10 June to 19 June

10 June 2010

Tonight we finished supper relatively early, so we sat down with the older girls for a while as they were finishing theirs. They taught us how to say “Did you finish your supper?” and “I did” in Kannada. Yes, I’ve already forgotten how to say it. They reviewed the body parts—now I can remember the words for eyes, nose, mouth, lips, teeth, ears, throat, earrings, AND bracelet. I’m such a good student. One girl then began telling me the nicknames of her friends. Apparently EVERYONE in this convent has a nickname. The nicknames translate to English phrases like “black cow” and “black crow.” Shobha’s nickname (she’s our star speller) is pronounced like “goober” and translates to “owl.” I’m wondering if it’s because she’s smart so the girls are implying she’s a nerd (you know, like the owl-wearing-glasses image) . This would only work, however, if animals have the same representation in India as they do in America… and not many things are the same between these two countries.

The girls also enjoy dressing us up. Today Jyothi, a girl from 8th standard, gave us bangles to wear. They barely fit over our hands, so we almost couldn’t get them off. Sunday is the big dress-up day though. Last Sunday they put flowers in our hair, gave us necklaces, AND painted our nails. Sister Mary has warned us that they have the same thing planned for next Sunday. It’s like we’re their dolls or pet animals (sorry, Princess, now I know how you feel). Luckily it’s painless and they absolutely love it. It’s probably the best entertainment we have to offer.












13 June 2010

So yesterday was Sister Maria’s birthday. It was quite the affair. They served cake both before and with breakfast. The morning assembly at school included two dance performances, one by the youngest girls (all dressed in frilly pink dresses with glitter on their faces) and one by the oldest girls. Saturdays are only half days, so school was done by 11:30am. I had brought my camera with me, and after class the kids went a little crazy taking pictures. I think Indians have a predisposition to understanding technology, because they figured out how to work my camera in about two seconds, and took about 60 photos over the following half hour. They also decided it was necessary to re-paint my nails… only eight of my nails are red though, my two pinky nails are hot pink. It sort of resembles a manicure I might have given myself when I was five. We spent most of the afternoon hanging out with the girls… I think our relationship is more like a show poodle than a pet animal now. They styled and re-styled our hair, and they gave us bindis (as usual). With every style change, they “ooh” and “ahh” over us. “Super!” “Super, Auntie, super!” They drag us around to show all the girls. And then they do it again.

In evening, the boarders put on a show for Sister Maria that involved traditional dances and skits. At the end, Sister Maria asked Christi and I to dance for her… the girls took us up front and taught us some of their moves. Good thing I left my pride in America. The dancing continued on after dinner until Sister Maria ordered everyone to bed.

It’s been pretty rainy here these last few days so it actually feels pretty cool outside. The girls are still finding ways to make me sweat though. The little ones discovered yesterday that I can help them jump really high by lifting them up in the air. They made me do this over and over and over, until I couldn’t feel my arms. Even the older girls were asking me to lift them. It was probably the best arm workout I’ve had in a really long time.

Tomorrow is Monday, which means back to school. I’m hoping to finish learning names this week, since there are still a handful of names I don’t know. Too many kids either have the same name or a name I can’t pronounce. Although it’s made more difficult by the inconsistency of our class schedule. We always start off teaching 6th standard, but then it’s hit or miss what happens next. Sometimes we’re in 6th standard for almost two hours. Like I said, I don’t think there’s any word for “organization” in Kannada.



17 June 2010

So by “pretty cool here,” I actually mean it’s cold. It’s been raining pretty much every day now. Christi and I have been wearing sweaters and jackets. We also discovered that the nuns in Bangalore DID pack my sweatshirt and our books… in the outer pockets of my suitcase. Oops. Good thing I’m so observant. So anyways, Megan Kloet, I am now getting use out of the sweatshirt you laughed at me for bringing. =p

Oh, and for good measure, I’d like to note a correction here, if Christi hasn’t already. Sister Annie’s name is actually Sister Rani. It sounds exactly like “Sister Annie” because the ‘r’ of Sister is slurred into her name. So we haven’t sounded like idiots or anything for the past three weeks, don’t worry.

Anyways. On Tuesday morning at 11:00, all four of the Sisters left the grounds for the day to visit a shrine to St. Anthony. They of course gave us advance warning that they were abandoning us. Sister Rani made sure to come into our classroom at 10:59 to let us know. They were gone until dinner time, but luckily the teachers and college (16 and 17 year old) girls kept order in the place. Their absence meant we were down a teacher or two at the school, so entire classrooms of students were left to their own devices. I’m sure you can imagine the chaos that followed. When the Sisters returned, they gave Christi and I each a bracelet that they’d bought for us at the shrine. These women are so sweet, they’re always thinking about us and trying to make us feel at home. I think they’re more grateful to have us since they weren’t originally supposed to be receiving any summer volunteers. And yet, here we are.

Our evening tutoring sessions are starting to pick up. It’s just three girls now—Ambika, Ashwini, and Shylu (it was a little too slow for Lakshmi). We’re still working on the letters A through I, but we’re finally making progress. We taught them how to high-five this week, and they love it. We’ve been playing memory with them, and every time they get a pair, they immediately want a high-five. It’ silly, but it gets them excited about learning. Shylu’s attitude issues are getting better, too. She’s usually really sassy with us, but she’s been more giggly and smiley lately. Sister Maria told us she’s a relatively new boarding student and she was rescued from a slum environment, where community and family ties don’t exist in the way they do in other places. I can tell she’s really starting to make friends and fit in here, though.

Ok, we’re off to school, so more stories soon. Miss you all.



18 June 2010

I'd just like to quickly amend my last day's writing. Shylu is just as sassy as ever, as she demonstrated during last night's memory game. Also she's taken to sneezing on the cards that we use in the game... we think it's disgusting, therefore she thinks it's hilarious.

Oh yeah, also we ate THE spiciest meal in the world last night. I am never eating that vegetable again. Ever... seeing as how I couldn't keep it down. Waking up at 4:30 to puke my guts out was not on my list of things to do (I apologize if this is TMI for some of you). It was terrible. It was exponentially worse coming up than it was going down. Twelve hours later, and I am officially recovered.

Mrrrrr.