My hotel room in Chennai

The streets of Chennai on the way to Rising Star

My room at RSO

The medical clinic at Rising Star

Me at the clinic

Today was my favorite day in India for sure. I got up and took my first bucket shower which was surprisingly pleasant. It is so incredibly hot so the cool water was perfect. We got split into three groups today and I am in the first group which is all the medical students/doctors and the other 2 groups are nursing students. Fine by me! Since the kids are just coming back from holiday we screened them all for anything they could have picked up at home and referred them to the clinic which my group ended up running. So we screened for like 5 hours and then all the kids we had referred came to the clinic. It was crazy! It is so incredibly hot, you literally are saturated all day every day. There were so many kids everywhere and just one doctor. I showed everyone whats up with my dermatology skills. They all thought I was just a dumb nursing student but they changed their tune by the time we left. It was so hot, and the power kept going out so the fans would turn off for chunks of time and we would just die. It really was so great though, a little make shift clinic in the middle of nowhere, its 400 degrees, you're covered in dirt and bugs... it really was fantastic. We had so many kids that we got to dinner like an hour late, so we hurried and ate dinner then we had to deworm and delouse the kids. So we gave them all a tablet for the worms and then washed their hair with anti lice shampoo. all 200 kids. I am pretty sure I have lice now, i have been itching ever since. Super. Then we went back to say goodnight to the kids and one little boy told me he didn't get his tablet so one of the med students told me they were at the clinic. So we start trekking over to the clinic and its  night time at this point and dark, but they have a lit path to ward off cobras and scorpions (not kidding). So as we are walking his feet hurt so I am carrying him on my back and the power goes off, as it does routinely, so that was great. We finally make it to the clinic and its closed, of course. But it was pretty super anyway. I think our group goes out to the colonies  on Wednesday so that should be even better.

Day One

This morning I got up bright and early to get ready to meet up with Rising Star. Fortunately they were in the lobby right where they said they would be! Everyone has been super nice and inclusive. We drove from the hotel to church which was just like ten minutes away. They have church in this little basement in some random building. All the speakers and teachers spoke english but I literally understood about 5% of what they said so I spent most of the time trying to avoid getting called on because I have no idea what we were talking about. Also, they had a baptism in the branch so we stayed for that. Then we made the drive to Rising Star which is about 2 hours away. The drive was long and hot and the roads are a death trap so needless to say I was happy when we finally arrived on campus. We got settled into our rooms, there are four of us in our room and everyone is super nice. Then we had a tour of our hostel which consists of squatty potties, bucket showers, and a clothes line. We had orientation and went over all the rules, they went on a tour of the rest of the campus. It's really big and there are 200 kids here. We also have a pet sheep named Lola and she walks around on a leash. Then we had dinner up on the roof of the hostel. We ate off of these huge banana leaves and had rice and vegetables and fruit and potatoes. There was also some chicken that I passed on but everyone said it was really good. I thought I was missing out til I saw the pile of bones on everyones plate. No thanks. After dinner we were assigned families which consists of like 20 kids and the house mother. So we went to meet our kids and play with them and get them ready for bed. The little kids had to be in bed by 8:00 so we played with them first and we took pictures and played little hand games and drew pictures. This little boy wanted me to draw a peacock so I attempted and failed so he laughed and drew one on my hand and it was just embarrassing. Pictures to come. Then when the little kids went to bed we stayed and talked to the older kids. They are all obsessed with Michael Jackson and one kid even knows the whole thriller dance. He got up and sang and danced, it was so cute. Tomorrow we start the mobile clinics, should be interesting!

