"Yay B C"

Today we had a break from bus rides and we stayed at Rising Star to do wellness assessments on the children. We worked in the new medical center/dental center that was built by the volunteers last summer.

The younger children were scared of the blood pressure cuff and the otoscope. My favorite part about working with the little ones was when we did eye testing. It's so cute when they say "yay" (a), "yem" (m) and "yex" (x). We joke that they don't learn their ABCs here. They learn their "yaybcs". Another cute thing that happened was when we switched covering their eyes from left or right to covering neither so they could read with both. Most times the kids would cover both eyes instead of uncovering both eyes. It was funny to see their reactions.

I ate lunch with the kids-- but it was hard to choose who to sit with because they'd all call for us to sit with them. Sudha, valankannie, and Tamilselvie like me a lot and I'm excited that I get to be good friends with them. We finished up assessments after lunch and then I got to play soccer Indian style with the younger boys. I rather enjoyed it. It was a lot more bumblebee swarming soccer than actual soccer-- but either way it was soccer.

Gopi playing soccer

Tonight we did a mass deworming of the students. It involved handing out tablets for them to chew. Even after explaining to them that it wasn't candy but that it was medicine-- they wanted more than one dose. I wish I liked taking medicine as much as these kids do. Tomorrow we'll do hemoglobin/anemia checks and we'll need to stick their fingers for a blood sample. I have a feeling there will be a lot to write about.

I had a tender moment with Sangita. She's a UKG which basically means that this year she's a brand new student. She's about five years old and it's her first time away from home. It's been hard on her. Working with her in wellness assessments this morning she was timid and teary eyed. She was so scared. But tonight she wrapped me around that little finger of hers when she let me hold and rock her on the balcony of the student hostels. She just wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled her head in close to my neck and made herself at home. I loved that moment.

Sangita

It's hard to imagine my time here is already half spent. I'm apprehensive about going home. No matter how much I secretly want real milkshakes and cafe rio, being in the states is meaningless to me. It's all a show in the states. It's a popularity contest and it's fake. In India it's different. It's simple. Kids don't need to have Facebook or Instagram or Twitter to fit in. They don't broadcast to the world what they're doing. They just do it because they enjoy it. Life simplified can do a lot of good. I'm worried I'll lose meaning in my life when I get back. I'm worried I'll forget the faces, the hard work in the heat, the humility, and the genuine love from people regardless of if they know me or not. I'm worried I'll forget the lessons and the epiphanies. I'm worried I'll forget the tender moments with Sangita and Mymonisha. But I must not think that way now. I need to be present.