Friday, February 27, 2015

Our Final Farewells

It was officially our last day at PRS. Because of that, Montana decided to wear her sari to school. Sheeba put it on that morning. She got several comments on it at school from both kids and teachers. They were probably shocked to see a white person wearing a sari. Montana almost tripped over herself a few times trying to go up and down the stairs. She finally figured out that to go upstairs, she should pull the bottom of the sari up and to go down kick the bottom up before taking the step. How do teachers do this everyday!!!!!!

We did the normal routine of Simon says, Charades, hangman, songs, etc. This time however, 1/3 of the class time was spent showing the video of the classes singing songs (see yesterdays post to watch the video). The kids loved seeing themselves and even when it wasn't their class dancing, they were getting into the song by shaking their head, turning in circles and jumping up and down. The teachers also enjoyed watching the video. Standard 3 was crazy. We had kids pushing and shoving to watch the videos, but not only that. It was a girls birthday today and she was handing out candy, so kids were pushing and shoving for that too. Plus the teacher left when we got there.

During our 10 minute break we went to the front office/computer room to rest. A worker, who didn't speak any English gave us something we didn't know what it was. There was a shrine right next to us, so we didn't know whether it was for the shrine or what. We kept asking if we were suppose to eat it, but she just did the Indian head wag. We decided to eat it anyways. Lets hope we didn't eat anything sacred.

After the classes, Esther, the school principal, wanted to see us. She gave us a thank you letter saying how much of a help we were and then took a picture of us for herself. Brother Stephen picked us up from PRS and took us back to the guest house.

We were surprised to see banana leaves sitting on the table. It was another truly Indian style lunch. As we sat on the couch waiting for the food Roshan served us appetizers of banana chips and spicy cauliflower. We were served a typical Indian lunch, which we both ate all of it with just our fingers. The meal ended with an American style dessert. Can you guess what it was?

The afternoon, before SEAM, was, once again spent packing as much as we could and getting what we could get done on pictures and journals.

At SEAM, instead of doing crafts, the girls invited us to play a game of compass. Compass was pretty much an Indian version of pool. There was a board with a compass on it, obviously, then there was one big chip, and several smaller ones colored black and white, then one purple one. There were four sides and two teams. The object was to get all of your color (black or white) into one of the four holes in the corners. The last one of your chip is suppose to go in the hole with the purple one otherwise the other team wins.





Since it was Montana and LuRues last day, the SEAM boys did a dance for us and we gave out candy to all the kids. The bindi man followed us home again and joined us with a Domino pizza. Since he is studying software, Sheeba wanted us to show the India part of the detective video to him. Never did we ever dream someone we hardly met would be watching our terrible acting skills.

 Tomorrow, we get to wake up at 2am to catch a 6am flight. Yay, early mornings! Might as well just stay up all night!





Thursday, February 26, 2015

India Still Surprises!

Montana and LuRue headed off for PRS Matriculation School this morning, wondering how the filming would go. The kids were quite cooperative as it turns out. Some of them were very excited, but got back into a sort-of circle without too much nudging. The filming went well, with Montana using the flexible legged-tripod wrapped around the metal design that covers each window. No one could ask for more enthusiastic students!

See Montana's latest production!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpGPxrDmwys

On the way back to the guest house, brother Stephen was driving on a one-way street, preparing to turn right onto a semi-main street. Just then a car turned into the lane. No problem...Stephen just reversed a bit and pulled a bit more to the left (British-style driving here). He reached out his window & flipped his side-view mirror toward him & pulled alongside the other car. The other driver didn't look very happy & LuRue did hear some minor scraping, but it didn't sound like metal on metal--perhaps just plastic on plastic. The left-hand side view mirror just barely cleared the wall & pipes it encountered, but no contact there. Once at the main street, a right-hand turn put us into the oncoming traffic lane, but brother Stephen remained far to the right...next to the parked motorbikes. He did have to stop once for a couple of men standing by their parked car, but they politely moved out of the way, allowing us to pass & continue. After a couple of blocks, we arrived at a break in the concrete lane dividers, a sign that it was time to cross over to find an opening to blend into the correct lane. We've learned that oncoming cars are worth waiting for...when a group of motorbikes or even auto rickshaws are approaching, it is time to pull out and make them slow down or even stop. Bicycles don't even count (unless you are walking...then they win.) We are getting the hang of how to drive here. We can now predict when our car will probably pull out into traffic. Almost all city driving is done in second gear with frequent jabs at the brakes. And of course, lots of horns honking.

