My first tut tut experience!

This entire time in India it took until our last week here to ride a tuk tuk! We have had a driver the entire time. But one day after church we had some last minute shopping to do so our new friend Carlie, Chenelle, Krissy and I took a rickshaw or known as a tuk tuk to the mall! This was our first time and man it was crazy!




Yes we fit the four of us in the back seat! And yes it was a tight squeeze. We told the driver where we wanted to go and just trusted that he understood? About twenty minutes into the drive and after we drove in circles a few times we all started to worry that he didn't know where he was going. But alas he found the mall and we started our fulfilled our of shopping before we had to head back to meet the vans.








We stopped to eat in the food court. Krissy had KFC and Chen, Carlie and I had Pizza Hut. Pizza hut in India is like fine dining! The best part about us eating is that they wouldn't let Krissy in the Pizza Hut corner of the food court with "outside food" so Chen and Krissy ate behind a half wall on a table and we sat next to them in Pizza hut. Everyone looked at us like we were crazy. But hey we get a lot of that here!




With twenty minutes to get back to meet the rest if the group we headed to catch a rickshaw. Once we exited the mall a man approached us saying "you go to the Mormon church? You with the Rising Star?" I asked him how he knew and he said he knew the Rising Star very well. We were happy about this because we didn't have an exact address to the church and we didn't know our way back. He told us the price to get back but it was double what we paid to get there. We said no thank you. He laughed at us and told us that no one else would take us for any less than what we offered. We declined and started asking other drivers if they knew where the Mormon church was, we pulled out a picture of the church and one man said that he did know where the church was and said we could pay him what we paid to get there! We all jumped in and then he got out. He said something in Tamil to the man who told us we wouldn't find a ride.




About five minutes into the ride he turns and said he had a vague idea where he was going. He hardly spoke any English and didn't understand what we were saying. After another ten min he pulled over in the middle of a busy street and told us to get out. He asked us for more money than we agreed on we battled with him for a few minutes paid what we agreed and we got out. Not knowing where we were and in the middle of a busy intersection! We had to dodge cars and run across the street to the nearest side walk. After we thought about the events we realized he never knew where he was taking us. He was friends with the man we made mad and he took user away and dropped us off in the middle of nowhere asking for more money. I wish now that we had never paid him but at the time we all just wanted out of his car.




Thank goodness Krissy had taken one of the coordinators phone and we could call and tell them we were lost. We tried getting to the Marriott we stayed in on our first day but none of the drivers seemed to know where it was. Oddly enough when we said we wouldn't go with them because they didn't know how to get us there they would be upset. About 40 minutes of standing in the hot sun and walking around lost in Chennai one of our vans passed us, called the other driver and told him where to find us! We were saved! What a crazy experience!




We all got picked up and headed to get pizza for the rest of the group. We don't have a cook on Sunday so we had to pick up dinner for everyone!




These three beautiful ladies are my roommates. From left to right its Taylor, Becca (blonde) and Emily!




These are our beautiful hand made shoes we got Saturday In Mamallapuram!





Later that night we were all craving chocolate! Emmalee was going through her bag and pulled out a bag of chocolate that had previously melted! We got a plate and a knife and went for it. The longer we sat there devouring chocolate the more chocolate we found. We ate every piece of chocolate we could find that night. We all became chocolate wasted. We laughed until our sides hurt! I have loved my roommates and I will miss them like crazy! Go Room Parakeet












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Mamallapuram!

It's Saturday again which means its time for another field trip! We are always excited to spend time all together and to get off campus for some fun in the sun! We left the Rising Star at 8:00 Saturday morning to head of to the beach aka Mamallapuram! On our drive there, the van got stopped at a railroad crossing. Apparently trains are scheduled around certain times. So they block the crossings at certain times not really knowing when the train will come. It doesn't matter how long it takes we wait until the train comes. Since we had been sitting there for twenty min Chen and I decided to paint our toe nails. Luckily I got mine finished before the train came because when we started moving again along the very bumpy, pot holed roads it was her turn!


