A Spectacle in Spectacles

For some reason, every time I wear my glasses I have at least one kid who wants to try them on. I don't know what it is but there is some novelty with my glasses that the kids love. Because the kids do this so often (and because they are so darn cute) I started taking pictures of them with my glasses on. Now it's time to behold the spectacle of spectacles!

P. Karthik!

Jessy!

Sagayamary!

Durga!

 Reshma!

 Krishnamoorthy!

Deepanraj!

Krishnamoorthy again!

Jeyanthi!

Abisha!

Nagalakshmi!

Megala!

 V. Devi!

My spectacles have never looked so good :)

Vanakkam

Ode to the Children: Take 2

I realized that my last "Ode" only highlighted boys, so this next one is all about the girls--enjoy!

Jessy

Jessy is the epitome of a girly girl. She is always perfectly dressed and accessorized with bangles and cutesy hair clips. Jessy is in UKG and this is her second year at Rising Star. For a UKG student, Jessy has INCREDIBLE English. She converse and understand a lot better than kids 2 and 3 grades above her. Jessy is as sweet as can be but also has her fair share of spunk and spice. She loves to play games right before she goes to sleep, and whenever she does something she isn't supposed to she has a devilish little glint in her eyes--she is to die for. Like I said, though, she is as sweet as sweet can be. A few nights ago I was sitting on the stairs outside the girls hostel playing with her on my lap. After giggling and laughing, she wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug a whispered, "I love you" very soft and sweet in my ear. Random gestures of affection like this are a Jessy specialty and melt my heart on a regular basis.

Tamilarasi

The whole of Rising Star needs to start preparing now because when Tamilarasi gets older she is going to be a force to be reckoned with. Tamilarasi is in UKG and in her first year at Rising Star. She is one of the youngest kids on campus but you would never guess it by the way she runs around like she owns the place. You can regularly see her teasing, arguing, chatting with and/or picking fights with the oldest boys. I love to see the boys interact with her--it's always a mixture of amusement, shock, love, and 'what the hell?' She is a feisty, ball of energy with so much that she wants to share with the world--whether it be hugs, kisses, random thoughts, or who knows what!

One of my favorite things that Tamilarasi does is when she chatters away at me in Tamil. Somewhere in her young little mind, it hasn't computed that I do not speak Tamil and therefore cannot understand her when she speaks to me in Tamil. Every time I pick her up she starts talking away in Tamil and I never have any clue what she's saying. I have come to the conclusion that she is just rambling away because a couple times I have asked nearby older students to translate what she's saying and they always shrug and say they don't know....apparently she's not speaking Tamil or English.

Typical Tamilarasi

Jennifer

Jennifer has all of my favorite qualities that kids can possess--witty, sassy, smart, beautiful...this girl is awesome. She's smart as a whip and never misses a beat. Jennifer speaks beautiful English and has even picked up American humor and sarcasm (something really hard to do in your second language). Some might view her sass as rude or disrespectful, but, frankly, I think it's pretty great. I was once telling her that a certain word she was saying was inappropriate and she needed to stop saying it. After telling her this, she looks up at me and says, "You shouldn't drink tea and you still do it." Oh. Snap. She definitely called me out on that one. But just the fact that she was smart enough to realize the hypocrisy in what I was telling her COMBINED with the fact that she was bold enough to call me out on it, well....that made me love her even more. She is one of the strongest, most confident kids I have ever known. She is sure of herself and and people know they can't mess with Jenny.

As a baby, Jennifer was diagnosed with leprosy. When her mother found out about this, she abandoned baby Jennifer and, literally, threw her away and left her in a trash can. The thought that anyone could throw-away such an indomitable spirit is unfathomable to me. To think that someone could see her beauty and strength and not bother to treasure it  boggles my mind. I have had the privilege to be Jennifer's teacher most of my time here and I count myself lucky to be able to have spent so much time with such an amazing spirit.

Soniya

Soniya (or, as the other older students and myself call her 'Star' Soniya)  is beauty personified. Besides being absolutely gorgeous, she is incredibly thoughtful, kind and sweet. Soniya is in 9th standard and I could kick myself for taking so long to get to know her. Soniya is Arun's older sister (who you can read about in my previous 'Ode') and much like Arun, has an infectious personality and smile and is a joy just to be with. Soniya carries herself with poise and grace not often seen in 15 year old girls. She is an amazing role model for all the younger students and is absolutely ADORED by all of them.

Soniya is on the LifeDance team and besides being an amazing dancer, she is also an incredible artist. A couple weeks ago I was presented with this awesome drawing from her of me as a superhero.

Along with this drawing was a beautiful note expressing her love and appreciation for me. It's little things like this that make Soniya such a special amazing spirit. She is going to grow-up and do astounding things with her life.