After lunch, Montana put together the movie to show the kids tomorrow. LuRue sorted through paperwork and crafts in preparation for getting ready to leave. We plan to be completely packed tomorrow afternoon before we leave for our final visit to SEAM. Hopefully we'll be able to get to sleep earlier than usual, as we'll need to leave at 4:00am Saturday morning.

At 5:15 we left for Roshan's school to attend the annual event of recognizing academic achievement and to celebrate their school. To say we were blown away would be an understatement! As Montana said, there is no way to describe through pictures or words what it was like. She said that besides the Taylor Swift concert, it was the biggest production she'd ever been to. There were two jumbotrons (modest, but substantial) so that the back half of the seating for 2000 attendees could see what was happening in the front. The school has 2,500 students, so it was necessary to have an invitation to attend. Besides the searchlights (after it became dark), there was a professional sound system putting out concert decibels as well as other professional equipment, such as a long camera boom. The school is currently L-shaped, with another wing being built that will complete a "U". Everything took place in the open courtyard of the "U".

The program began with the usual dignitaries and several achievement awards, but then dozens of students made announcements, each with their own mics and without notes. The colorful part began with an exotic dance by older girls with eye-popping costumes. It looked quite professional. Stephen & Sheeba said that it is called the "bharathanatyam" dance. (A Google search shows pictures of poses these girls didn't manage, but still...)


Other acts came on, with the kids wearing individual mics so that all the words could be heard. From Cock Robin by the littlest ones to Robin Hood to other acts, the choreography was quite complex and lengthy. Roshan (in Standard 2) was a fisherman in one act, but his parents couldn't spot him until he came on for the finale for his section.

There were some video sections (on the screen behind the girls) referring to philanthropy, to terrorism, to all kinds of messages about conservation of resources. These kids are getting exposed to the world in ways that US kids don't seem to get. India tends to be thought of as the location of call centers. It is so much more than that!

Had to try to describe the "indescribable"...LuRue thought India couldn't surprise her anymore, but she was wrong!

The school is a Catholic private school (though not limited to Catholic students) which is extremely difficult to get into. There are hundreds of applications for every available spot. Stephen and Sheeba have been extremely active with another children's home (Catholic) besides SEAM, so they received some recommendations from the nuns at the home. They feel very fortunate to have their son receiving such a good education. Every subject is taught by Anglo-Indians (whatever that means) and is taught entirely in English. It is probably safe to say that future Indian leaders are attending this school.



Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The Craziness Does NOT Close at Christ King

Here is LuRue's Hennaed hand before and after:
Today right after breakfast and journal sharing, where more than half of them had already read the journal, we went to PRS. The kids were happy to see us again. We did a mixture of Charades, Simon says, songs (lots of those), hangman, and I spy in both 2nd and 3rd Standard. This kids were a little too wild today for some reason especially in Standard 3, but LuRue was able to keep them some what under control with her deadly stare and fatal Vulcan pinch. Standard 1, we had to do a bit differently, because they don't understand as much as Standard 2 and 3. So, instead of hangman we did word cards and instead of Simon says, we did commands. We still had them do the charades with simpler commands, and the same songs.

We were picked up from PRS at around 12 and taken back to the guest house. The afternoon was spent filling out paper work for Global Volunteers and organizing to get ready for packing.

At SEAM, we did more flower making with the girls. They are catching on pretty quick to that. The young boys drew pictures. Once of them stayed the whole time with us, because he didn't want to go do his studying. He was telling LuRue about what his picture meant. It was about a bunch of cops trying to find a thief or something. Every time Sheeba tried to get him to go study, he added to the story.

