Overdue Post!

So sorry that I really suck at this blogging thing. I have written a couple post that I then go back and read and realize that they are better as diary entries than for the view of everyone I know. 

The last week and a half since I update has gone by so, so fast. Two weekends ago I was in Manali which was about a 14 hour bus ride from Delhi. It was in the middle of the Himalayas and just absolutely beautiful  We went paragliding, rose horses up the mountains and did something called zorbing (everyone look it up on line except for you mom!) which was just nuts. We got lucky that the weather stayed mostly dry, though they had already gotten too much rain for us to whitewater raft. It was fun to wonder around the town. It was filled with backpackers who were headed up farther into the mountains. The road were so steep and the town was literally just built into the side of hill. 

i feel like i am cheating on the beach with the love affair i am having with the mountains 

paragliding totally kicked skydivings butt 

pictures just don't even do them justice 

We got home on Tuesday morning and had just enough time for a quick nap, breakfast and headed to work. I really wish I could describe a “normal” day that I have but no two days are ever the same. Its hard to feel like I don’t ever really know what’s going on since all the other teachers around are talking in Hindi and then we just kind of follow what we are supposed to do. Last week I feel like I am making strides in what I am teaching though and really making connections with some of the kids. I have a group of three boys that just love to learn so much and grab me and have me teach them something at any chance they get. Last week some of the kids started school away from the center so I don’t see some of the kids except for the afternoon but that helped the problem of kids being on such different levels since most of the really advanced kids miss lessons in the morning and just come in the afternoon to hang out. A few of them still love for me to practice spelling and identifying big numbers is also a favorite among a lot of them. Some of them had trouble doing 1-50 when I got there and now they can identify numbers all the way through 999,999. I was stopped after this because apparently millions is done differently in Hindi. 

Last week was my partners last week so on Friday we had a celebration in the afternoon. The best part was they let take a few pictures! I only managed to get a few but I’m just glad I at least have a few with the kids and might try and sneak some more in my last couple weeks! I was originally told that I would get a replacement and wouldn’t be by myself but as it turns out I will spend my last three weeks alone! I was a little nervous about it at first but today after my first day I’m not worried at all. Catching the very busy bus alone is kind of rough and eating lunch alone kind of makes me feel pathetic (though I go to the same restaurant the server is just adorable) but I think it will be nice to have a little time by myself during the day. I love how full the house is and all the friends I am making but sometimes having twelve screaming girls gets a little much! The house will stay full until my last week when it will just be me and one other girl. 

Bharat in the strip shirt really wanted a picture by himself and was not pleased with the other kids jumping in

Rahul and Bharat my little geniuses. 

they just love to dance!

and are pretty darn good at it! 

This past weekend after about a hundred different changes in my plans I ended up back north in Shimla. It was also a beautiful mountain town. It was the summer capital for the British when Delhi got too hot so it was a cool combination of Victorian style houses and more traditional Indian looking houses. The views are amazing. I literally took hundreds of pictures. The two girls I came with left to go off traveling for two weeks and I came back to Delhi on the overnight bus again. I was pretty proud I did it all on my own! 

the city was just up and down a mountain side. amazing. 

pretty great view i had enjoying dinner before i caught my bus back to delhi 

I am coming to a point where I am admitting life in Delhi will never feel easy, comfortable or simple for me. I can honestly say most days I hate this city. It is dirty, it is overcrowded, it is loud, busy, people are always pushing you and yelling at you and trying to take advantage of you. Life here has been hard and my anxiety has not always been coping well with it! Everyday though that I hate day to day life here I think of my beautiful kids. They can’t escape the city on the weekends like I do. They aren’t going to fly away in a few weeks and go back to living a comfortable life. This is a really hard pill for me to swallow. I wish I could take pictures of the beautiful views I have walking to work or of around the city but their just aren’t any. This past month has been the biggest challenge I have ever faced and I have had so many highs and so many lows. One particularly bad day for me another volunteer said to me “an experience is an experience, whether it is good or bad, and you are going to grow as a person because of it”. I don’t know if she quoted someone on that or totally made it up but it’s really stuck with me. I know the moment I step off the plane back into the US I will be relieved and be happy to be home but I also know how much I will miss India. This country is unexplainable and a very common saying is “only in India”. Things often just don’t make sense. I see no logic in how so many things work and never will but I am doing my best to let go, let God and see where else I am led on this amazing and eventful journey. 

Love and miss you all, hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying their own adventures no matter what they are! xoxo