Ni Peru?

We’re back! After twenty or so hours of sitting in airports and on planes, we are back at the Shunem Home. When we arrived at 3:30 in the morning, it was already a balmy 102 degrees outside. Since then it has been a pretty vicious cycle of 105-115 degrees from morning to night. Needless to say, the sweat flows like wine. On a more delicious note, it is also mango season. Neither of us really enjoy mangoes at home, but we were excited to see what all the hype was about. It turns out good mangoes are good. We’ve eaten about 15 or so this week.

The Shunem Kids have been on summer holiday the past month, and this week has been good for adjusting to the heat, time, and culture as the kids slowly return. There are about 10 new names to learn from just new staff members and their families alone. We are also looking forward to meeting the new admissions which should be arriving within the week.

Here are a couple new friends. They are brother and sister. The boy is either Prasar, Prasat, or Prasan. The girl is either Tunusi or Tulusi or Tenusi. No one seems to know. “Ni peru?” is Telugu for “what is your name?” When asked, they will respond with an affirmative Indian head wobble to any of the aforementioned options. She rarely sits still long enough for photos.

The two of them love following us around and can usually be found with their faces pressed up against the screen of our window looking for us. Prasar, Prasat, or Prasan has perfect cheeks for kisses, and Tunusi, Tulusi, or Tenusi scrunches up her nose when she smiles or laughs and is just adorable.