Sun, Sand, and Seashells

Alright, I am paying 100 rupees for 30 mins of internet so this is gonna be just a quick run down with lots of pictures ;)

Saturday was absolutely fabulous! We spent the day in Mamalapuram, which is on the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. We took a 1.5 hour bus ride to an area on the border of Mamalapuram, and then were dropped off at some sweet ruins. There were several temples carved out of pure stone, as well as some intricate wall carvings.

Arujuna's Penance. The natural cleft in the wall represents the Ganges River. In ancient times, priests would poor water down it during ceremonies into the pool below.  Almost all the carvings are representative of gods. There is one mortal (dude doing the yoga pose with his ribs jutting out) on the wall. He is supposed to be the king of something or other.

The view from inside the temple carved out of stone

Becca Pickup and I chilling in a cool little man made cave thing.

I love the detail on this temple.

At Krishna's Butterball the first thing Emmalee and I took a picture of was us with a goat.

Krishna's butterball

Temple of the three main Hindu Gods

Emmalee, Becca, and I. I love these girls!

We were closely followed by sales dudes the entire time we toured the ruins. They were relentless. The hardest people to turn down though were the cute little girls whose families put them out on the streets to sell jewelry. Seriously, how do you say no to that face??

We did some shopping around Mamallapuram, and went out to eat at a resturaunt called Moonrakers. It was delicious, and I ordered Vegetable Fried Noodles in honor of my Panda Express craving.  Oddly enough, they tasted eerily similar to Panda Express chow mein.  While shopping I had some shoes made for me (six bucks baby). It was really cool to see them made! This guys just hunker down and pound out leather with a rock....k it was a hammer which is still equally awesome.

Austin and I waiting for our food.

Kaylee, Kiran, Aubrey, and Emmalee 

Caylee and Alyssa. Aged 15 and 17. I love these two! I don't know that I could have done something like this in high school

This young whippersnapper sold me some stuff. Pretty sure I could marry him for his smile. He was  pretty honest too! I left his shop feeling only a little suspicious that I'd gotten ripped off.....which is unusual for India.  Prices change dramatically as soon as they see pale skin and blonde hair. Always try to at least half the price that the shopkeeper told you. Today I haggled a souvenir down from 1300 rupees (22ish dollars) down to 400 rupees (8 dollars) and I am still not entirely sure that I got a good deal.

We took another rickshaw ride from Mamalapuram to the beach and it was absolutely amazing! We spent several hours swimming in the Bay of Bengal.  I couldn't get over how warm it was.  It was my third time at an ocean, and I loved it. Some of my group went to find the resort swimming pool but I opted to stay at the bay with Emmalee and Austin.  I can swim in a pool anytime, but how often do you get to take a plunge in the Indian Ocean?

It was a great day and I left feeling sun burnt, salty, and exhausted. Haha although I must say that since coming to India I have yet to not feel exhausted. We have been constantly busy, and I love it.


Sunday

I cannot get over how much I love Sundays. I never want to leave the church building once I get inside, and I am sad that I only got to enjoy 3 sabbath days in Chennai. The members are amazing, and there are so many things about it that I will miss. This branch has baptisms and confirmations on a weekly basis. They have two sisters preparing to serve missions (that made me want to cry. It's hard to watch many women be oppressed in India. To see girls close to my age prepare to serve missions is truly a miracle. They have to get permission from their parents, many of whom aren't members. Either that or face estrangement from their families.  Instead of an arranged marriage, they get to serve a mission. One of the girls just received her call to Temple Square).
Also, I can't get over how fantastic the Branch President's mustache is. Truly it is the coolest stache I have ever seen. It's almost a handlebar, but not quite.

Emmalee, Trisha, and I in front of the church on Sunday

Raj (on the left) is a Rising Star student. He is 15 years old and comes to church every Sunday. The boy on his right is his older brother.  Raj is planning on going to BYU for school with the help of his sponsor. He's a great kid, and I am glad I got to know him.


Well, I only have two minutes of internet left so I really must go. I love you all so much and I am excited to tell you about my last couple of days.

I love you!!!!

Peace----Becca :)

A Giant Emo Chicken

            

The colony we went to today is said to be the poorest one in our circuit. As soon as we pulled up, I could immediately tell a huge difference. The colony was in a narrow fenced in portion surrounded by fields. People sat in the dirt, and stared at us as we pulled up.  We sat in the bus for a minute, and then a few of us ventured into the colony. Many people did not even live in grass huts, but instead had a home that consisted of nothing but a tarp held up by sticks.  This colony was a smaller one, and many of the leprosy afflicted were not there that day. They could not afford to take even one day off from begging/working and so we had about five people to treat.  We wandered from hut to hut, greeting everyone we saw with a bow and the word "Vanakuum." One elderly couple sat in the doorway of their hut. The woman was toothless and wore nothing but brown rags. They had been married for 60 years, and both of them just sat there and smiled at us. She gave me a big hug, and later when we were washing feet she came through the line, and kissed all of our hands.

