Elephants, Dogs & Ice Cream

Hey, it's Sam and Natalie, here to provide yet another installment of our adventures in India. We woke up extra early this morning to take a bus ride to see, feed and ride an elephant named Durga. Apparently, Durga is named after a god of destruction, but he seemed more hungry than destructive. We fed him bananas, slices of bread, and hardened balls of molasses, all of which were gobbled up eagerly. Everyone had a chance to to ride Durga, including some of our more uncoordinated members. Fortunately, Durga was patient enough to pose for numerous photos with each of us, all of which screamed Facebook.

As we drove off, we were asked if we would like to meet a dog breeder. Although our group was slightly ambivalent to the idea, everyone warmed up quickly to the cute puppies that we met at the very well kept facility. One in particular struck a chord with us--a yellow Lab-like creature with eyes occupying most of her face and a tail in constant motion. Daisy liked her too, and they are picking her up to bring her home the day after tomorrow! We are particularly excited for her arrival A) because she is adorable and B) because it will make the day of our house manager, Lal. Lal is a Nepalese fellow who is short and adorned with a sweet moustache. He spoils us by doing our laundry, playing Karim (Indian pool) with us, making us incredible tea and just playing our parent in general (and also on occassion joking older brother). We all adore him and are so happy to give him this puppy; he will have a blast training her. We named her Rosie for the City of Roses, because we bought her when a Bridges trip was at Daisy's house.

Puppy purchased, we moved on to our own little ice cream odyssey. We first drove to the ice cream parlor, which was actually not the right parlor. So we drove further, our exhausted bodies craving some kind of food. We ended up at a store/restaurant/ice cream place, where we experienced the best ice cream I've ever had in India.

Afterwards, we finished up some shopping and headed home for a late lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening helping out with the construction of the Women's Vocational Center. As the sun started to set and rain began to pour, some of us went out to play cricket with the kids in the neighborhood. Interacting with them is half the fun in this experience, and it's hard to avoid being swarmed by them the second we step out the door. As I write this, Quinn is in the opposite room reading stories to some of the children who come to Hope Charities for after-school tutoring. When we first got up to the library, they were all crowding around us trying to teach us Mallayalam words and phrases and their dances, none of which we can do very well but we try our best. It's enough to do that and see the looks on their faces when our awkward American tongues manage to say "Ende para Natalie" or "Ende para Sam" (My name is...).

No matter where we are or what we're doing, adventures seem to find us. In the smallest moments or largest events, we find things to learn and enjoy in the people here and each other. There's disappointments, like starting to sweat as soon as we get out of the shower, but there's the successes too, such as finishing plastering a wall in the Vocational Center. Today has been no different.

PS Notes from Natalie
Mom, Dad, Allie, and any other family reading this..... I love you guys so much and miss you a TON!!! Please can we go to Thai Basil when I get home? :) So excited to see you when I get back, although I'm having an amazing time and am so thankful. Mom in particular, you helped me pack well. I haven't been sick at ALL literally AT ALL and I've been very comfortable. (Sam wants to tell you I'm resilient, surprisingly).