When we reached Mamallapuram an hour and a half later the first thing Krissy, Chenelle and myself wanted was ice cream! All three of us felt pretty hungry at the time but after we shopped in Mamallapuram we were headed to the resort "Ideal Beach" for some time on the beach and swimming in the pool. And we had heard that they have good american food. So we decided that ice cream and Pepsi could hold us over until then!


We were dropped of by these Indian ruins and that was the same place we would be picked up in!


This place was known for its stone work! It was amazing watching these people carve stone and make designs! I wish I could have brought it all home with me! They are pretty dang talented!






As we were walking down the street shopping two little kids walked up to me and shook my hand! They were so sweet. They looked as though they had been wearing the same clothes for days and that they hadn't showered or washed their hair either. They asked me my name and told me I was pretty in broken English. Then they started begging for food. In this picture Chen caught me looking at her for help. At the rising star we aren't supposed to give in to anyone the begs because here they teach self reliance. It was extremely sad and at the same time I looked up and saw their mother pushing them on to do it while she sat in the shade and watched them, it made me mad. So I pulled some food out of my bag handed it to them and walked away. In that moment I decided I would always put my children and family first!



Benson is the best! He is really good at bargaining so he hung out with us all day so we could get better prices! We stopped at this cute hat shop and bought hats for the beach! Haha we looked like tourists so bad! I loved it!




This is where we all bought our shoes! They were making them in front of our eyes! It's probably my favorite purchase so far! It's amazing to actually see all these people making what they are selling you. I hardly see that at home! I have loved seeing and experiencing so many new things here, I'm truly going to miss it here!


As we made our way to the beach this is the first thing I saw! This is the kids rides on the beach. It looked like it wasn't working but I thought it was pretty funny but mostly pretty clever! Sometimes I feel as though I stepped back in time here, like they aren't caught up in technology. I see it everywhere. When we do construction they don't have any big machines to help get the job done, the tools as simple as a shovel. Their shovel looks hand made and is t very effective. They don't have a Lully system to move products so they use the women and the carry bricks and sand on their heads as they walk up two stories. So when I see these rides I feel as though they haven't realized that there are actually rides that aren't made from kids toy cars.








Yes we went horse back riding on the beach! So romantic right?! Gotta love my friends. We had a ball, riding these horses down the beach! Even though people were staring at us like we were crazy!





We always get so lucky! We have made friends with our drivers and they stay with us all the time! They make us feel safe and they help us get good deals and show us the best places to go! I love them and already miss them just thinking about leaving!


We headed to the resort Ideal beach, this was the sign we read before we hit the beach!














Sandra Rigby enjoying the water! Oh how I wish I could be in a pool at this moment! When we arrived to the resort we were starving! We headed down to the beach to order food. It was way expensive and once it came it was awful. I was pretty disappointed. Other than the bad American food everything else was beautiful! I felt like I was in Hawaii. It was weird thinking that so much poverty was outside the gate! It felt great swimming and cooling off and having fun getting to know each other!







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Water Fight kids against Volunteers

WATER FIGHT DAY!!!! Hooray!! The kids and the volunteers waited all day Friday for the big water fight to begin! Not only is it super hot but so much fun to see the kids all excited! I love playing with these kids and the water fight was something new and it was so much fun!





All the Volunteers filled up water balloons and dumped out their cereal containers so we would have buckets to throw water! The problem was that there was only one place to fill up with Water! This corner of the play area became the war zone! You couldn't fill up with out having water dumped on your head. It was an evening full of laughter and smiles! We ran around throwing water for hours! I enjoy moments like this where the kids are stress free and just enjoying themselves completely!


The picture above is of Miranda Rigby. She is the summer coordinator over education. I fully believe that she has the hardest job of anyone coordinators here. I know that they all work very hard in the different groups but working everyday all day in the school doing tutoring and making sure the kids are where they need to be and that the volunteers are where they need to be seems so tiring. I know that personally my tutoring days are the most draining. Working with the kids is an amazing experience and I love them all, but sometimes they don't want to read or listen or do their work. It's mentally exhausting. Miranda has to be in charge of the kids and when they don't behave and she has to be the bad guy. Not only is she at the school from 9-2 she goes back sometimes for extra tutoring at 4. Then back again at 7. Then she has to come home and work on the kids school work for the next day all night long. Her job is never ending and yet every morning she is smiling and excited to be there. She is a role model to me. She is only 18 years old, graduated this summer and she is the most organized and mature person I've seen here. I absolutely love working with her and being around her!



