Day 4: Lebenshilfe and Fishers

THIS DAY WAS AMAZING (and crazy). I woke up today not really knowing that we had any exciting plans. But I guess I should just wake up every day expecting something to happen. Because this is India… and we live with a whole team of people that want us to experience all it has to offer. So when I got up this morning as usual I had planned to spend the day with the girls, going to the tailor to get our saris put together and going to get a rocket stick set up for Wifi on my computer. At first the day went as planned. When Rajya Lakshmi got here at 9:30 she took us to set up our Internet. This worked out well we thought because we ended up getting unlimited Internet for 800 rupees/month (about 13 American dollars)!

Now for the awesome unexpected things that came up:

#1. We went to this amazing school called Lebenshilfe for children with disabilities (and there are a few adults as well)! It’s run this woman named Saraswati Devi Tallapragada. She started this school in Vishakhapatnam over thirty years ago… it used to be just a little hut but now it is a school for over 400 children. She is an inspiration. Its amazing to me that by being okay with doing something that might seem small at the moment (in comparison to your dreams) can eventually lead to much greater things. We were given a tour around the school because this is where BYU’s Public Health study abroad internship is going to be (most likely). The professors we were with are setting up some way to cooperate with the efforts of this school and its programs. While we were walking around I met this beautiful little girl. She grabbed my hand and we sat together. I couldn’t understand her and she couldn’t understand me but we could smile at each other and play little hand games. I realized that kids are so amazing! They are so open and so uninhibited. This is where the rest of the girls and I are planning on volunteering most of the time. And I feel that Saraswati Devi probably has some great suggestions about what we can do.

(I have an adorable picture of the little girl who followed us around--- ill upload it asap)

Here is the web page for the school: http://www.lebenshilfeindia.org/

#2. Tonight we went to the Jalari village that my anthro professor does most of his research on. We went for a celebration/ritual sacrifice they were having. I can’t say I enjoyed the sacrifice part but the anthropologist in me couldn’t help but be fascinated by how much these people thrive on their shared beliefs.

Last thing I want to mention: I noticed today just how free people are with each other. Some things about life just make way more sense here. Strangers speak to each other as if they have known each other for years. They are bold and straightforward. They are also very, very patient. We spent about 45 minutes at the tailors, slowly picking fabrics. We spent nearly 2 hours with a guy who tried to help us set up our Wifi (though it was clear that he had no idea what he was doing). People walk slowly here, they work slowly, they don’t stick to time as closely… It’s a nice kind of life. They  work six days a week yet they seem to value not having to work extremely hard. Of course they work hard when it is necessary because they are far from lazy—but they also know how to enjoy the process of working.

Today I was reminded of why I am here. I want to understand everything as much as possible. And since it isn’t possible to know everything then I will keep finding things every day that leave me in awe. 

On another note, sadly my computer charger kicked the bucket today. Big bummer because I don't know that there are Mac stores in India. :(

Stéfanie