art, snakes, and uno.

Vannacum. :) (Hello in Tamul)! Well I first have to tell you- last night was probably the worst night of my life. Worst sleep I think I have ever gotten. The air conditioning isn't working here! So we had to sleep in a stuffy room near 100 degrees, with humidity. I was half asleep kind of in a daze- way out of it.. and I told my roommates I felt like I was sleeping in Satan's butt hole. I'm sorry if that is offensive to some of you or too vulgure, but in my defense I probably had heat exhaustion and was sleep talking. Please don't judge me. Annnnnnyways- we all woke up grumpy. Well I did. And you can hardly clal it waking up if you never truly went to sleep. I can handle heat, but nottt when I am sleeping. I just laid there trying not to move and trying not to think about hot and sticky I was. Miserable.

After a rough night, my group was off to construction! We were off to carry some more bricks and cinder blocks! They really put us to work out here, I love it. It feels good to accomplish something and be able to help these people out. Oh and we saw a snake!!! Even more cool, I held the snake! We were carrying bricks when a lady in the hut beside us started yelling for us to come see. We went over, and this man- who is a snake charmer- had this snake his his hands. He would blow in its face and mouth to disorient is, so that it wasnt dangerous. Apparently this man catches the vipers and cobras and extracts it's venom, and then drinks it, to boost his immunity. I guess he has been bitten a bunch of times and it doesn't affect him at all. It was the weirdest thing! But he was holding it and asked fi any of us wanted to hold it. I am usually pretty chicken when it comes to these things, and for some reason I felt brave and grabbed it. I'm not sure why I don't feel brave with the tamed snakes in America, who are not poisonous and will not bite. All of a sudden I'm in India, with a wild snake that a snake charmer found and I cant understand a word he is saying but he is handing me the snake, and I take it. Does that make sense to anyone else? I'm confused- but I felt confident so I held it. The second I had it in my hands though I freaked out and realized what was actually going on, and gave it right back.. and ran away. Soo maybe I am a little chicken. Whatever.

After we finished moving all these blocks, we went to the Bindu School of Art. It is this art school in the Leprosy colony, that these people who are infected with this disease come and express themselves. Most of them have deformed hands, yet the paintings they are able to create are beautiful. It was so cool to look through all of these paintings, and then see their faces as you compliment them. I bought a couple of the paintings, and met the artist. She couldn't stop smiling and just watched as I wrote my name and where I am from on the receipt. She was so happy to see that I enjoyed her work. It is so cool to me that these people are able to find that thing that makes them happy. They are able to find that thing to express themselves and put their feelings on paper, for others to share. India tries to limit them because they have Leprosy, but they do not limit themselves. We saw the barber shop that the man cuts hair in, and walked by people making jewelry and baskets. It's cool to see how everyone is still unique- yet all one. They are all of the same people, going through a lot of the same things, but they all found what they love and they do it. I wish people would be more like this in the states. I think it is important to love what you do, and do what you love. Even if you wont become a billionaire or be famous- if you love it and you're happy.. thats all that matters. I also loves how proud these artists were. I think being prideful is not a good thing, but I think it is very important to be proud of what you do and proud of who you are. These people who have been cast out because of a bacteria that they caught, have accomplished something to make them proud of themselves.

The Indian culture is beautiful in the way they show their love for their families. When I walk through the villages, the moms and dads just want me to take pictures of their children. Then they look at the picture with the biggest smiles on their faces. It's just cool to me how the simple things mean so much. Like all day we hauled bricks so that these people could build bathrooms. It is funny how a bathroom is a luxury here. It's not even a toilet, we are just building squaters! After getting back, we had talent classes with the kids and I was able to play soccer with them! They love it and play with so much passion. It makes me smile to see the love of the game in these kids eyes. After dinner was family time, We played uno together! And then we brought a Ukulele over and played and sang and danced with the kids. Funnest thing ever. We sang "You are my Sunshine" but substituted sunshine for each of their names. When we would get to their name they would smile and look around at all the other kids. All these kids want is someone to love them and care for them. Thats really all any of us want right? Love and respect, and to be noticed and feel important. The only difference is we are not living away from our parents months and months at a time. They only go home one month out of the whole year! It is cool that I can be that person in some of these kids lives- for a few weeks at least. I have grown such a bond with them and such a strong love for all of them. They really are my sunshines.

Okay so we leave for the airport at 3:00am! We are going to Delhi and seeing the Taj Mahal :) I am probably not even going to try sleep- considering the ac still isn't working and waking up hot and disoriented doesnt sound too appealing.