Krissy is in a family of girls. One of the girls in her family is new and doesn't speak English yet. Her name is Varalakshmi. She adores Krissy. Vara was teased by older girls in her family for having her head shaved. They called her ugly and said she looked like a boy. Krissy simply told these older girls that she thought they were beautiful and that she loved them and that God loves them. She then told them that Vara is beautiful And that She and God loves her too. The older girls have then since treated her with nothing but kindness.


Benson has to be one of the funniest people I know. I had so much fun with him during the water fight. He would get the kids to go against me and soak me! Every time I tried to get him back he would take my own water and dump it on me! I had a blast trying to get him back and getting the kids on my side!



Once everyone was exhausted we slowly ended the water fight and headed to dinner. Everyday as playtime comes to an end I realize more and more that our time in this beautiful place is almost up! I'm so saddened by this thought. I love these kids and feel like I can't live without seeing their faces everyday. The thing that gets me through the thought of leaving them is knowing that I will be back! I don't know when but I know that The Rising Star Outreach campus will always be home! And these kids will always be family. I will miss them terribly while I'm gone! Thank goodness I know that they are well taken care of with so many people who love them!

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Colony day #3

Thursday was colony day for my group but before we went into the leprosy colony we went into the near by village to a preschool to weigh and measure and hand out vitamins. The kids were adorable. At first they were scared of us but by the end they laughed and played with us!


This is the front of the school. It looks more like a little shack! There wasn't very many kids but they were all so sweet!



This is what the inside of the school looked like! The holes in the side is so they can get air circulating through the school!





This picture shows a hammock on the boards across the ceiling. This is where the kids take their naps. I'm sad






This little guy was so scared of us. If you can't tell by the picture! It took him about 45 minutes to warm up to us! His eyes are beautiful!


He didn't like getting weighed and measured. All around this wasn't his favorite day!


As we were helping these kids one of the rising star nurses started talking about all the kids that are at the rising star school that come from the village we were in. I can't tell you how hard that hit me when I think of these kids and now know them personally and realizing that if it weren't for the rising star they would be living in that village. I can't imagine them on the streets dirty and getting no sort of education. I'm so grateful for what the rising star does for these children and for their families.



This is Vida a house mother. She is only 22!


I asked Anand to write my name in Tamil on my hand and he started to write it in English. My favorite part is that he started spelling SHA. Haha he is great!





We had such a small leprosy colony to go to that they sent half of our group to the leprosy colony and half of us to the art colony. The art colony is where some of the people who have leprosy sell their paintings to make money. We were able to spend time looking at beautiful paintings and meeting the artist!







This is Austin and I in front of the art colony! What an amazing experience to see these people making money and supporting themselves!




After we went to the art colony we headed next door to a retirement home! We spent time with these amazing people! We had the opportunity to spend time helping them get their lunch and sitting with them rubbing their arms and hands!












This little baby was the cutest thing ever. One of the ladies who serves lunch was holding her little baby. She walked up to me and put her in my arms. She wasn't the happiest but I loved holding her.


After we left the retirement center we headed down the street to see these beautiful ladies make pearl necklaces. They were amazing! This is another rising star micro loan business. You can buy these pearls right off of their website!








We had to be the luckiest girls ever! We spent the day enjoying people from all ages. We spent time at the pre school then the retirement home! Then we got to celebrate being I. India by getting Parodda! Oh my heck it was heaven in my mouth. Fluffy tortilla's served with some kind of Dipping sauce and an egg! YUMMY!!!


What an amazing day! But hey everyday here is amazing! I wish my family was here experience this with me! But I hope through my blog they can!


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