HOINA part II

I've been struggling a bit to think about a good story to tell about this place. Its difficult to know what I can say about my time here that is meaningful and entertaining. But tonight provided a pretty good opportunity to capture some things, although its one thing to read about extreme poverty, and another entirely to see it firsthand. I imagine its another entirely to live the experience.

Tonight the boys home held a small talent show (there is a main talent show on August 15^th which is India's independence day and the second to last day we're here). The students had a couple of competitions. The first was a couple of dance groups that were admittedly impressive, there were two boys in particular that were quite good. Then a young boy who was maybe in 5^th grade got up and sang a solo song without any music, his vocal control was particularly impressive. Following were a couple of speeches that the boys gave in English, these largely centered around school and the hostel (which is what they call orphan/student housing here), but one was particularly poignant, partly because the speaker, Teja, has become one of my closer friends here. He spoke of how the hostel was not just a hostel but a home to him. He spoke of how when he was with his family he didn't eat everyday and how grateful he is for three meals a day. He spoke of how at his house when he goes back to visit he sleeps on the dirt floor with a couple of old blankets. He spoke of how at HOINA he has friends who watch out for him and take care of him, and how grateful he is.

It was pretty poignant for me.

I've gotten to read some of the case files of the students here. Teja's situation is anything but unique, especially now that AIDS has become so widespread in this country. I also found out that it only costs HOINA $60 a month to fully support a student, so if you're interested let me know and I'm sure we can connect you to a child.

My students are all doing surprisingly well, and have kept up positive attitudes and good working ethic throughout the trip thus far. Its been great getting to hear them experience the culture shock of really engaging in a foreign country, especially one so very different from the US. Two of the students are Indian Americans, which also helps, although neither of them speaks Telugu, the state language. The heat has been oppressive, but not overwhelming (usually in the mid 90s everyday, but its much worse than in the US, as there is no respite except ceiling fans. The monsoon is still terrible, and much of India is experiencing drought, I've had several people here who know no more than 50 words of english tell me the “climate is changing.” The students have also mostly taken the bugs in stride (to be honest, they are worse here than I've seen anywhere else, except mosquitoes which are nearly absent) although when Tony, one of my students picked up a rock that had a scorpion clinging to the underside, he was understandably a bit more cautious about where he put his hands.

We've been playing cricket and soccer mostly, which has been a lot of sweaty fun, but tomorrow I plan on teaching the students “capture the flag.” I'm also hoping we finish the library organization tomorrow, although I have my doubts about how long that room will stay organized. In all, its been a very rewarding experience here thus far.