henna hills

This is a view from the top of our house. It is very peaceful.






It's hard to believe that we have been here almost 20 days now. But even in that short time I have managed to feel more and more at ease here. Rhythms have always been important to me, and I feel as though I have begun to develop a rhythm here, though it requires I move more slowly than I am used to
















We had been teaching english classes on mondays wednesdays and fridays. Since that time, the school has found a suitable and certified teacher for the children. So we teach art classes and do storytelling instead. The art classes are fantastic and such a treat for the children. The story telling is often a delight. We will soon run out of books though, and I am unsure what to do at that point. We must draw from the school's library, and it has a very limited number of books.





The children also lack art supplies. It is uncommon even for government schools to provide art classes, and many private schools like Matilda have popped up (especially in metropolitan centers like mumbai and new delhi).


Several days this week and last were spent celebrating teacher's day and children's day. This was fun and the children really enjoyed it. I took a lot of pictures. A couple of days were given over to relays and games. There were more treats than usual, and Julia and I performed a song(I played my harmonica). We were unsure of what to do, but decided on Swing Low Sweet Chariot. The teachers even played games. Musical chairs, tug of war, badmitton, volleyball. Very fun.

We have made a very good start to our interviews. There will be lots of transcribing to do. I look forward to the work. I am often moved by the stories which Das and Doris, founder of the Matilda schools tell us. I think that it is good that others will know their story as well.

We ask that you continue to pray for us.

how did i get a mosqito bite there?

hey all, julia here...

so india. i know nothing about this place, its hard to think of things to say about it. and the fact that i am so foreign is pleasantly reasonable here (as opposed to feeling foreign in your own country).

currently andrea and i are teaching at matilda high school monday, wednesday, and friday. we were filling in for the absence of an english teacher, but they just hired one this week. we'll see if he works out or not, i've already been informed by my students that they like me better. but i have to say my favorite subject is rollerskating. that's right folks, i am teaching fourteen and fifteen year old indian kids (mostly the boys, the girls lack interest) how to rollerskate. this is not something i imagined myself doing before coming here, but hey, ya roll with it in this kinda world.

the rest of the week we are supposed to be hard at work on the writing project, but this takes much self motivation so we are a bit slow on that front. we have been interviewing das and doris maddimadugu on tuesdays and thursdays, and eating dinner with them on wednesdays and perhaps saturdays. everyone makes a big fuss over us, its quite embarrassing. we just got the internet hooked up to our computer here so now here is this distraction...

our house is really nice. besides all the bugs, upon whom we have waged a tiny war. (it is my personal vendetta to kill as many fire ants as possible, if there are fewer ants left in india when we go home i do not think we will have left the ecosystem unbalanced in the least.) but our house is really nice, it is a sort of periwinkle blue and the doors are all creamy yellow. the light comes in with the sunrise and it is really beautiful the way the colors all change. we have a nice floor with a mosaics both in the middle of our main room and by each door. and we have a sweet little fridge and ceiling fans in both rooms, for which i am extremely grateful.

but my favorite part are the pigs. there are several little families of pigs living around here, and they come and go as they please, scavenging. andrea thinks i am weird, but i really love throwing our food scraps out and seeing the pigs come trottingg over. and the littlest ones scoot along trying to keep up, they are so small and cute all squealing and oinking and their ears flap when they run. sometimes i forget that i like pigs, then some live in the bushes behind my house and i'm all like, oh yeah... i like those things.

the worst part is having to pee in the middle of the night. and i am pretty sure that's how i got a mosquito bite where i least expected it. ahem. but there really is no need to put it delicately here, everyone is extremely comfortable with their bodily movements. there is no need to hide it or try to make it into something its not. people are just really plain and frank about pee and poop. and that's that.

Andrea says hi.