Sagayamary

Sagayamary holds a very special place in my heart. Besides the fact that she is the Rising Star child that I sponsor, I know for a fact that it is going to be her little voice and big personality that I remember and hear years down the road when I think back on my time at Rising Star. Sagayamary is in 3rd Standard and is Kristuraj's (from previous 'Ode" post) older sister. I first fell in love with Sagayamary when I first got to Rising Star at the beginning of the summer. I would go in to say goodnight to her and without fail every night she would give me four goodnight kisses: one on each cheek, one on my forehead, and one on my chin. These consistent goodnight kisses were so tender and sweet that I couldn't help but fall head over heels for her. Even though Sagayamary is as sweet as they come, she definitely isn't one to be messed with. Sagayamary has set opinions and ideas and she will makes sure she gets heard. If ever I miss a playdate or don't sit by her at lunch when I promised to (and then forgot) I can always expect to see her stomping up to me later that day and demanding why I didn't come. "Why you not come?!" is how she phrases it in her developing English.

From the minute I told Sagayamary that I was her sponsor, she took it upon herself to become a true member of the Bunker family. She has memorized my parents names as well as my brothers AND has a picture of Brownie (that she asked me for everyday for at least a week to make sure I didn't forget to bring her one). She is always asking me if I have talked to my Mom and when I tell her that I will probably talk to her later she always asks for me to say hello and I love you on her behalf. She is my sponsor baby and she's definitely never gonna forget it. :)

Sagayamary brings joy and laughter and spice into my life every day. Her voice and laugh are unforgettable and will be one of the things I miss the very most when I go home. I just love my sponsor baby more than words can say. :)

More "Odes" to come soon!

Vanakkam

Greech!

Fun Indian Tradition #196: Greech

Greech is a super little thing they do here in India. Basically all "Greech" is is if you see someone wearing the same color as you, you pinch them and say "Greech!" and then they owe you a piece of candy (which you never really pay-up on). Think of it as a jinx with clothing.

Today at school was unofficial "Greech" day. Vennila and Thanika (one of the teachers at the school) decided it would be fun if one day all the female teachers wore the same type of Sari (a Kerala Sari, to be exact) and all the men wore dotis and white shirt (typical dress-up clothes for Indian men). We have all been wanting to do this day for awhile but we kept putting it off. Finally, Vennila put her foot down and we all settled on today--no changes. It was so fun to be matching with all the other women and to see the men in their dress-up clothes. Everyone was in high spirits: taking pictures, joking around, staring in awe/amusement at Derek and I in our Indian clothes...basically it was all very awesome.

In front of the infamous Green House ready to start an awesome day

The kids LOVE when the volunteers wear traditional clothes--so naturally we were mobbed when we first got to the school

I felt like a real Indian woman teaching class in my sari

A few of the older girls have formed the "SPD Power Ranger" team with me and Derek. We all have matching bracelets and a cheer that we do when we see each other--yeah, we're that legit.

With two of the masterminds behind Greech day: Vennila and Anjali. Anjali was nice enough to get a Sari for me so I could match everyone.

Kala, Vennila, and Anjali: three of my favorite women ever.

The men rockin their dotis: Derek, Thanika and Vikram

Absolutely love these girls.

All the teachers and staff on Greech day.

 Women in white...and off-white

The Manly Men {deep, gruff man voice}

So blessed to get to work with such amazing, beautiful women: Anjali, Leema Rose, Kala, and Vennila 

"And we're the three best friends that anyone could have..."

Random "Greech" day is one of the many reasons I absolutely LOVE working at Rising Star...

big smoochies for the kiddos is another. ;)

Vanakkam

HOLI!!

Happy Holi Blogosphere! This last week we celebrated Holi--the Hindu Festival of Colors. This festival is held every March/April to kick off the beginning of spring and all the colors that come along with it. The Festival of Colors is celebrated by having a color-throw. Basically, everyone gets different colored chalk and you chuck it at people until everyone is a huge rainbow of color...it's fantastic.

They celebrate the Festival of Colors at the Hindu temple in Utah, but that color-throw didn't come close to the awesome-ness that was the color-throw at Rising Star. Anything done with the Rising Star kids is better than it would be anywhere else. Since there isn't much to say about a color-throw, I will let the pictures do the talking:

 The little boys all ran around with their shirts off like little warriors or something--too cute.

 

 The absolute best part of this picture is not me or Derek...it's Jeyaraj staring at us both amused and terrified.

 Anadavel had it out for me and pelted me about a dozen times

Rising Star A-Team right here.

Straight Braveheart.

Oh, The Baby...

I love India.

Vanakkam