There was this cute little interpreter who lives at the colony named Mary. She wore a button up shirt, and had this bright, intelligent personality. I immediately noticed something different about Mary. It turns out that she was a Rising Star Outreach student until about three years ago.  She failed her eighth grade exams, and her parents had her married within a year. When I met her she was balancing this beautiful baby boy on her hip, and when we asked we found out that he is her son.  Shawn Perry was her dancing teacher, and he said that even though she claims to be 21 there is no way that she is older than 17.  Mary now lives in the same devastatingly poor colony that she was raised in. Everybody does drugs, and most people drink excessively. It broke my heart to look at her with her perfect English and bright personality. In her face I saw the faces of the children I have come to love in the past couple of weeks. I especially thought of the girls. Unless you come from an upper caste, it is basically impossible to succeed as a woman in India.  Mary started crying when she talked about Rising Star. When children are admitted to the school, a memory book is made for them. This book contains photos of their family, pictures they drew, and messages from volunteers that got to know them. Mary proudly brought out her memory book, and showed us every single page. Once again she was holding back tears. I wanted to put my arms around her, and just bring her back to America. She could live in my apartment, eat my food, and have the opportunity to go back to school. For now though, all we can do is pray for her and offer our help if she asks for it. 

Mary with her beautiful baby.

 Rising Star hires the greatest employee, and our driver for the day is no exception. His name is Anandan and today was his birthday! Happy Birthday my friend! Someone hunted down a piece of chocolate cake, we put together a goody bag, and then the entire bus sang happy birthday. In India it is tradition that the person who is celebrating their birthday give gifts to everyone else. So Anandan made a quick stop and came out with chocolate bars for everybody. What a great guy :)

Anandan likes to stop at cool places on all our drives, and today was no exception. I was deep in thought at the back of the bus when I suddenly began to hear rumors involving a temple and a Giant Emo Chicken. My first thought was that maybe Emo Chickens were an important part of the Hindu religion, and that we must be going to temple with idols of Giant Emo Chickens. My second thought was that that would be ridiculous because I am pretty sure that the word emo has yet to make the trip to Chennai. In retrospect the Giant Chicken idea is a little odd as well, but I promise it kind of made sense at the time. I asked someone about it, and the temple rumor was nullified. (Apparently hinduism does not involve the worship of chickens.) They (Reba..cough cough) were pretty darn confident that the Giant Emo Chicken was a done deal though. I was still puzzling out the concept of a huge chicken with oddly colored feathers and a depressed personality when Anandan pulled up. It was an EMU farm! 

This is the emu lady. She was so sweet, and loved my blonde hair.

This fellow tried to eat me. 

Haha apparently the United States is not the only country that does not have emo chickens in our encyclopedia of feathered friends. We got out and took pictures of the emus. They were a little vicious, and a flock of them kept making a strange sound in their throat that sounded suspiciously like war drums. Maybe I am just paranoid though. :) Thanks Anandan for our wonderful visit with the Emo Chickens. I will never forget it :)

Anandan (Driver) and Kiran (volunteer)

Velu and Seankar

All of our drivers are very protective of the volunteers. They make sure that you do not get ripped off at stores or chased by creepy men. In my case Anandan walked next to me for 2 minutes and in that time he saved me from an angry emu who could apparently fit his head through the fence, and he stopped me from stepping on an wayward machete. These men treat the female volunteers like their own daughters, and I know that we are always in good hands when we are with them.

As we drove home that day, we talked a lot about Mary and the difficulties that the Rising Star children face even after graduation. I started thinking about the magnitude of the problems that India has, and I tried to puzzle out where you should start to fix them. Is it better to create more jobs? Improve the education system? Promote human rights? There is so so so many social problems in India, and they all just seemed overwhelmingly huge. I voiced my thoughts to my fellow volunteers. “Where do we start with a country like India? How do we even begin to create a lasting difference?” Sean Perry answered very simply with, “We start right here.”

I love you all so much! I hope that you make today a great day. In the words of my fabulous Auntie Deborah, “Enjoy the Moment”

I love you!!!!!

Peace---Becca

Benson "The Hairy One"

Ebinezar, my little reading buddy, giving me henna

I love these two!