Montana and LuRue took Sheeba, Stephen and Roshan out to dinner to their usual restaurant as a thank you. Since Montana and LuRue had no idea what anything was, Stephen ordered the meal. It was spicy versions of chicken and cauliflower, then there was a side of bread. The getting there and getting back was quite an adventure too. There were cars and motorbikes passing literally inches away from you. Out of the times they have had to cross the main road, that was definitely the one that had them on their toes the most. What a nice relaxing way to end the day!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Goodbye to Standards 4 and 5

Simon Says in Standard 5
This morning we said our goodbyes to Standards 4 and 5 at Christ King School. The highlight of each class was showing the movie that Montana had put together on Green Eggs and Ham. The words aren't as clear as the previous "movies", but given the circumstances...too many days between our visits, our forgetting the pages of words as well as most of the students not having the words, either...we thought it came out pretty well. Of course, the kids loved it & huddled around, several deep to watch it over and over. Montana's inset additions added a lot of interest.

Here is the URL to watch "Green Eggs and Ham":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NAkWi1gf8

Simon Says in Standard 4
If we had stayed any longer, we would have had to come up with some new material. All the kids were able to anticipate all the activities so that the games were becoming a little stale. The children gave us pictures that they had made and the principal gave us each a very nice letter of thanks.

Our final three days will be at the newer school and the kids are younger, so they are still a bit hesitant to participate, making them easier to handle.

Jeff returned for lunch. He called as Stephen and Sheeba were picking us up at Christ King School. He was finally back in Chennai. His 3:00am wake-up call at the hotel in Thanjavur never came as the desk clerk was asleep on a sofa in the reception area. Fortunately Jeff had set his phone alarm as well. Then the auto rickshaw didn't come to take him to the train station, so he ended up riding on the motorbike of the assistant to the auto rickshaw place. After he was on the train, he discovered that he was going the wrong direction, so got off at the next train station, then finally got on the right train, arriving in Chennai only an hour late. He should still be able to make his flight out of Chennai this afternoon, if all else goes well.

We knew we were getting low on digital storage space; Stephen offered to get more for us. He was back within minutes with 3 more flash drives--2 for Montana; one for LuRue. We are learning that movies and loads of photos take up a lot of space.

Montana and LuRue walked to the ATM next to SEAM for another withdrawal of cash. We have invited Stephen, Sheeba, and Roshan to dinner. Looks like tomorrow night will be the only night that will work.











At SEAM tonight, the electricity was not on, so we went to the roof terrace to do crafts. Surprisingly, it stayed light longer than we expected. Swathi hennaed LuRue's hand...a completely different design from Montana's. She does each one freehand and as an original design.


A young man walked home with us and stayed for dinner. Sheeba told us his story after he left. He ran away from an abusive home when he was 8. When he was 12, his mother brought him to SEAM, where he lived while he finished high school. Global Volunteers helped him through college & he has just received a degree in software engineering. He comes to SEAM when he can, in order to interact with the children. Stephen & Sheeba are like family to him,


Thirteen days' worth of bindis - gift from Sheeba
Even before LuRue knew his story, she was grateful to him. He always had a big smile on his face and kept laughing at the bindi she wore today.Finally the truth came out...the bindis are meant to be worn one each day,,,not all at once! Stephen & Sheeba were just too nice to say anything. Now LuRue and Montana understand all the wide-eyed looks and comments she received from the students today,

Correct method

As worn by LuRue...professional dancer style


Monday, February 23, 2015

Green Eggs and Blood


It’s the beginning of our last week here. We set the alarm to 8, hoping that we might get a few more minutes of sleep, but our brains, being so used to waking up at 7:45, woke us up anyways. Breakfast was a little late, because Rani was locked out until we decided to check out what the banging on the door was. It didn't matter so much today, because we were going to Christ King, which we don't leave to until 10:15 anyways, so we had lots of time to spare.

