Become a kid again ;)

They get intense

After a pretty relaxing weekend, I was so ready to go back to Mayapuri. When I arrived at the Asha center on Monday, the UK volunteers were playing some games with the boys. The volunteers had been painting, and now that the painting was all finished, they were all headed off on different adventures. Although they were only there half the day, they definitely got in a full days worth of fun. It was hilarious. Elephant wars, cricket, ninja and more extremely energetic games that did not exactly put the kids in a mood to sit down and learn English...so I figured I'd join in. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right? But since all the boys were playing, and it was extremely hot, I figured I'd do my part as honorary photographer. I mean, how could I not document the epicness that is elephant wars? Like I said, hilarious.

Elephant wars...LOL

That afternoon, after the other volunteers had left, the girls arrived for class, energetic as ever. After about an hour of class, the girls began to get antsy, so I finished up and let them go outside to play. Now, this may seem like such an ordinary afternoon as a volunteer English teacher in India, but on the contrary, something new, something sooo exciting (for me at least) happened that day. On one of the trees behind the Asha center, some of the children had tied a rope, which they fashioned into a swing. As I watched the girls taking turns swinging and pushing each other, I knew I had to have a turn. So I walked outside slowly, and like little mind-readers, the girls pulled me over to the swing screaming, "Diidii, diidii! (older sister) You!!"

Don't worry, I didn't kick anyone ;P

So I had a turn (what a people-pleaser I am), and it was AMAZING! The entire time, I was just praying that I didn't fall mid-swing or that the tree branch didn't snap, taking me and the fun new swing down with it. But it was great. As the girls pushed me, I screamed and laughed, oblivious to the strangers who had come from their houses and left their work to come see the strange woman, acting like a little girl.

Getting fancy

Success!

And the fun did not stop there. Today, I had another full day at Mayapuri (YAAAAS), which meant more teaching, and of course more playing. Some of the girls arrived early for class (cute little eager beavers), so I went outside and hung out with them for a bit. Two of them were taking turns riding their friend's bicycle, and after a few minutes, I found myself riding the bike around and around, ecstatic at the fact that I could still ride (it's been years so this is a big deal here)!

One of the little cuties I was chasing

After a somewhat difficult afternoon English class (still trying to figure out how to explain the difference between how much and how many), the girls began running around--my cue to stop teaching and start playing. Despite the intense heat and my profuse sweating, I found myself playing tag with the little five-year old girls, learning Hindi dance moves (finally!) from the older girls and doing pretend ballroom dancing with some of the other girls. Basically, I got a killer workout, but it didn't dawn on me until I sat down to write this blog what else I got in these past few days. I got what I believe is a rare opportunity that becomes more and more rare as we grow older. I got the chance to act like the carefree kid that I know I can no longer be (or maybe I should say should no longer be ;) ).

Shenaniganary!

Check out Old Delhi!! (Back in time part 3)

This weekend was pretty relaxed. Although I had initially planned to go to Amritsar, I decided that a weekend of sleeping, eating (soooo sooo much food that I'll have to run insane amounts next week to work it all off), and tv/movie watching would do me some good. Especially since this week, I'm going back to Mayapuri!! Yaaay!

Today was a lovely day though. Dr. Dick, the doctor who is also volunteering with Asha, and I spent a lot of the day with the Associate Director of Asha, who invited us to his home for an incredibly delicious home-cooked meal and some Bollywood movie watching (Wake Up Sid, really good!). But since that is really all I did this weekend, back in time we shall go again, to the end of my second week here in India...

Hustle and Bustle

Holy smokes. Old Delhi is...insanity. Now I feel like I got a taste of the real India. Sam had just left the day before to go on other adventures around India, and Dr. Dick, who had recently arrived in India to volunteer with Asha, was off on some adventures of his own. So that left Jake and I at the flat, trying to figure out what we would be doing for the weekend. We decided that we would go to Old Delhi since Jake would be leaving soon and needed to experience both parts of Delhi. After planning where we would go in Old Delhi, Jake and I got on the bus around noon and made our way to the metro station. Now, this was my first experience with the Delhi metro, and may I just say, swaaaanky! The metro was   lovely; extremely clean and very well airconditioned, with a very fancy voice announcing the stops.

