The Big Surprise

I'm glad to be back in Chennai, which is becoming more like a second home with the frequency of my visits.

There was no drama or stress related to my flight getting to India this time around. I didn't even mind the 20 some hours of flight; I was able to sleep, read (I put a small dent into Shantaram), and catch up on some new releases. My flight path was Mpls to Chicago to London to Chennai. I left Mpls at 2Pm on Thursday the 15th and arrived in Chennai at 1AM on Saturday the 17th.

I met Stephen (the leader of the India Global Volunteers program) at the airport. I had seen Stephen just the week before when he was in town for his annual training; it was great to see him nonetheless. We connected with another volunteer, Chris from Atlanta who will volunteering here for the next 8 weeks!

With the jet leg effect, I was wide awake and ready to go after four hours of sleep. I started the morning off visiting with my aunt, Joelle, who had came to India earlier this week. Joelle is the one who introduced me to Global Volunteers and it's great to be back in India with her a second time. It's easy to see that she's loving everyone moment of her experience here.

They roads are all torn up outside the guesthouse due to some sort of construction, which made the morning run difficult for footing. I dragged the two young volunteers with me, and we were off. We ran to SEAM (one of the orphanages) to say "hi" to the kids. They were so excited to see us and were quick to quiz me on their names. I loved that they remembered me and they loved I was back. We couldn't stay long as we needed to be back in time for breakfast.

Breakfast was one of my favorites; eggs with noodles and, of course, Indian coffee. It was fun to reunite with Sheeba and Roshan, Stephen's wife and three-year-old son.

Today was the day of the big surprise. The leaders of the orphanage, Sister Rose and Sister Matilda and the children didn't know that I was coming. They had been asking Joelle about me and she'd reply, "Katie's really busy and wishes she could come. She sends her love." Little Stephen (Stephen's brother) brought us to Assisi and parked down the street. Joelle, Sheebha, Roshan and Will walked in first and I made my grand entrance about five minutes later. Will caught it on video. http://youtu.be/8mwP_4hG3XE

Immediately as I entered the gate, one girl started shouting my name and the other kids came running. Sister Rose came out and she was thinking, the kids must think it is someone who looks like Katie, it couldn't be Katie. She she saw me she gave me a big hug and a friendly slap on the face. George climbed up on me right away and the kids crowded. I felt like a celebrity!

Sister Matilda, Jasmine, Sophia and Silvia were at the hospital, so we did a second surprise when they arrived. The second surprise was fun as well, all the kids were so excited to be able to help in the surprise. Jasmine knew exactly who I was and quick to latch on, which I loved. We played games and sang songs. My favorite was Skidamarink a dink a dink, I love you. She'd end the song by giving me a great big hug. Truly priceless. The kids took us to the rooftop where their laundry was hanging on the line. We had so much fun playing with the laundry on the rooftop. It really doesn't take much to have a good time with these children. Joelle led a water painting activity and I was impressed with their focus and attention span. Without any hesitation, the children happily gave us all of their artwork. Joelle's going to make art into boxes and return it with a treat.

I was exhausted and took a long enough nap not to know if I woke up on the same or next day. Turns out it was just three hours, I was up in time for dinner.

I forgot my camera cord at home, so until I find a different solution, you'll have to use your imagination until I'm able to insert photos.