Today was quite hectic for the first class...Standard 5. We spent the first half of the class trying to record "Green Eggs and Ham". (Video will hopefully be viewable tomorrow.) The girls were listening quite well and doing their lines. The boys were a different story, especially since the teacher wasn't in the room for more than half of the time. They would not listen to anything that was said. Finally, LuRue shouted, "Simon says, 'stand up'. Simon says, 'sit down', Simon says, 'be quiet." So that got their attention. We get the shots needed although it's not the best video. Actor cooperation is a very important part, that we did not get today. Standard 4 was much more cooperative, but the teacher was there the whole class, so who knows what they'd be like without the teacher.

The rest of the classes were spent doing anything we could think of including songs, charades, mystery box, and hangman. Today made us realize how glad we were tomorrow is our last day at Christ King.








LuRue spent the afternoon napping, which was probably a good idea, because unknowingly, they would be staying up the latest yet trying to get stuff done. Montana spent the afternoon editing "Green Eggs and Ham".

At four, Sheeba took us to a shop that's just across the road, down an ally, up a path, across another road and hiding behind some branches to get some new crafts for SEAM tonight. We went to the tailor to get LuRue's new Churidar, then off to SEAM. We got to SEAM earlier than usual, so the kids were just finishing up their chores when we got there.

Tonight, it was organized so that two boys would do crafts with us for a half an hour, then they would leave and we would get new boys to work with. Senthil, one of the first boys we worked with started drawing. We were shocked to see a beautifully drawn Dora the Explorer, just based on sight. He is a true artist.

We had to leave early from SEAM to go to the movie Yennai Arindhall (Understanding Myself) at a movie theatre that was in the Chandra Metro Mall. That was a culture shock in itself. First of all, we had to go through security to even get into the mall, then we went up a few flights of escalators to get to the theatre. Sheeba seemed very concerned about us using the escalators, probably because it's not very common around India. We had to go through another security gate to get to the theatre.

When we finally got into the theatre, it was not at all what we expected. It was gigantic with comfortable reclining chairs (reserved seating!) and speakers all over the place. Much more fancy than even an American movie theatre. There were no "turn your cellphone off" notices before the movie started, but surprisingly, not many people around us were on their phones. Just one guy, before the movie started, was playing Bejeweled, but he put his away when the movie started.

A few guys sitting next to us started shouting and cheering when the movie started. Apparently this movie is a big deal, it would be even bigger than a Chuck Noris film coming out in the US. The movie was a big shoot 'em up type film, which was shocking, because there were little kids there. We understood some words that were spoken, but only the ones spoken in English. LuRue understood what was going on, but only because Sheeba had told them the plot before hand. Montana didn't have a clue what was going on, but usually in shoot 'em up movies that doesn't matter anyways. There was a 20-minute intermission so that people could go back to the concession stand. We got back to guest house close to 11. A nice ending to a long day.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Takes, Retakes, and More Retakes

Such a luxury to sleep in this morning as neither of us came to until about 8:15. We did make it downstairs to breakfast before Stephen, Sheeba & Roshan left for church and lunch with Stephen's parents.


Montana had the morning pretty well planned-out, her red- & green-highlighted "shot script" detailing what she needed in order to fill in the gaps for the spy movie. As one of the actors conscripted for the project, LuRue was whining a bit about the lack of an actual script...as in--what words to say. Seems that a camera person knows just what she wants as far as angles, fade-ins and outs, and special effects, but is not inclined to think about what the actors are actually supposed to say. That is supposed to just happen. And "happen" it did, as the 'actors' stuttered, misspoke, or broke up laughing in all the wrong places while filming the needed scenes to maintain some sort of continuity to the suspenseful story.

After lunch, Rani left, leaving the house key for us. We walked almost to SEAM in order to stalk some unsuspecting woman, who is unknowingly playing the evil flower vendor. As we were trying to get another scene of Montana walking by a cow lying in a mud puddle, a "helpful" man came over, snapping his fingers at the cow so that the cow would look at the camera. We thanked him & left. We did find another cow, but not sure what will work for the movie. The "editor" is working on that in the "cutting room" as this is being written.

