Saturday, November 8, 2008

From Light, To Serious, To Really Serious, To Light.

Last week, although short, was marked by interesting and exciting events. Starting Tuesday night, we all celebrated the festival of Diwali that for me was a sneak peek of Christmas and definitely got me excited for this year's birthday of Jesus. Off course last Tuesday had nothing to do with Jesus but just like at home, the children were given tons of firecrackers, which we then blasted in the open fields of rural India. It was great too see all the children's faces lit up... literally and figuratively. Though for the first time ever I was the annoying adult saying "Oh my gosh, please be careful...CAREFUL!!! Not so close to other people! NO, NO don't throw firecrackers at each other's feet! POINT IT THAT WAY"! But I do think that I, along with the other adults here, saved a few kids from lighting up their pants that night.

Back inside the classroom, DJ (the director from New York who I went on the Mysore trip with) was teaching the 11th graders a "self actualization" class, which represented very clearly the ASTEP mission of using artistic expression to empower young minds. Anyways, he held the last of these classes on Wednesday night and invited the volunteers to participate since he was leaving back to the States on Thursday. The class was wonderful and it was clear that throughout the course of it they had learned how to formulate concrete ideas about who they are, what they want to achieve and how they can achieve it. For the last class, we all (volunteers and the 15 eleventh graders) spoke about our life goals and the virtues we wished to practice in order to realize them. It was moving to listen to the goals these 17-year old kids are striving for; they are driven and committed to continue their education beyond their years as a Shanti Bhavan child. The entire hour I could only think about the possible futures of these kids. It was overwhelming to listen to them say they want to become engineers at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), or economists at an American University, keeping in mind that if it wasn't for this school, their goals would have been switching back and forth between being a quarry laborer or a street sweeper in order to feed themselves enough food to survive.

Towards the end of the class, DJ led us in what he referred to as a "circle of acknowledgement". All the volunteers sat in a small inner circle facing out, and the 15 eleventh graders sat in the outer circle facing us. We were asked to close our eyes and then DJ began to speak to our students: "Lets tell these loving souls that we appreciate them, that they are wonderful selfless people who came half way across the world to dedicate their time and their love to you. Lets thank them, because with their help you will one day be one of them, helping others in need," that did it; for the first time in 4 months I broke into tears. We then stood up and slowly walked clockwise as the eleventh graders showered us with thank yous and compliments; everyone in that room was glowing with gratitude. As they spoke they looked into our eyes and their words were beautiful, sure, but their eyes even more, as they transparently yelled out "I appreciate what you are doing for me." At the end we all hugged and everyone left the room with a beaming smile on their face.

When I decided to volunteer at this school, I never expected such gratefulness; I didn't see "thank yous" as an entitlement; I saw the chance at a personal challenge of striving to become a better person by giving myself to a cause that was bigger than me. But I must admit that it felt nice to be appreciated like that, through those kids I heard God saying, 'this is exactly where I want you to be'-- something I have been in search of. At the same time, it reassured me that the work I'm doing is indeed for a cause much greater than my own.

Speaking about God, I thought I would take this chance to mention the heartbreaking persecutions towards Christians happening here in India. The story about the nun who was raped and killed for her religious beliefs is terrible. It's a shame to think that crimes like these have happened all throughout human existence and they continue to mark history. When we got the news here about all of the bombs being blasted in catholic churches throughout India, I didn't get scared; I knew nothing was going to happen to me. Even though they are happening even in Bangalore, they just seem to be light years away from Shanti Bhavan, where every morning all the children, teachers and staff pray the words: "...May the teachings of all the great world religions direct our thoughts and actions..." Because is it not true that in the end all religions try to inculcate righteousness as they seek to understand the unknowns of our human existence? It's a shame that human nature drives people to hate our differences instead of respecting them. Anyways, for those of you who were wondering if I would be directly affected by any of this, it has not come near me, but I truly appreciate your concern and know, that I share with you a sorrow for those who have been affected.

On a different and much lighter note, (I realize this post has jumped around from light to serious, to really serious, to light...unintentionally but hence the title) Halloween last Friday was a blast! The volunteers organized a carnival in which all 206 students, some of the teachers and the housemothers all participated. We had an opening performance of the 4th and 5th graders dancing "Thriller". I danced in front of them as their point of reference in case they forgot steps; they did an awesome job though. We were all dressed up as zombies and throughout the whole 2 minutes, their hands were stiff like claws and their teeth all shinned in the sun as if they were ready to bite the audience...it added to the spookiness of the day =). We then had costume relay races, spoon races, and musical chairs, rapping the mummy, pin the tail, apple bobbing, face panting, tag of war, hot potato, fortune telling, raffle tickets...fewph...nope that's not all. When the sun fell we had a neon light DANCE PARTY! Before that day, all the kids had painted masks with glow in the dark paint that DJ brought for them from New York. He also brought a black light so we decorated an empty room with scary designs on neon colored paper and everything glowed in the dark. When the kids came in like three grades at a time, they were in absolute astonishment; we have candid pictures of their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open as they entered the room. The best part was that because the room was dark and all you could see were the masks and decorations, everyone let go of any insecurities or inhibitions and we all JUST DANCED! Oh my gosh it was paradise =). At the end of it all, we got huge hugs and every other child would say: "Thank you for making this one of the best days of my life". Awww, it was very rewarding to know they had enjoyed themselves so much.

The five of us ended up with our feet soaked in a bucket of hot water and we were all in bed by 10 pm, quite a difference from the October 31sts I've celebrated in the recent past. I guess Halloween is actually supposed to be to entertain children and shouldn't be just another excuse to dress up in an outrageous costume and drink; something I am indeed guilty of. I'm glad I got this chance to celebrate it for its fundamental purpose.

Finally, talking about celebrations: YESSSS, GO OBAMA!!! Don't worry, I don't intend to get into politics now because I could go on for pages but I'll end with this...Why the celebration for this Democratic victory? Because in the words of the new President of the United States: "America cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy."
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This weekend, a German company that I'm sure you've heard of before, Bosche, will come visit Shanti Bhavan as they are in search of a school to sponsor. This would be a very significant break for the school, since Bosche is a powerful company and could provide the amount of money needed to run this school successfully, saving it from its current financial crunch. Please keep Shanti-Bhavan in your prayers.

With love.
Until soon.

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