Everybody's workin for the weekend, weekend...Party and Party and YEAH! Party and Party.....sorry, that song is catchy. Anyways, as you have probably guessed, this is a post about the weekend. Granted this is a post about last weekend but hey at least I'm trying to get caught-up.
Last weekend, the volunteers had their Delhi trip so RSO was calm, quiet, and just lovely. Don't get me wrong, I love it when the volunteers are here, but it is definitely nice to have a break every now and again. The two weeks previous to this had been SUPER BUSY so we took some much needed time off. On Saturday, most of the other coordinators and long-term volunteers went to Chengalputt to do some shopping, the van was really crowded so I decided to stay behind and get stuff done on campus. I intended to blog but that obviously didn't happen. Instead, I meandered over to the kids hostel and hung out with one of my favorite house-mothers: Rajakumari. Rajakumari and I had decided a few weeks before that we are like sisters: we are both 23, both unmarried, both teachers, and both currently living at RSO. She is so much fun to talk to and chat with I often find myself going over there just to hang out. I hae also been helping Rajakumari with her english. She is an amazing woman. She wants to be the very best teacher she can be and knows that the best way to do that is to improve her english. Every night around 9:00pm I have been going to her house and we have been reading Charlotte's Web. We will go through and read and I will help her the pronunciation and do comprehension checks. It may sound weird but this is really fun for me and look forward to going over and reading with her. On Saturday, I had a whole day to kill and was excited to have lots of time to hang-out and read and chat and the like. I went over around lunchtime and was able to have lunch with Rajakumari and Sujatha (one of the older students who lives on campus year round who lives in Rajakumari's house). After lunch, we went back to the hostel and Rajakumari did the COOLEST henna on my legs. It was really intricate and went from just below my knee all the way out to my toes. After henna, we read from Charlotte's Web and ate mangos. Overall it was a fabulous afternoon.
Last weekend, the volunteers had their Delhi trip so RSO was calm, quiet, and just lovely. Don't get me wrong, I love it when the volunteers are here, but it is definitely nice to have a break every now and again. The two weeks previous to this had been SUPER BUSY so we took some much needed time off. On Saturday, most of the other coordinators and long-term volunteers went to Chengalputt to do some shopping, the van was really crowded so I decided to stay behind and get stuff done on campus. I intended to blog but that obviously didn't happen. Instead, I meandered over to the kids hostel and hung out with one of my favorite house-mothers: Rajakumari. Rajakumari and I had decided a few weeks before that we are like sisters: we are both 23, both unmarried, both teachers, and both currently living at RSO. She is so much fun to talk to and chat with I often find myself going over there just to hang out. I hae also been helping Rajakumari with her english. She is an amazing woman. She wants to be the very best teacher she can be and knows that the best way to do that is to improve her english. Every night around 9:00pm I have been going to her house and we have been reading Charlotte's Web. We will go through and read and I will help her the pronunciation and do comprehension checks. It may sound weird but this is really fun for me and look forward to going over and reading with her. On Saturday, I had a whole day to kill and was excited to have lots of time to hang-out and read and chat and the like. I went over around lunchtime and was able to have lunch with Rajakumari and Sujatha (one of the older students who lives on campus year round who lives in Rajakumari's house). After lunch, we went back to the hostel and Rajakumari did the COOLEST henna on my legs. It was really intricate and went from just below my knee all the way out to my toes. After henna, we read from Charlotte's Web and ate mangos. Overall it was a fabulous afternoon.
Henna Legs!! So legit!!
Rajakumari posed me for this picture.
Sujatha and Rajakumari: my Saturday afternoon buddies
As mentioned in previous posts, Saturday night at RSO is movie night. This week was Despicable Me, one of my favorites. Sitting with the kids during movie night is one of the best things because they love to snuggle and be as near to you as possible. I started the movie smack in the middle of all the kids but after the first hour my legs were in such pain from all the weight on me from the kids that I had to stand-up and move. After the fairly difficult extraction process and waking up my numb legs, I sat at the back with two of the fifth standard girls: Angel and P.M. I don't interact with the older kids as much because they are usually doing their own thing and aren't as clingy with the volunteers as the younger kids are. Movie night, though, is an exception. Soon after I sat down, Angel came over and laid her head on my leg and fell fast asleep. There are few things better than having a child fall asleep on you (and I mean that in a completely non-creepy way). Kids are so at peace when they are sleeping and it is a great testament to their trust in you to be able to fall asleep on/with you. At the end of the movie I had to shake Angel a few times to get her awake and then direct her back to the hostel--it was precious. As we were sending kids back to the hostel to go to sleep, I looked over and saw Sarathy, one of the first standard boys, standing next to a bench, bleary-eyed and not sure what was going on...he had obviously just woken up. I went over to him to hold his hand to walk him back to the hostel, but he raised his arms to be picked-up. So I picked him up and he put his head on my shoulder and I carried him back to the hostel. I dropped him off on the steps, told him goodnight and I loved him, and he gave me a big hug before stumbling up the stairs to his room. That was probably the best part of my whole weekend.
Sarathy...how could you resist that face??
Although movie night could not be beat, Sunday came pretty close. After church, because there were so few of us we decided to go to the Marriott brunch...it is so much more than a brunch. They have pizza, and pasta and salads and omelettes and.....BEEF!!!! Yep, beef lo mein to be exact. We all gorged ourselves and had to waddle out of the hotel but man was it worth it. It was a great way to cap off a much needed weekend off. :)
More catch-up posts to come!
Vanakkam
I don't post nearly enough comments though I read your blog all the time, yo. My favorite part was "and I mean that in a completely non-creepy way." I can totally see you saying that with your excited hands waving about. Baxter I miss thee, wish you were around for the girls' weddings. It was like hey wheres kenady oh yeah INDIA? At least you have a legit excuse. We should be penpals. Like old school snail mail letter type penpals. Thoughts?
ReplyDeletexoxo.
I miss you! You look so good! Keep doing work!
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