Greetings!

This week has gone by pretty quickly. I have been busy helpling at the school and spending time with the kids. The pace here is much slower than at home, but it is nice in a way because I have some time to read and learn about the culture in a casual way.
One of the LKG (lower kindergarden) teachers retired this week after 26 years of service, which is something I cannot imagine after my one measley year as a teacher. There is a really cool tradition here when someone retires. There is a presentation where people speak and sing and give her lots of presents. Then all of the staff (and the volunteers) get on a school bus and go to the retiree's house or to a restuarant. In this case, we went to a little Indian (naturally) restaurant, where the food was simple but very good. And it was air conditioned! I had almost forgotten that AC existed.
Anyway, after dinner we went to her house (which is another part of the tradition) to deliver the gifts. There, her family gave us soda and little treats. THis seems like a lot of work for the person who is retiring, but I guess people are really proud to be able to do it, so it works for me. The house itself was really interesting. Since she is Hindu, there are chalk drawings outside the house, on the doorstep. All of the doorways were really small (I had to duck) and the bathroom and shower are on the back porch, which actually makes sense considering the climate. We drove around town letting all of the teachers off near thier houses, which made for a pretty long bus ride home. I love to ride around here and gawlk at everything, though, so I enjoyed the trip.
Sorry about any misspellings/ grammar errors...I'm trying to do this in a hurry. I hope everyone is doing well!

Yikes!

Yesterday, Kerri and I ventured into Vellore (the nearest city) with the principal's son, Arun. He works at the Christian Medical Center in Vellore. Just getting there was an adventure in itself. It was pouring down rain, and we were in something called an auto-rickshaw. It's likely that all of you brilliant linguists can figure out that this us basically a rickshaw with a motor. It is made of metal and has 3 wheeles and open sides. I read a lot about how crowded and hectic the roads are here, but nothing can quite prepare you for the actual experience. There are no windshield wipers on this auto, but that dosen't stop the driver's maniacial tendencies. There are lanes in theory, but no one seems to care. Cows, babies, cars, goats, and autos all navagate the road with equal abandon. At one piont a huge bus scraped against our auto, close enough to beep the horn right next to where we were sitting. It is both a terrifying and exhilirating experience.

We made it there, after a very fun ride with more close calls that I care to count. Arun is part of a group who sings to and prays with papients at the hospital. I read that it was one of the best hospitals in India. I think the people there are doing amazing work and caring for people who really need it, but it is still on the top 10 list of Places I Never Want to End Up.

It's always a little jarring to go from a bustling city to a place where there are so many sich and injured people, and this was no exception. We sang some songs and the students prayed in Tamil with the patients. Singing Amazing Grace in English, Tamil, and Hindi is an experience I won't soon forget.

That's all for now. Keep in touch.

oh, Thich!

When Thich Nhat Hanh and the monks and nuns of Plum Village travel, they always hang a banner that reads, "I Have Arrived, I Am Home" when they get to their destination. That is how I am trying to view living in India. Instead of camparing everything to how things work back home, I am trying to see this as my home, and eccepting things as they are. Where I live, they don't use forks. Where I live, it is a bijillion degrees every day. Where I live, I share my bedroom with tiny lizard friends. Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but thinking of this place as a true, if temporary, home, helps me really apprichiate being here even more.

I have settled into a basic schedule. I wake up, eat breakfast, and take a short bus ride to the senior school with some of the kids from the orphanage and nearby villages. I spend the morning at school doing different things. The principal may ask me to teach an english lesson on the fly or work with the Indian teachers. I feel a little bad because they heard I was a teacher and assumed that I would be able to teach chemistry and physics...not quite. After a couple of classes, I go back to the orphanage for lunch.

In the afternoons, I work at the lower school with the little ones. Since I am still new and strange, they all try very hard to get my attention. They are like little members of the papparizzi. They won't stop shouthing my name until I look at them and wave. I read to them and we play games until dinner. After dinner, I work with some of the older girls to help them pass a big test coming up that will determine if they can go on to higher education, like our SATs. They are also teaching me Tamil. It is a very difficuld language, but I am making some progress. It is apparently incredibly funny when I make a mistake! That is pretty much my typical day.

If you are in the mood to send me a letter (remember those?) you can send it to:
Cynthia Rogers/Volunteer
M.B.K.G. Pannai
Kasam-Kapadi
Vellore Dist. 632007
Tamil Nadu, SOUTH INDIA

...more later
-Cynthia

Here/Safe

"There comes a moment, a tip in time
when leaving home is the lesser crime.
When your eyes are bright with tears
But your heart can clearly see
another world, another galaxy"

-Paul Simon, Suprise

Hey Everyone! After 32 hours of traveling, I made it to Pannai yesterday morning. The trip was pretty uneventful and I am really glad to be here at last. The night before I left (during my Goodbye Forever party), I got some very good advice, including: Don't get into any co9vered trucks, don't get eaten by a bull shark, and don't die.

So far, I have managed to avoid all of these things. On the 3 hour Jeep ride to the orphanage, I saw lots of interesting buildings, temples, and people. I also saw many animals, including cats, dogs, a flock of ducks, cows, and monkeys. Who knew monkeys didn't just live in zoos?

Being here is like another world, but that's was I was hoping for. Yesterday I ate dinner off of a bannana leaf and took a "shower" out of a bucket. We (other volunteer Kerri and I) met with some of the teachers and talked about how we can help in the classrooms. I am really excited to start working in the school on Monday. I also learned part of a traditional Indian dance this afternoon.

I don't want to hog the computer, so I should go. Remember, if you want to send me an e-mail, please send it to cynthia.rogers@shschicago.org. I will not be checking my AOL account much. Thank you!

love, Cynthia

Some info

Hi everyone. This is the new online journal, because the old one wasn't working. So disregard any information I gave you about easy-journal.
I am leaving on Wed. evening to volunteer in South India for 6 weeks. If you'd like more information about where I will be living and working, you can visit http://www.mbkgpkasam.org/. I'd love to read your comments while I am gone, but please remember that my grandma and people from my grown-up job may be reading it. Thanks.