India Updates
Gappy
When we arrived at Shunem he didn’t have his two front teeth, and hadn’t had them when he arrived here in June either. His gums were super thick and we saw no evidence that new teeth were ever going to come in.
read moreHoney Bees
About a month ago we noticed a huge swarm of bees buzzing near our room. When we went investigate we saw a big hive connected to the vines snaking their way up the wall. We weren’t sure what kind of bees they were, so we figured we should tell someone. If they were some dangerous sort we wouldn’t want them attacking any children or old people.
read moreRajalaxshmi and Sailajah
The Best of Friends There are two little girls here named Rajalaxshmi and Sailajah. They are both so so sweet. When we first arrived at Shunem, Rajalaxshmi had only been here for a few weeks. She walked around all the time just crying or looking lost. You could have her sit down next to you and try to make her smile but she always just looked so so sad and would never say a word. Sailajah had only been at Shunem for a few days and had just gotten over Hepatitis B and was too weak to even walk around. When she got healthier she turned...
read moreOur Holiday, Part Two
Our arrival in Kerala was as perfectly not stressful as we could have wanted. We had never dealt with an Indian travel agency before, or really any kind of travel agency. However, Kerala Adventures was a great way to go. The company owner met us at the airport, introduced us to our driver, and handed us our hotel vouchers for the week. All we had to do was ride along and we would get anywhere we wanted to go.
read moreOur Holiday, Part One
We recently returned from our Indian holiday; our last trip out of Shunem until we return home. We flew from Hyderabad to Delhi, took a train to and from Agra, and then flew down to Kerala for a week. Our friend and fellow volunteer Abi was with us until we went to Kerala.
read moreAndrew and Pavi’s Wedding
We recently took another trip to Banglaore, though this one was just for fun. We met a lovely couple while we were there last time and they invited us to their wedding. Their names are Andrew and Pavitri, but she just goes by Pavi. Despite being three westerners taking on the Indian railway system, everything went just fine. We got to the Bangalore station at around 6am and walked to the flat. When we got in, Bruce Parker said that he had a message for me (Colton) from Linus. “Linus wants to know if you will help him with the ceremony. Here...
read moreDasarlapally
One of the most moving experiences we have had so far in India was our trip to the leper colony in Dasarlapally. Early one morning we took an hour car ride into the Indian countryside to a little village where a leper colony run by Christadelphians exists.
read moreRadhica
This is Radhica This is Radhica. She is 3 years old and is absolutely adorable. She loves being picked up, carried, and snuggled. Watching her run is difficult to describe, but is truly hilarious. Her heels kick up to her sides and she doesn’t stop until she runs into your knees. She doesn’t speak any English, but will sing Telugu poems and songs the entire time she is sitting with you. She loves stickers and melts into a puddle when she doesn’t get one after phonics class, and it’s quite hard to resist giving her one even...
read morePhonics
Phonics in India One of our main jobs at Shunem is working with the kids on their English reading skills. We recently introduced a new phonics program with the kids. The odd thing about learning to read in India is that it is all about memorization. In school the kids will simply repeat “c-a-t cat” until they memorize how to spell it. The kids who are particularly good at this can read fine, and the smarter ones even figure out some letter sounds. However, most kids have no idea what to do if they encounter a new word. The common...
read moreGolkonda Fort
Golkonda Fort, or How Many Pictures will Emily Have to Be in With Strangers? Golconda fort is explained perfectly by the following pictures. Words are hardly necessary, except perhaps to say that Coffee Day afterward was perfect. And that Emily posed for roughly 50 different pictures. This is a brief...
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