On the way, we met a teacher who warned us about the heat; Stephen and family were back at the house when we returned. He also warned us about the heat. We wonder what it must be like later if this is just the beginning of summer. Apparently it can get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Internet, it is only 88 degrees F today, with 43% humidity. Our AC'd room is 76 degrees F, so of course LuRue has on her jacket.

Before returning to the guest house, though, we went to the small grocery store around the corner on the busy street. The friendly door man was on duty with a smile & seemed a bit surprised when we went past to go to the ATM a couple of doors down, but was there to open the door for us when we went in for some treats. We got ice cream bars for everyone, hoping they wouldn't melt before we got them back to the house.

Montana continued to work the rest of the day on editing and fine-tuning the India portion of the movie. LuRue took the opportunity to write a review of Shadows of Africa for TripAdvisor, along with a couple of other websites, as requested by the company (she had already planned to write a rave review for TripAdvisor).

At dinner, Montana was able to show the completed India portion of the movie. Stephen and Sheeba finally got their questions answered as to all the strange comings and goings of Montana and LuRue. They seemed to enjoy it (in spite of some pretty corny material!)




Saturday, February 21, 2015

A Trip to the Past

Today was spent at a place called Dakshinachitra. It is a place where several different types of houses of older tribes are. We were told by Jeff that the puppet shows were great there, but for some reason, the shadow puppets were not playing today, sadly.

We were led around by a tour guide through the Kerala area.  Our tour guide's wife was from this area. They would have a hole in their roof for when it rains, they could wash clothes, clean dishes, etc. There was also a room for people to get massages. These were only in rich peoples houses though. The normal people weren't that lucky.

As we were walking to the Tamil Nadu area, which our tour guide was from, we got to see a performance take place. There were a few people in the back playing drums, then two people up front doing some sort of dance on stilts.


Then we went to Tamil Nadu, which is the area our tour guide was from. These people also had a hole in their roof, but that was used for cooking not washing. Most people had to walk from place to place, but the rich were lucky and got to own a carriage. We went to different houses including the weavers and the potters houses. At the potter's house, a man was spinning some sort of vase, so we got to see a vase in the process. In the weaver's house, there were old fashion looms. Under the loom was a hole, which we assume is where the weaver sat.





We stopped at a restaurant before seeing the last 4 houses of the Karnataka and Andhra tribes. For lunch, we ordered a plate with two different bread things, rice and lots of different sauces to try. We both agree the sweetest one was the best.




We stopped at another weaver's house which was very similar to the other weaver and then some huts with a roof made from palm tree leaves. It turns out the mud floor is actually cow dung. They truly use everything.










On our way back to Porur, we stopped by the "clean" beach. The "clean" beach had trash all over the place, lots and lots of people, boats, and even vendors. Women and their kids were in the water, but most of them only went up to below their knees. There were a few kids who got wet above that by sitting in the water, but not many. We decided it wouldn't be a beach we'd want to go swimming in.

We got back to the guest house around 5. Dinner was a fruit for each of us, because we were still not hungry from our big lunch.


Friday, February 20, 2015

TGIA(nother)F!

Our third day at PRS was ending in a state of confusion until Stephen and Sheeba came to our rescue. After singing Alice the Camel, Five Little Monkeys, the Penguin Song, Head-Shoulders-Knees-&-Toes, and the Hokey-Pokey countless times (several times each in Standards 1, 2, and 3), Montana and LuRue were in the office waiting for their ride. One of the teachers had told us that they are having testing all next week, so we said our "Nice meeting you"s to her and to the students, only to be met by the principal who said, No, that we'd be coming back next week. Stephen and Sheeba came into the office & all was sorted out.

Apparently the principal is extremely anxious to have lots of volunteers come to her school...there will be only Montana and LuRue next week, followed

by a mother and son team for one more week. Right now, the private schools in this district are clamoring for more volunteers. Unfortunately, the largest teams usually come in December when the schools are on holiday.