We got off the metro at a stop near the Red Fort and people immediately began surrounding us, asking us to buy clothes, and food, and jewelry. This was definitely more like the way I expected India to be. The streets were packed with people and auto and cycler rickshaws, and there was just so much noise. A little bit overwhelming, yes, but definitely exhilarating, finding oneself in such a new environment.

Outside Red Fort

When we finally got inside Red Fort, the hustle and bustle died down, but as foreigners, attention was not exactly diverted away from us. Whenever Jake and I stopped to take a picture of one of the many magnificent structures within the fort, a group of people would come up to us, asking us to take pictures with their children and what not. I still thought it was so hilarious, so Jake and I were just like, "Eh, why not?" 

Taken quickly inside the fort, before anyone could ask to take pictures with us :P

After spending a few hours just walking around the fort and the nearby museum, marveling at what was undoubtedly a significant part of India's history, Jake and I decided that it was time to see what else Old Delhi had to offer. We walked outside the Red Fort and got a cycler rickshaw, the first one I had ever taken. It moved surprisingly fast for a man pedaling a bicycle that was pulling a cart carrying two passengers.

View from the Cycler Rickshaw: Hot day and pedaling slightly uphill...this guy was literally awesome

The cycler rickshaw took us to Raj Ghat, a quiet park and the site of Mahatma Gandhi's memorial. As Jake and I sat in the grass, enjoying what was definitely the most silent place we had been all day, an Indian family came up to us and asked us about our adventures and why we were in India. Then, they asked us to take a picture with them. Of course. But I didn't mind. I even asked if they could take one with my camera too. :)

Family photo!

Jake and I left Raj Ghat and took the same cycler rickshaw to Jama Masjid, a famous mosque in Old Delhi. Before going into the mosque, we decided to stop at Karim's to eat, which was such a good idea, but also such a bad idea. By the time Jake and I finished our naan and pranthas and curries, we were both too full and too late to go see Jama Masjid, which was closed for prayer. :( But no worries! As we headed home, tired and full from the yummy eats, I knew that I would somehow make my way back to Old Delhi to see Jama Masjid. Whether it will be on this trip or the next, I do not know, but definitely someday.

Visit the Taj Mahal (Going back in time part 2!)

So I'm a liiitle sad today (and I mean reaaally little since every opportunity I'm having here in India is amazing in it's own way) because I was not able to go back to Mayapuri today. Don't get me wrong, I am really grateful for the chance to work in the office and learn so much about how Asha operates and is able to help so many slum residents, but I definitely miss the kids and can't wait to do some teaching again. I'm going to be in the office again tomorrow, so I'll be seeing the kiddies again on Monday :). Since a day at a desk is probably not the most exciting thing to write about, I'll do another back in time post about the end of my first week here in India, when the other two volunteers and I spent the day in Agra...

Despite a slight runny nose and a headache, this has been one of the best days eveeer (but actually)!! Around 6am, Sam, Jake and I left the flat to meet the taxi driver who would be driving us to and around Agra. When I woke up in the morning, I was all congested, which was kind of frustrating, but nothing in comparison to how excited I was to go see the Taj Mahal. We got in the taxi and all passed out right away, which was good for me because the car ride was 5 hours long and I'm not too good with long car rides (I gets quite antsy).