Alive and... alive

Ahh I am finally here!! The last couple of days have been crazy. I'll start from the beginning...  I have been stressing the last couple of days about the weight of my luggage, I am taking so many supplies and then with my own stuff I thought for sure I was going to be over the limit. So I packed and unpacked my bags about 6 times trying to consolidate as much as possible. So friday morning when I checked my bag it weighed in at a hefty 49.5 (the limit is 50) phew! we were off to a good start. Then going through security I get stopped and they search my bag. The offending item? Peanut Butter. Who knew that was a liquid? I was pretty upset about it cause I was planning on that being a staple in my diet out here, but the security guy wasn't having it. Anyway, so I fly to Chicago without major incident minus the fact that the woman next to me talked the entire 2 hours and 45 minutes of the flight. So I am waiting at the gate for forever, watching everyone board and waiting for them to call my group. Turns out they called it and I didn't hear it, so they page me overhead to check in even though I have been sitting there the whole time (as Lisa Ladel, jeff you would be so proud). The flight was actually pretty decent considering it was 13 hours, and I made friends with the cute little Indian lady next to me Leala. We land in Delhi and that's where the real fun begins... when I had checked my bags in salt lake the lady told me she would check them all the way through to Chennai, but when I got to Delhi they told me I had to pick them up there. I guess I neglected that piece of information not really sure why. So I get off the plane and walk down this deserted hallway for seriously 15 minutes. Then I finally come to 2 signs that say Domestic and International travel. This confused me because I am coming internationally but flying within India.. I chose to go with domestic so I stand in a line for a while and finally get to the counter where the guy doesn't really speak english. I tell him I am trying to get to Chennai, so he tells me I have to go outside, then upstairs, then to immigration, then to check-in. great, no problem. So I wander around til I get to the exit (which is labeled "way out"). It seemed a little fishy to be wandering outside so I vetoed that and went back and asked this guy where immigration was. He said it was back where I just was. Super. So I approach the nice inviting man in uniform with his machine gun where to go, and he directs me to go upstairs. So I find the elevator and the line of 50 people waiting for it. Keep in mind that my flight leaves at 8:00 and it is 6:45. So I wait in line for a while then get up to the appropriate floor and find my airline. So the girl tells me that I was supposed to retrieve my checked bag, but i explained that it was going through to Chennai. I guess that's not how it works here. So she recruits this kid to help me find my bag cause I clearly wasn't understanding. So he grabs my carry on and takes off to another counter. He talks to this girl there for a minute then starts checking other people in! So I panicking cause my flight boards in 20 minutes. Then he comes back and walks to another counter and does the same thing! So finally I just tell him to tell me where it is cause I'm going to be late for my flight. He comes and grabs my bag and starts down the hallway where he stops and talks to all his friends and soon enough we have about 12 people in this quest for my bag. He and another guy come downstairs with me, we find my bag, they get me through customs really quick and back upstairs where he checks my bags and walks me to security. Here, one kid asks if I want to come smoke with him.  I gently remind him that we have been running around the airport for 30 minutes because my flight is taking off as we speak, so no, I would not like to come smoke. I know when I was in Africa, the guy lifted my bag out of the car then waited around for an hour for me to give him a tip so I figured this was a similar situation. And I wanted to give him something he and this other kid had saved my life, so I have him 100 Rs. for his help. I have no idea how much I gave him it could have been 40 cents or 40 dollars I don't know the conversion rate yet, but I didn't care I was just happy to be getting out of there. Well, after that transaction all his friends seemed really keen to help and one guy expedited my security screen (where they found a pair of scissors, oops) and then he walked me all the way to my gate, loaded my carry on in the overhead bin and that was it. I guess if you want something done that's the way to do it. Glad I am finding that out early on! So the flight to Chennai was another 2.5 hours and it was painful, I was so ready to be on the ground. We land and I found my bag without incident. Then it was time for the part I had been dreading the most, hoping my driver was here to pick me up. I wander outside where it is so hot and humid to a crowd of about 100 Indians and then I see the blessed sign. Courtyard Marriott: Mr. Lisa Ladle. Whatever, i'll take it I was stoked! So Moses, loads my stuff in the car and we head to the hotel, which was about 15 minutes away. It is a miracle anyone drives on these roads and lives to see another day. Lanes mean nothing, red lights mean nothing. it was crazy! my time is almost up so i have to cut it short, but the hotel is really nice! can't wait to meet up with the group though

My Blogging Debut

Hello to my family and fellow blog stalkers! I am writing this blog to keep you all up to date on my India adventures! I will be leaving Friday for Tamil Nadu, India where I am volunteering with Rising Star Outreach. Rising Star is an organization that has built a school for the children of lepers and funds a mobile clinic that travels to surrounding villages and leper colonies providing medical care to those who don't have access to it otherwise. I will be working with the mobile clinic for the majority of the time but I will also be teaching a couple days a week and tutoring the kids with reading and writing english. I can't wait to get there and get to work!