Our task at Assisi was to decorate for Christmas. We created an assembly line of sorts for the children to paint a Christmas tree, holly, flowers and bulbs. The kids stayed focused on this task for well over an hour. We even had Sister Rose and Sister Matilda helping out too.
We had the treat of having the first graders with us for the afternoon. They had been busy taking exams all week long. They arrived just before lunch and went about their routine of putting their bags away, changing out of their uniform and washing up for lunch. All attention was the Indian soap opera that runs from 1-2PM. There is no point in striking up a conversation with the Sisters or the kids during this show; all eyes are on the TV where it seems that the same thing happens every episode where some Indian girl starts crying.
The afternoon at Assisi was spent rehearsing a dance to the Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are song along with dancing to a few other tunes. These kids sure have great moves.
We continued our personal hygiene project focusing on brushing teeth and washing themselves today. After their chores were done the kids linked up in a row with their toothbrush in hand. I distributed toothpaste on each kids brush and did a demonstration on how to brush your teeth. We brushed for the duration of 3 ABC’s (which I have to admit is way longer than I brush back home). Some kids had troubles keeping the paste from overflowing out of their mouth. Next was the washing demonstration led by Will, the 17-year-old volunteer who has showered only once since he arrived on Saturday. The kids were eager to follow suit, with some washing themselves three times over. ocusing on brushing teeth and washing themselves today. We wonder how effective it is because once they are done washing, they go out and play in the dirt courtyard.
Our last activity at SEAM was a special project that Joelle coordinated with her art students back in Minnesota. She had her students create a culture box of things that represented MN to share with the kids at SEAM, items included a hockey puck, teen magazine, baseball bat, a completed homework assignment, and pictures of snow. Each kid also received a letter written by the students with a picture enclosed. It was fun to see the children’s reactions to the individual letters. The older boys loved getting pictures of the attractive teens. Some kids received additional goodies including stickers and the prized possession of a $5 bill. We helped the younger kids read their letters; it was fun to share in their excitement.
Next was dinner at Stephen’s parent’s house, which is about 30 minutes away from where we are staying. The intention was for us to take auto rickshaws back to the guesthouse from SEAM to freshen up before heading out to dinner. When Will and Chris were missing at the guest house Stephen called their driver to find that he thought Stephen meant for him to drive them to his parents house and not the guest house. I can only imagine the concern that Chris and Will had when the 5 minute drive turned into a 30 minute one. I’m sure they were put at ease when they were greeted by Stephen’s mom and her beautiful smile.
We agreed that dinner at Stephen’s parents was our best meal yet. Chicken briryani, rita, aloomaddar, abbalam, vada, complete with rice pudding. Since it’s the holiday’s Stephen’s sister and her family where in town on their annual visit. We were also able to meet Little
Stephen’s (Stephen's young brother who is also our driver) 10-month-old daughter Jaclyn. After our meal, we took a tour of the neighborhood to pay a visit to Stephen’s relatives who live nearby. We visited Little Stephen, Roni (our cook), along and Stephen’s aunt and uncle. Stephen’s cousin was home with her youngest child, a 3-month-old baby, Ginny had the opportunity to attend this cousin’s wedding when she was here four years ago on her first Global Volunteers trip. Ginny was quick to hold the baby and was busy signing her songs until she realized that the baby wasn’t wearing a diaper or anything on her bottom for that matter. Ginny quickly said, “Take it back” and her grandmother quickly took the baby and put some sort of covering over the child’s bottom before returning her back to Ginny. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the guesthouse and called it a good day.
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