So worth it ;)

On our way, the driver stopped at a market to pick something up, so Sam, Jake and I were just sitting in the car, trying to politely turn down all the people who kept knocking on the windows to sell us things. Turns out, politeness doesn't really work (awww shucks), so we just sat there and stopped responding. Eventually, a guy walked by the car with two monkeys, which I absolutely could not resist taking pictures of. Now that, my friends, was a bad idea. After I got a few pictures, the man held out his for money, and I was just thinking, 'Really now? You couldn't have told me this before?!'. After a few seconds of him pounding so hard on the windows that I thought the glass would break, we paid him, just in time for the driver to get back in the car and drive off.

When we finally arrived in Agra, the traffic was madness, but like a pro, the driver maneuvered his way through the roads and got us to the Taj around noon. After declining all the tour guide offers (which was no easy task), we finally made it in. And when I saw the Taj Mahal, all I could say was (hehe I actually said this), "Woa. Is this real life right now?" What a beaaauuutiful, beaaauuutiful place! Even now, sitting here, I can't believe that I actually got to see it and touch it and walk around in it. The experience was made even more memorable by all the Indian people who wanted to take pictures with us. I thought it was so hilarious that we were there, completely amazed by the Taj, while the Indian nationals were there, completely amazed by the foreigners.

Magnficence

We wandered around the inside for a while and took some more pictures with strangers before heading outside to find a shady place to sit (Because I felt like I was actually being cooked. In an oven. And I was definitely getting a thousand shades darker). After 10 minutes or so of chilling in the shade, we left to go check out the nearby Taj museum and then made our way to Cafe Coffee Day for lunch (yay AC and yummy eats!).

Cafe Coffee Day dessert

Before we left Agra, the driver took us to this amazing shop that sold jewelry, carpets, clothes, and instruments. Jake and I walked in without any money (best to avoid temptation), and the workers definitely knew that we weren't going to buy anything. How do I know this? Well, because I asked for the price of a ring, and when the store clerk told me, Jake and I stared at each other and started laughing.

The prices were insanely expensive though! So yea, that's how I know. But what I found so interesting was that even though they all knew that we weren't going to buy anything, the workers in the instruments department still put on a great show for us. They played something for us with the drums and the sitar and even let us try to play (Sam and I didn't but Jake was actually really good on the drums). They brought out sodas for us and were genuinely so excited to be entertaining us. 

As we left the shop and Agra, I began to drift off  (at this point in the day I was insanely congested, even though I somehow hadn't noticed all day). The trip back took 8 hours because of traffic, but I didn't even notice because I was so tired from walking around so much. But yea, it was quite a day. Definitely unforgettable.

Wow...so that was still really long. Goodness gracious, a lot happened that day.

Witness the power of change...then go see a Bollywood movie, Woot Woot!

There was still much work to do on the document that I've been working on for Asha, so today was a pretty standard, uneventful day for me at the office (can't wait to see the kids again!). But yesterday afternoon, after a few hours of editing the Asha document, I was fortunate enough to take part in something amazing. Since my arrival at Asha, the office has been crazy busy because the high school students (class 12) from various slums had finished their exams, got back their results, and were either still applying to colleges or waiting to see whether or not they had been admitted. After an extremely, and I mean extreeemely difficult selection process that makes getting into ivy leagues look like cake (but seriously though), many of the students have received admission into a university!! :)

Yesterday's event, which was held in the Asha headquarters here in New Delhi, was a celebration where the accepted students received advice and encouragement for their future endeavors. The students also had the opportunity to share their stories and to thank all those who helped them along the way. I counted 40 students at the event yesterday and another 40 came today (though I sadly wasn't at today's event), which is absolutely amazing considering how difficult it is to enter the world of higher education with the poor resources and the anti-education attitudes that are characteristic of the slums. These students, many of whom have been receiving educational help and encouragement from Asha for several years now, are a testament to the great work that Asha has done and continues to do in the slums of Delhi. I was honored to be able to talk to them and give them advice on what to expect at college and how to approach the new experience. 

