The official first day
January 6th, 2008
I’m writing from the “Zoom” internet café, just around the corner from the guest house where we’re staying. On the way here, I met three pre-teen girls who live across the way. The children here are so friendly, and so excited at the chance to practice their English. They’ll ask questions like, “What is your name?” How old are you? Where are you from?”
One of the girls said, “You have beautiful cat eyes.” Her cousin added, “But you have no eyebrows.” I agreed my eyebrows weren’t as dark and thick and beautiful as theirs. They told me they had a cousin with bushy eyebrows who could spare me some.
They asked what other languages I know, and so I taught them a few words in Polish. They couldn’t get enough of “Dobranoc” (good night) and kept singing it over and over.
And so, what else? I’m settling in more today. Still no luggage, but with two pants, two shirts and some clothes a volunteer who just left lent me, I’m making do. It’s a total lesson in going with the flow. There’s seriously no other way to approach it than with a sense of humor. So, my fellow volunteers will just have to get used to my two green t-shirts. Today was also our official orientation. There are 11 of us, of all backgrounds and ages – teachers, retirees, a college student, and an 80-year-old woman for whom this is her 9th GV trip. How fantastic is that? Stephen went over a long list of items, from general guidelines to cultural considerations to teaching us a few words in Tamil, the language spoken here. We are in Porur, on the outskirts of Chennai. It’s one of the most conservative neighborhoods in the region, and so we have to dress accordingly. No shorts for women, skirts below the knee and no sleeveless tops. That’ll make painting interesting.
Which brings me to our assignments. We chose them today. I’m spending my first week painting at the St. Joseph Social Service Center, a daycare/children’s home that hasn’t been renovated or painted in more than 20 years. My second week, I’ll be working at Assissi Illam, a daycare/children’s home with children between the ages of 1 and 16. I was more excited than I thought I’d be when we chose them. I’m really looking forward to starting tomorrow.
And so, I’ll leave you with this picture, taken earlier today as we walked the streets, so busy and frenetic with so many competing agendas – cars, children, motorbikes, animals. It’s so overstimulating, it’s exhausting to walk for just 15 minutes. And today, Sunday, we’re told, is a quiet day! “They saying goes that India can test the patience of a saint,” Stephen told us. “So be prepared.”
