not a big deal. This past Sunday I had no electricity for most of the day, and it has been randomly going out at night for the past week. Sometimes frustrating.. but I am getting used to reading by candlelight.

2) Cows. Water Buffalo's. Flocks of Crows. I don't think I am fully used to these things though. I have realized my fear of big animals able to roam freely. Most days on my way home from work I encounter at least one of said things. I always am that White Girl who runs to the other side of the road to avoid the giant herd of cows, or lets out a little scream when one looks me in the eyes and says, "I am going to run you over right now." So maybe a cow hasn't said that to me, but I am sure they are thinking it. Many of these cows are decorated with necklaces, paint, etc. Whatever. Scary

3) Number two on this list is involved with number three. Poop. Everywhere. Lots of it. Cows poop. Cows roam freely. Cows poop freely. I have to watch my step.

4) Rickshaw Men. So, since I am white, rickshaw drivers tend think they can charge me about 50-100 rupees more than I should actually pay. Which is a joke. So we spend about 10 minutes before every rickshaw ride to argue about a price that they know isn't fair, and they know that I know it isn't fair. I tend to get a little frustrated, angry, loud with these men. But sometimes it is my entertainment for the day.. Especially when they speak English and we just laugh about how ridiculous they actually are.

5) Eating with my hands. I am an accomplished eater. Here, as some may know, the left hand is usually for washing yourself after you have gone to the toilet. So you are supposed to only eat with your right hand. You eat chapati and then some rice with dal and such. No utensils necessary. I am very proud about the fact that I can do it, and do it with class... for the most part.

6) FOREIGNER. That is my name now. Since we are the only people in the city we are also very popular, or maybe more unpopular. Anyway, while walking down the street many people will just yell "Foreigner" Which, I obviously am. Thank you. Many other's just stare. Some snicker. Some whistle (sick). Some of the precious kids say hello and smile. Walking around...always an adventure.

7) Milk in a bag. What? Milk... in a bag? Worst idea anyone has ever had. BUT, as long as you keep it in a bowl, cut a little corner no major spillage occurs. Though I didn't know the tricks the first couple of weeks I was here... let's just say I wasted quite a bit of milk for awhile.

8) Chai. I love this tradition, really. I loved it in Africa as well. Every morning at the school I work at we have chai and a snack, normally we keep working while drinking and eating. But sometimes we do as we should and stop what were doing and talk with each other and just enjoy the time together. While in Delhi we went to the Taj Mahal, as said in previous post, On the car ride there it got to the time where we would normally have chai. We pulled to the side of the road and got some cola and chips and had a nice "chai" time. So frands, when I get home we will have chai times. Or something along those lines.

9) Cockroaches. Maybe it's just because I am from Michigan and I haven't ever really experienced dealing with cockroaches and/or large bugs. But they are the most annoying thing that ever happened to me. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating. But still. I am never going to get used to waking up to a lovely family of cockroaches who decided to set up camp in my kitchen. Ew.

That is all for now, I am sure I missed some major oddities of India. I will be sure to fill you all in when I can remember them.

Moo.
Bahhh.
I understand this a repeat picture, but it's chai time. My favorite.
First weeks of the trip. This was one of the fun rickshaw arguing experiences.

This has nothing to do with my post. It is just the cutest thing in the world. Kids going home from school in their rickshaw. They love it. I love it.

With love from India,

Melissa

Still Alive.

Greetings Friends & Family,

Sorry it has taken a year and half to get a new blog post on here, but I was struck ill with a laryngitis/bronchitis type sickness for a bit, and then I was in New Dehli for a week. So I have been without computer, and a voice/brain for a good part of last month. Hopefully your anticipation for a new post will make this one THAT much better!

Anyway, I have been pretty busy here with work and just life in general I suppose. Things have been going very well. The kids are still as precious as ever and we have all been learning and having lots of fun together. I just completed a couple of paintings for the kids’ rooms, a princess castle and a pirate ship… I will not be posting pictures though; it would look as though my four years of art classes went to waste. But, the kids love them and have continued with the themes, putting up stickers and drawings they have made themselves. So nice!

As I said before I took a little trip to Delhi. And by little I mean, 24 hour train ride one way. Yep. It really wasn’t as bad as it sounds, I promise. The people are very friendly and the seats folded and such into nice little bunks when it was time to rest. While there we stayed with a man, Amit, who Jared used to work with in the States, and his wife, mother and brother. They showed us around Dehli and also took us up to Agra to see the Taj Mahal for a day. They were so generous and so welcoming. It was an amazing trip, full of history, conversation, food, Chai and new experiences. So happy I was able to go!

I got back from Delhi on Thanksgiving Day, then we all got together and had a lovely Thanksgiving meal that included stuffing, crescent rolls, mashed potatoes, chicken and pumpkin AND apple pie. Delicious! To top it all off, we skyped in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade...Yep, you heard me. Skyped in. As in, someone sat a computer in from of the TV and we watched it through our computer here. Thanks technology. Many of the people I am working with are Dutch and were having their first Thanksgiving meal! It was pretty fantastic to be part of that… we made sure to tell them about Black Friday as well. Yay America.

Well, here are some pictures from the trip… enjoy!

Amit, His Brother & I at the India Gate
Taj Mahal
Red Fort, Delhi
Amit, His Wife & Mother
Red Fort
Red Fort
Taj Mahal
TAJ MAHAL!
Indian Frand