For me, the most memorable part of the event was when one girl came up to the podium to share her story, but became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. As I sat up at the front of the room, I was trying sooo hard not to cry myself. In between sobs, she told us about her struggle; how her application went missing right before the deadline. She told us how she fell into a state of depression for about two days as she agonized over the thought of seeing all her hard work go to waste. She talked to one of the Asha center supervisors, who told her to pray, that God would help her find a way. And the next morning, in a stack of papers in the office, she found her application. Her gratitude and appreciation for God's blessings and for everything the Asha staff had done to help her come this far was so moving. It is my hope that God will continue to bless her and all these students. What they have accomplished was no easy task, but I know that they will be an inspiration to other slum children--living proof of the power of change. 

...

UK volunteers checking out the view

And what better way to continue a fantastic day than to go watch a Bollywood movie! Without English subtitles of course (like a boss). After yesterday's event, some volunteers from the UK and I grabbed a quick dinner on their lovely hotel rooftop and made our way to the movie theater. Let me just say this: Wow...I see you India! The theater was sooo nice. I was a big fan of the reclining seats and of course of the amazing prices (large popcorn+soda+ticket approximately 8 USD). And I was definitely a huuuge fan of the movie, Cocktail. Now I'm not going to go spoiling the end for anybody who wants to watch (which you all should!), so no worries, but let me just tell you a bit about this movie. Maybe it's just my narrow-minded view of Indian culture, but I did not expect to see so much skin! Or hear so much English (which is totally not cheating because English was only thrown in from time to time). Even though I missed some of the jokes, I surprisingly got most of the story line! The comedy was great and I am currently obsessed with the soundtrack. All I need is someone to translate for me...or to just teach me Hindi so I can sing along, which is all I really want to do. That, and learn the dance moves! So yes, to all my Indian friends, I am definitely up for some learning so please teach me! Thanks :)

Awesome rooftop view

Start a blog that goes back in time :)

Okay, so being the unfortunately lazy individual that I am, I just decided to start a blog after already having been in India for three weeks. Buuut, my slight OCD drives me to post about all the adventures that I've already had while in India. So what I will do is make a post for each week I've been here, except for the first week, which I'll do two posts for (sooo much happened!). I'll still be posting about my day to day activities, but i'll throw in a back-in-time post on slow days. This one will basically summarize my first week as a teacher in India and will probably be quite long and chaotic since I'm going to try to remember everything (it seems so long ago!). Okay here goes...

Park where I run

These first few days in India have been amazing!...and definitely very interesting in many ways. When I arrived in Indira Gandhi International Airport, I thought to myself,  'oh, this isn't so bad! this heat ain't no thaaang'. Well, that was foolish of me. As soon as I stepped outside, I was drenched...in my own sweat. I can't even describe the heat; it's so intense! And this is why, after one week, I am proud to say that I have adapted very well to the super hot climate! The area that I am staying in is so lovely, and in the mornings, I even go running around the park nearby. My thinking: if I can handle running in the heat here, when I go home, it'll be easy cakes!

First night's homemade dinner:
rice with lentils in a chili sauce
and sugar-covered yogurt. Soo delicious

I'm staying in a guesthouse with two other students from the UK, Sam and Jake, who will also be volunteering with Asha as English teachers. It's great, like living in an apartment. I feel so fancy when we all just chill in the kitchen and cook dinner, like real grown-ups. The living situation is definitely ideal: I have my own room! Jake and I arrived on the same weekend so Sam, who has already been in India for a month, showed us the giant (and I mean GIANT) mall and the cool markets and took us to the park, where we just sat and relaxed in the evening before dinner.

Auto rickshaw!

At the start of the weekend, I was so nervous at the idea of being an English teacher who knows absolutely no Hindi (except for the basics that I learned on the 14 hour flight here). I was also worried about how I would be getting to my slum. So you can imagine how nervous I was when I was told that I would be teaching at a slum that is pretty far away, Mayapuri. For this week, someone has been going to and from the slum with me so I can learn the bus routes. On the first day, I didn't have to take the bus because Asha paid for me to take an auto rickshaw, which was quite the experience (driving in a vehicle...with no doors or seat belts...on the crazy streets of India...yikes!). I rode with this really nice woman, Vidya, who, like many of the people here, just stared at me and asked about my hair the entire 30 minute journey there. It was pretty hilarious though because we actually managed to carry on a conversation, even though she speaks hardly any English.