Kala, my amazing House Mother

   

   

Basketball, Bandages, and Blessings :)

Sunday-
       I love Sundays in India. It is a two hour drive to church in Chennai, but definitely worth it. I am continuously amazed by the sameness of the LDS church everywhere in the world. I feel the same spirit, look at the same pictures, and sit on the same carpet. The church here even has American style toilets, and a basketball hoop. (I have yet to see ANYBODY in India play basketball. I doubt most of the members at the church know what it is.) Haha they also announced the upcoming potluck dinner and talent show. Nobody could say "potluck"correctly, but it was sure fun to see that they were having one.
    It is so incredible to be in India at this time.  I feel so blessed to have been able to come at a time when missionary work in India is beginning to blossom. There are confirmations and baptisms at this church every week, and the first stake in India was formed about three weeks ago.  Everyone comes to church in their best clothing, and sits reverent throughout the entire meeting. The hymns are sung with so much gusto, no one cares if they sound good or not. I love that. The men wear western suits and ties. I have been in several men's clothing stores, and have not yet seen a store that sells western suits. Where these men find them, I don't know. I can guarantee, however, that they are ridiculously expensive. The leaders of the church wear suits and ties though, so they will too. 

This is the brand new beautiful church building in Chennai. It is gorgeous.

       Many of the members are the only one in their family who is a member of the church. Their testimonies often speak of spouses and children they wish would soften their hearts and accept the gospel.  I especially loved Relief Society. I knew I was home as soon as I sat down, and the beautiful Indian women next to me turned and asked in broken English, "Sister, how are you doing?" I could have stayed forever. For the first time in my life, I did not want the meetings to end. I felt so blessed to be with these remarkable people and to hear their powerful testimonies. I could not understand much of what was said, but the spirit was so strong that it did not matter. 

         I was telling my friend Kaylee how sad I will be to leave India. I love the children, my patients, the members, and everybody here. She told me to look at it instead as, "I came to India as their guest, and when I leave I will look back at the time here with the knowledge that I am so blessed to have been allowed to rub shoulders with them." Thank you Kaylee for reminding me that in the end the people who get helped the most here in India are the volunteers. I learn every day from the people that I meet here. 

        For example, there is an older gate keeper named John that works for Rising Star. He is a preacher and has three congregations in the nearby vicinity. I was speaking with John today, and he mentioned that he had been baptized to the LDS church a few years ago. He is getting a whole bunch of Books of Mormons for all the volunteers, and lives his life to preach the gospel. His congregations receive lessons on the Bible and The Book of Mormon.  John has four children, one of whom has special needs. It is not uncommon for him to work for 24 hours at a time, and then go to preach to his congregation right afterwards. He works so hard, and by western standards John lives without many things we feel that we need to be happy. However, he is one of the most content persons that I have ever met.  He focuses on the good in his life, and never complains about the hard things that happen. Every one of John's conversations ends with either "God Bless" or "Go With God".  (Also to my brother Jared, John does remember you and talked about the time you came to teach with him. He asked how you were doing, and was very excited to hear about medical school. He says hi :)

eh.... he's just a little guy.

        There are so many people in India who experience an incredible amount of hardship. The customs are different, and many people in comfort countries will look at the lack in India and say "that's so sad." Yet, I have met so many kind, generous, and caring people in India. People are so humble and grateful for the good things in their lives.  There are so many lessons to learn in places like this. Coming here is one of the best decisions I have ever made, and if you are thinking of doing something like this I would say without a shadow of a doubt "Do It."  If you are worried about leaving your family behind, take them with you. If you do not want to take work off, do it anyways.  Whether it's for two days, two months, or two years, just do it.  Of course, there are circumstances that make it impossible, but if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have a chance to go, then take it. I promise that you will not regret your decision.

Monday- Today was a colony day, and it was amazing.  We left Rising Star a little bit earlier than normal because this colony is closer. As our buses pulled up we saw that there was already about ten people waiting in the shade to receive medical services. It was going to be a busy day, and I found myself praying a lot as we prepared to go to work. My theme for the day was one of the quotes from Mother Theresa, "Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work." This is a quote that I often run through my mind when I work as a hospice aide. It helps me focus, and reminds me to put my whole self into whatever work I am doing. Even though you may consider what you're doing minuscule, to the person you are helping it may be huge. I also love how it says "according to the graces we have received." 

