Last week at Shanti Bhavan

Sunday morning all the volunteers and Veena went to Hosur and used the internet etc. I bought some fruit, got my stuff from the tailor, got a dvd and bought a head scarf to keep me from getting heat stroke. We went to Janani and had lunch in the air conditioned room, it was delightful. As soon as we got back I had to hurry and shower and get ready for the wedding reception. Ms Ruth's daughter got married to Chitra and she invited 25 people from Shanti Bhavan. Jacques, Arjun and I were the lucky volunteers to go. We've been here the longest I guess. It was nice, a great meal and music. The happy couple sat up on a stage on ornate chairs to receive congratulations. She looked like she was having a quinziniara or whatever. The decorations behind them were a huge yellow fabric with big daisies stapled to it and glittery letters which read "RICHARD WEDS CHITRA". Apparently the custom is for the mother of the son the pass out flowers to the guests and then we give them to the blushing bride. It was fun. The best part was definitely that we had both gulab jamun and ice cream with dinner!

On the way home there were ten students, three aunties, a teacher, a maintenance staff, me and a driver all on a van intended to seat twelve. It was really windy and there was a little lightning. So we just turned up the music really loud, and half the kids stood up and danced the whole way home. Everyone was squished together and people fell over constantly, generally onto people sitting on each other. It was so crazy. The idea of an overfilled vehicle blasting music flying down the highway with music blasting and people dancing in the US is completely incomprehensible.

55 students from Dr. George's journalism school came to see Shanti Bhavan. We had an extended assembly at which the children performed and all the journalism students introduced themselves. It was cool. After lunch most of them came to see my tap class. That was fun. I ended up spending more time teaching Nirmala and playing with the kids after we finished, and I was pretty wiped out. It was good that we had a full class after lunch because at around six the sky opened and the downpour was INTENSE. Nikki and I ran out in the rain. It was amazing.

I used most of my classes this week as vehicles to distribute candy and to get autographs from the kids. We still had choir and dance classes because I had the show on Thursday. This was made more interesting by the fact that I wore a sari or salwar kamiz every day. Indian clothes were not designed for ease of movement.

Nikki, Arjun, Tony and I went on a tour of Odapalli, Deveerapalli and Baldev Medical Center. It was really interesting. It was sad to see all the kids in little clothing and following us around, bored, but I can happily report that we saw no one who was really sick or deformed. I suppose that has a lot to do with the George Foundation. We visited some school and learned a little more what life is like in the small villages. The thing that struck me most was that most houses had cable television, but there were no plans for toilets or outhouse. There was no well. The government doesn't work very well here. At all.

Thursday after snack was my show. The KG and 1st grade did a dance to I Just Can't Wait to Be King from the Lion King. Then I got KG-2nd to shake their sillies out. It was adorable. Then the 2nd grade did a dance to Two Worlds from Tarzan. This dance was really cool. I think I'd like to teach it to kids who are just a little older and see how it goes. Then Nirmala had a group of kids dance to the Taxi Song from some Tamil movie. It was cute, the kids were all dressed like Michael Jackson. Then it was the fourth grade's turn. They did a puppet show which they wrote themselves. It culminated in them singing Oomplucka. Third grade did a dance to "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story. It was cute, it had little vignettes about being friends. They were cute. There are a few tap steps in there and mostly little cutesy showy things. Then was Nirmala's dance for a second and third grader. Then the fifth grade did a dance to Life's a Dance by Garth Brooks. It was great. I combined a little modern with a line dance and they really hit it. They were really good and looked so cute in their home dress. Next was Beena's tap dance to Try Again by Aliyah. Then came the choir who sang one round mixed and a harder round in groups, then "Hey Jude". Nikki had a parade of all the masks the kids have made since she's been here. That was cool. Then it was the tap kids' turn. They did a dance to Trashin' the Camp from Tarzan. I was really proud of them. They've learned a lot. If they keep practicing most of them have a chance of being pretty good.

Friday the volunteers chipped in for a magician to come to the school. It was great. Jacques spent a huge amount of time getting it set up and the suspense built all day! The kids were so excited by the time they got to see the show. The guy did a great job. He did all the standard tricks with slight of hand and props, played games with the whole school and kept up a good patter. The kids LOVED it.