Mayapuri slum has been...shocking, to say the least (pictures to come in future posts). I was told that Mayapuri was one of the poorest slums, but I was not even remotely prepared for what I was about to see. One afternoon, the little girls asked me to come to their homes to call them to class. So I went with Vidya, for the first time, past the Asha center and further into the slum. Little children covered in dirt came outside and squatted in the narrow path between the shacks, fascinated by the sight of a strange new person. It was very easy to find all of the girls because, although most of them lived in separate homes, everything was so tightly packed together to the point where moving around was pretty challenging, especially for someone as tall as I am. And when I say home, I mean home in the loosest sense because I don't think one can even call the small, one-room shacks that housed small and large families alike homes. I didn't even go very deep into the slum, but from what I did see, I knew that Mayapuri was a place where Asha's help was desperately needed.

In these first few days, my teaching has been very experimental, because that is really the only word that can describe what I do. With the help of the Asha curriculum, I am beginning to gauge the students' English-speaking abilities, so I think classes will probably get a bit more structured. In the mornings, I teach a class of boys who are between 10 and 19 years old, and in the afternoon, I teach the girls, who are 5 to 12 years old. Working with these age ranges has been very interesting and a bit challenging, but the older kids help out the younger ones, which is really helpful for me. Having my laptop has also been helpful because they love American music and love to ask me to dance...every day (video!). And I do of course. I honestly just can't say no to their cute little faces. And the Asha staff here at Mayapuri is wonderful. We have such great times on my break in between classes, and even though they don't speak much English, they have really made me feel welcomed here.

...Wow that was long! Shorter from now on, promise.

Some of the boys :)

Volunteer with Asha

Asha means 'hope' in Hindi, which is definitely fitting because that is exactly what this NGO has given, and continues to give, to the slums of Delhi. When my friend asked me if I wanted to go to India to volunteer as an English teacher, which didn't take any convincing whatsoever, I had not yet grasped what I was about to become a part of. Even on my first day as a volunteer, as I walked into the Asha office and received an orientation on what I would be doing, I still hadn't taken it all in.

As I sit here now, writing this post, I'm starting to think that I may never really take it all in, at least not on this first trip to India. So what do I mean by 'it'? I guess I mean a couple of things. Today, 'it' means the impact of the work that Asha is doing in the slums. It is my fourth week here in India, and this week, I am helping out in the office all day, proofreading a document that details Asha's accomplishments and also describes the purpose and structure of the organization. Even though I really miss teaching the kids, I am actually grateful for the time that I have here in the office, particularly because I think I am starting to get 'it', Asha's importance that is.

I read about how Asha has worked to improve health, education, family financial situations, and the overall slum environment, and I cannot believe that this organization, started by one, amazing Christian woman, Dr. Kiran Martin, has been able to bring so much change in just 24 years. Asha has set up centers in 50 slums throughout India's capital city, Delhi, and with these centers, is able to serve a population of approximately 400,000 slum residents. At these centers, children are taught English, pregnant woman receive check-ups, and children get vaccinated. As a result of Asha's work, there has been virtually no infant mortality in Asha slums since 2000. It is hard to believe that this is only a small part of what Asha is doing in the slums.

I've been teaching English in Mayapuri slum for three weeks now, and although I've been having an amazing time with the kids, I don't think I've really been looking at the big picture. Asha is doing so much more than helping a few kids learn English; it is changing lives in a big way that I am beginning to understand and see more clearly. I can't wait to go back to Mayapuri on Wednesday and, with new eyes, really see the magnitude of what God is doing here in India through Asha.