New Friends

From Dana

Don Bosco Secondary School, Kerala

Hello it's Ellie and Larissa,

Today was a quieter one of our days here in Kerala. Those who wanted to partake in the yoga session with Mrs. Laly woke up at 6:45, the rest woke up at their usual time. We had our breakfast and headed out the door around 9:00 to the Don Bosco School of 2000+ students (Mr. Palma apparently really enjoys the name "Don Bosco").

We were greeted like celebrities (it's becoming a usual--as it has occured with the other schools as well). We were paired up in groups of 2 and 3 to sit in on one class at the school (we decided that our first experience with a full day at school was too overwhelming). They drilled us with many questions as usual, and then we assembled in a large room-our Bridges to India group on a platform overlooking the audience of junior and senior students for a Q and A discussion. We decided to have two sessions with each class. At first it was hard to get questions out of them. We knew that they were dying to ask us many questions, but they were too shy. Finally some spoke up.

The questions that came out were very interesting: They asked about Nursing homes--for them, putting a parent in a nursing home is disrespectful and looks like we don't care about them. They also asked about boy/girl relationships, a lot about the differences in our education systems, family relationships (like with our parents and siblings) as well as the war in Afghanistan. Dana, Kaytee and Ellie figured that they would probably be singing in every gathering we had. "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Let It Be" are becoming favorites among the Indians here.

After the Don Bosco School, we piled into our rickshaws and ate sandwiches on the way. We headed off to shop around town. Some boys bought more lungis (male skirts) and shirts, and we also found a small store that sold spices and local candies (we went crazy over the chocolate!). When we came back outside, we were greated with terrential downpouring, so we decided to go home early. Trying to do anything in this rain is basically impossible. On the way home we had some rickshaw troubles--we got a little split up. Susie and Mr. Palma's rickshaws got left behind Daisy's. But they were able to find their way back home--many noted it was just another adventure in India.

The rest of the day was down time, and we came home to fried onions and cauliflower (almost like tempura). For dinner tonight, Daisy surprised us with Hamburgers. Hunter joked saying they were water buffalo burgers. The hamburgers were....less than conventional. Very Indian style. it was like a deep fried hamburger with an Indian twist. Annie, Larissa, Dana and Susie checked out the sewing center and saw the handbags that they are hand embroidering to sell and make a profit to supplement their home income. Annie made two friends while exploring the backroads around the house--visiting homes along the way. As they walked, a caravan of children seemed to grow larger and larger as time went on. The boys informed Annie that her name means "ladder" in Malyalam, giggling. And, for a while, we were wondering why people laughed at Kaytee's name...apparently it means "naughty one". No Wonder. Well, that's all for now, wish us luck on our first day of building the Women's Vocational Center!

P.S: Thank you for your continued commentary on our blog! Susie reads them to us every night before we go to bed, it's one of the most exciting parts of our day! Keep Posting!
Dad and Lucie, I love you! And Zoe and Ellie, we appreciate you checking up on our blog. Miss you so much! Love, Ellie and Larissa.