When we go to the colonies, many of the people have children or grandchildren that attend the Rising Star school. All these children have a link to leprosy. In order to attend the school they either had to have had leprosy themselves, or had a close relative that did.  These two are brother and sister, and I love them so much! :)

I love Indian colors

    We unloaded the medical van, and created the same stations from the last time we were in the colonies. I volunteered this time for cutting off bandages and washing ulcers.  As I sat there waiting for my first patient, I saw an elderly gentleman afflicted with leprosy approaching the church where we had set up camp. He was struggling with walking, and was going to have to step up to get inside the church. Just from watching I noticed that he was missing all his toes, fingers, and was mostly (if not entirely) blind. A few of us went and helped him into the church. I held onto his arm and directed him to the table where he would say his name and be given the folder containing his medical records. He kept looking at me, smiling, and speaking nonstop in Tamil. His eyes were white and cloudy, he had no fingers or toes, and he could barely walk. Yet every 30 seconds or so this man would raise his fingerless arms in the air, raise his head to heaven and say with all his might "Hallelujah!"
     He was one of my first patients, and when I start to cut off his bandage I could immediately tell that his ulcer was going to be an incredibly painful one. The smell came almost immediately, and I saw that he had blood and puss oozing through the heavily wrapped bandage. The bandage came off and I had to stop myself from crying out. His toes were missing, but a good portion of the rest of his foot was open, oozing ulcer. It was so raw, and I cannot believe that he was able to walk at all. We didn't want him to have to get up and move to the next station for washing so my friend Laurie filled up a bucket with soap and water and I began washing. This man got quieter, and began to pray. I could tell that he was struggling, but he just closed his eyes and continued praying.  I felt a connection with this man, and when he had the dead skin cut out of his ulcer I was there to put my arms around him.

Hallelujah Guy :) 

    There was one young man who had a really painful ulcer on his foot. He still had all his limbs, and I was just so grateful that we did have the medicine to treat him before the sickness got worse.  Many people do get it at a young age. Several of the children at the school had leprosy at one point, and it was caught soon enough that it did not leave visible scars on their bodies.

    Another sweet woman introduced herself as "Granny" and she spent the entire time giving out hugs and kisses. She wore this beautiful floral saree, and had these enormous golden glasses. Her hair was gray and curly, and she couldn't have been taller than 4'10. I just wanted to pick her up and take her home.  I don't understand a word she said the entire time other than "Granny" but she was absolutely delightful and I am definitely ok with calling her Granny.  

    After we had finished the medical work one of my friends, Shawn Perry, cranked up some music outside and we had a dance part with several of the people outside of the church. It was great because at first nobody really wanted to join in, but by the end almost everyone was dancing. I have put some footage down below, and I want you to notice how big everyone's smiles are. It was great, and I know that this is one of those things I am going to go back and watch every time I start to miss the taste of curry, smell of Jasmine, and all of the wonderful people that I have met here.  

-----Note on the video. We saw the monkeys on the way back from the colony, and we spent the entire bus ride jamming on the ukelele and talking about boys. I love my fellow volunteers :)

We had a little while after the colony before we had to be back at Rising Star, so we elected to go visit a nearby Hindu temple. It was dedicated to the hindu goddess Parvati, and is currently in the process of being built. They have the statue of her up, but have not built the temple that will house her or the surrounding outer walls and courtyard. It is expected to be the largest hindu Parvati temple in the world.  It was very cool being there, and our drivers gave us a very detailed explanation on Parvati's role in the Hindu religion.  She is married to the god of destruction, Shiva, and is considered to be the calm balance to his fierce personality.  She is the goddess of fertility, and a whole bunch of other things that I have now forgotten haha. 

Parvati. I love how she is wearing a golden saree.  

On the drive back from the temple, we got stopped by a train. As our bus sat there waiting, beggars began to come up to the window. Rising Star has a very strict policy concerning begging, and we are absolutely not allowed to give out handouts. There was one woman who came straight to my window pleading. She carried a 14th month old little boy on her hip, and she was making the sign for "food" and pointing at her baby. I stared into her eyes, wanting to help so bad. She cupped her hand out to us, still pleading. Her son looked from her to us, not really understanding what was going on. Then in one heartbreaking moment, he also held out his little hand. It was so difficult to see, not only because they were hungry but also because it was like watching this little boy's future unroll before him. Poverty is a cycle in India. In the United States everyone has the chance to attend decent schools, get scholarships, and earn a better life. In India there are not enough schools for their population, very few people can afford school after tenth grade, and the education system overall suffers. Whatever life you are born to is generally the same one you die in.  It is tragic, and I am so grateful that the kids I work with have been given a chance to improve their lives.  

I love you all!

Peace-----Becca

Amy, our medical team leader

Kaylee, she rocks on the ukelele 

The Rising Star dogs. Pretty protective of the kids. According to Kavya they will follow the children around and make sure they don't get bitten by snakes. There was a white dog named snowball who died from a cobra bite a few months ago. 

Love this guy! The shopkeepers gave him a cup filled with orange soda, and he downed it pretty fast.

I love monkeys. I think that looking outside and seeing mango trees, banana trees, coconut trees,  colorful birds, and monkeys is one of those things that will never get old for me.

TII. This Is India.