5 Million Rupee Smile :)

         Today I felt like a million bucks! I spent the day tutoring the children in English and Math, and it was a blast. The kids absolutely love to read and learn new words. However, these kids are just like any other kid in the fact that they do not want to be inside doing school when it is so beautiful outside. I had one boy in particular, Karthik, who obviously had things that he would rather be doing.  As soon as he walked in the classroom I could just tell that this kid was not going to want to read today. I am not entirely sure if it's because he didn't want to read or if he was uncomfortable reading in English. He shuffled in, avoiding eye contact. He wouldn't answer me when I asked him what his name was, and I had to look at his reading folder to find out what it was.  The school coordinator, Miranda, realized that he had not been given book so she dashed off to hunt one down for him. Meanwhile, it was Karthik and I sitting in an almost empty classroom with an enormous language barrier separating us.

He is HILARIOUS :)

     I started by asking him if he enjoyed playing Cricket (it is really popular in India). He nodded yes, but still didn't speak. I asked him question after question, but still could not get a reaction out of this kid.  Finally I pull out my journal, and say "Karthik! I draw picture of you!" For the first time he looked in my eyes, smiled, and I began drawing. My drawing looked ruther terrible and had hardly any semblance of Karthik, but it opened up a door, and Karthik suddenly became interested. We spent the next 40 minutes drawing pictures of each other.  I drew a sketch of what camping in Idaho is like, and he drew a map of India.  I showed him my horse Lady and he drew his favorite animal, a cheetah that he named Lacy. I helped him with his reading by creating secret messages that he had to figure out. By the end I had made a new friend, and he was smiling. and benson is awesome sauce. :)  (Dear Benson, thank you for inserting that last statement into my blog. It totally made it flow better dude lol). Thanks Karthik for making my day so good! I really enjoyed reading with you and I am excited for play time today.

This  boy is my little buddy

     I went out to the playground during play time and I saw a small girl laying on a bench by herself. I went over and sat next to her. I tried asking her name and tickling her feet, but she just lay there and wouldn't move. I was starting to get concerned that something was wrong with her at this point. A couple of little girls gathered around her, speaking quickly in Tamil. I asked them if she was ok, and they replied that she was but, "She miss her mother."  I wanted to cry. This little five year old had barely been sent away to the boarding school. Some mother in a colony had wanted her little girl to receive an education, and so she had given her to strangers to raise. That is love.

Missing her momma

The same little girl. Look at those sad eyes.

I love you!

Peace-----Becca

I am so glad that I was raised in a place where EVERY girl received an education

I love that smile!

These girls are inseperable