After lunch, Montana and LuRue spent some time filming more scenes for "the movie". Sheeba came along during the action, so she was enlisted. She dropped the "evidence bag" off a balcony into LuRue's hands. It took a couple of takes as LuRue split too quickly, leaving Montana to her own fate.

Sheeba is really interested in our "movie", so Montana is going to put together as much as she can before we leave so that Sheeba can view it. The school movies have been popular, too. We asked Stephen about filming at PRS also; he was enthusiastic about it & particularly wants the principal to see it, too. That will happen next week when we are there from Wednesday to Friday.

The session at SEAM was a continuation of activities that have been ongoing...boys today. Boys making bracelets, earrings, stick puppets, etc. Glad to see that not everything is gender-oriented here.



The children (some very reluctantly--especially the older girls) performed songs & dances to send Jeff off on his journey. It will be our turn next Friday. Departing volunteers bring treats to hand out as each child comes forward to shake hands and to say goodbye and thank you. To us, they said "See you Monday" even though some didn't really know what they were saying. A few have picked up a few English words and phrases, but most know only the most fundamental words.

We had heard through other volunteers and/or their blogs about their favorite part of the India experience was being with the children at SEAM. Now we understand why. A tight ship is run there, but it is done with love and devotion. We can only hope that the children will have better lives because of the home that has been provided for them.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

The Priceless Rambunctious Standards at PRS

Just our second day at PRS and surprisingly, we already have a routine, sort of. This time, we got there and Montana led LuRue up to the Standard 3 classroom, which is weird, because usually LuRue is the one with the map of the place in her brain, but this time it was Montana. For Standard 3, we did things very similar to what we have been doing at Christ King. We introduced "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" to the kids and had half of the class say "One, two, buckle my shoe", then the other half would say "Three, four, shut the door" and so on. Then we introduced the memory game and went on to songs. The kids didn't know many kid songs, because no other Global Volunteers have worked with the younger kids at PRS. So, Montana and LuRue introduced "Five Little Monkeys", "Alice the Camel", "The Penguin Song", "The Hokey Pokey", and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". The kids had a great time doing that. We ended that lesson with some 'I Spy'.

LuRue and Montana went down to Standard 2 then. Standard 2 was very similar to Standard 3, but we had to do it more simply. We still did "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe", introduced songs, and ended with 'I Spy' and 'Simon Says', but the sections took longer to introduce, because the kids had a harder time understanding it. The memory game was also too complicated for them, so we had to ditch that. 

The hardest was probably Standard 1. It is a lot like dealing with the pre-primary students in Tanzania, except more controlled. That class was mainly repetition of songs and 'I Spy'. 

In the afternoon, some more videos were filmed with lots of retakes, because of the problem with keeping straight faces. We left for SEAM at 4:15 today so that LuRue could give her fabric to the tailor.



We got to SEAM early, so while we were waiting for Jeff and Stephen, we sat around and talked to the kids and Sheeba. We went right to crafts instead of singing and dancing first, because a tutor was there, but only could be there for a certain amount of time. People seem to be really interested in the rubber bands now. The materials for the bracelets are fading away. We also brought out some coloring and sticker books which interested the girls, even some older girls, which was unexpected.






Today was Swathy's 14th birthday, so the day ended with singing birthday songs and some delicious chocolate cake being served to the children (and us).




Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Starting All Over

Because Christ King is conducting standardized testing for the rest of the week, today Montana and LuRue went to PRS for the first time. Stephen had asked them for preferred grade levels, for which we requested Standards 4, 5, and/or 6. Well, this being India, we've learned to expect the unexpected. We were assigned Standards 1, 2, and 3. We learned later that this was because everyone wants the Global Volunteers and the three lower grades had never had any. But being the savvy teachers that we've become, we quickly switched gears and adapted our activities as we tentatively interacted with each grade level and saw how much English each group did/didn't know. Standard 3 was only slightly less capable than our other school, so we adjusted accordingly. By the time we had our third and last class of Standard 1, we realized that they understood almost nothing, so spent a lot of time teaching action songs. Turns out that was a good thing to do as the only reason they don't know any songs was because they had never had any volunteers. So Alice the Camel, the Five Little Monkeys, and the Penguins are having a ball with painfully shy little kids who blossom and come alive during the course of 40 minutes.

After lunch, Sheeba took LuRue to get a haircut. The hairdresser almost did a double-take to have an elderly woman with practically no hair come in and ask to have her hair cut even shorter. In this country of thick waist-length hair, it was almost like asking to be shorn. But LuRue explained that the hair on her neck added to the drippiness when the humidity is high and she is moving around a lot. The cost of the haircut was 150 rupees or about $2.50.

Sheeba then led LuRue to a shop which specializes in churidars (which is apparently what a salwar kameez is correctly called in southern India--with a slight difference in style). LuRue chose a fabric which will be taken to the tailor. Cost of the embroidered fabric was 495 rupees or about $8.25. On the way home, they stopped at yet another shop for more craft supplies for SEAM, a tiny place hidden behind greenery that was so full of things to buy that it was impossible to walk through the narrow aisle without bumping heads against the bags of notions hanging from the ceiling. But the shop had all the requested items.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to filming a few of the needed scenes to plug into already-filmed scenes...care being taken, of course, to ensure that there are no "errors in continuity". With such devotion to make the film "Oscar" material, the movie moguls don't want to make silly mistakes which will be noticed by the film critics.

The day was capped with a nightly visit to SEAM. By now enough colorful rubber band bracelets had been made so that each child could get one, so they were handed out. Crafts continue to be popular, so Montana and LuRue will continue to lead those activities. They also had a taste of what next week will be like when the team number drops to two...they were the only adults leading the singing/dancing/action songs. It went quite well, really. Again...thanks to Alice, the Monkeys, and the Penguins!

Some random photos taken on the way to SEAM.
















At dinner Stephen and Sheeba described the typical dinnertime in an Indian home, which would include his parents and possibly brothers and their families, as well as possible aunties and uncles. As the eldest son, he would be served first. There would be no conversation at all...everyone would be concentrating on his or her food. Since food is typically eaten with the fingers, Stephen would immediately get up when finished in order to wash his hands. He may well finish before the last person had been served. He said that for many years he saw his father only rarely as the father rose early to go to work (he was in the military), came home for lunch when Stephen was in school, and was back for the evening after Stephen was in bed.

Like everywhere else, things are changing. Stephen interacts a lot with his son Roshan. He and Sheeba seem to delight in telling us all the idiosyncrasies of Indian life. They are a lot of fun and are a big part of our experience. What a treat to have them as hosts!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Just Another Day

Today was our last day at Christ King School for the next week, because the next three days are testing. However, we will be coming back next week to do the Green Eggs and Ham video. We practiced Green Eggs and Ham a few times before moving into Charades. This time, it was harder for them, because we had new phrases. They had a hard time figuring out several of the phrases. Both classes had a hard time "point to the wall". We then did "Herman the Worm" and "The Penguin Song", which they love, and we did the mystery bag. We used the same objects we did the memory game with yesterday. The kids are getting more used to us, so the boys are getting more rowdy.

The afternoon was another day for LuRue to rest up.

At 5 o'clock, they went to SEAM and did more music and crafts. This time, they did not bring the guitar, but it didn't seem to make a difference. All the kids were still energetic and singing and dancing around. Today, with the crafts, the kids weren't as interested in the earrings, but more the bracelets and rubber bands. The first time we brought out the string to do bracelets, nobody wanted to do them, but now everyone wants to do them. We were happy to see boys getting interested in the crafts. When LuRue finished her bracelet, she asked Swathi about how to tie it correctly. Next thing we knew, Swathi was biting a button off of another boy, Arun's, shirt. LuRue tried to stop her, but she just kept biting it. In the end, Arun ended up getting the button back, because LuRue gave him the bracelet.

We came home to another delicious Domino's pizza dinner.