Day 12: The things i've seen

i got a bit of a headache from the heat as i seem to not have adjust to the average of 35 degrees each day. So i spent some time just walking around, relaxing, and doing some uni work. I forgot to mention that i was fortunate enough to play volleyball with the boys that live on campus. its just so good to join in and play. they speak a little english and i speak no Talugu (The language here) but we all understand the fun and frivolity of just playing. last night too, the boys showed me what boardgames they play; chinese checkers as well as an indian game called craman (?). Cant wait to learn. Anyways, back to the bus ride. This arvo at 3:30pm the school bus drops approx 7 or 8 kids home to there villages. See, SEDS has its own school, its own teachers, its own transport. There is a requirement for kids to come to this school on campus, they must be the most disadvantage, impoverished, marginalised kids in the surrounding villages. Public schooling is free, yet, where we are, education isnt much of a priority i dont believe. Villagers here live in an agrarian society, its all about farming. So education isnt that important. So, I hopped into the jeep and we dropped the kids home. Its so funny because the driver spoke almost no english, so we used the kids to translate so we could all communicate haha. they were putting their english into practice. The villages are something to be seen. I thought villages were only next to the mainroads, but if u drive down this narrow dirt road, before you know it, theres another village. and then if u drive down this off beaten road for a km or 2, boom, theres another village. Its just weird and funny. Its the equivalent of driving down someone’s long driveway and if u took a left onto a dirt road and drive a bit further theres a housing estate there. So anyways, besides the beautiful scenery of the plains of area, we dropped the kids off one by one. girls and boys who are 10 or 11, struggling to open the rear door of the jeep, then hopping out, grabbing their bag and lunch box, saying “bye sir” to me, and then walking to their house (which is like a giant cube). One little boy (couldnt be more than 7 or 8) fell asleep by the time we reach his house, and his dad (or grandad) had to open the door, pick him up, pick up his bag, and carry him home while he laid asleep on his shoulder. We went to drop the last boy home, i think he’s 13. He was the one who did most of the translating. I wondered why Seena, the driver, turned off the car, got out and opened his door. I then saw the child struggle to walk, at time walking on fours. His knees were buckled as he seemed to struggle (Yet determined) to walk down the narrow dirt road to his house. I spoke to the staff here and found out its most likely polio, a disease that can paralyses kids. During our bus trip (technically jeep trip), i got to know more about Seena. he is 32 and a dad, with a son who is 3. Seena doesnt stop smiling, and you can see he wants to chat, its just that language is the barrier. So after we dropped off the last kid home, i realised Seena was not going the same route back. We kept going through dirt unsigned roads, and then we ended up in a village. He then turned the engine off. A distant thought crossed my mind, “well, this is where im gonna get robbed” and “yep, if in the slight chance i got murdered, theres no way any one would find me”. But then Seena kept smiling and said, “home, home”. He took me to his home so he could show me his 3 year old boy. And there he was, standing at the driving waiting for dad to come home. He opened up his one room house and there was his family. He welcomed me in and made me sit on the only chair, while everyone else stood around me. its indian culture that i am a guest so i had to accept even though its hard to sit while everyone is standing around….and heres a funny thing, its also custom to offer food. and what did they offer me, a bowl of peanuts bahaha. i had to say ‘no’ and that i was full, i didnt know how to communicate that i was allergic to it. i did do the hand gesture of me struggling to breathe but that didnt get anywhere. So they thought i didnt like it so they took it away, and then came back with some home made crackers, which were i presume made out of peanuts….not wanting to disrespect there household, i took a bite to eat. I think that made them happy that i had something of theirs to eat. I met his wife as well, who was pregnant with his second child! It was time to go, but his 3yo son would monkey grip onto his leg and wouldnt let go. he cried and cried as his dad had to pry him off his leg. We had to drive off, with the kids in the village all shaking my hand and chasing after the jeep. I’m gonna go again with Seena at 6:30am to go pick up the kids this time tomorrow. Cannot wait. I’m gonna bring a book and start learning talugu. Unfortunately, yes, being the area’s dominant crop, the cracker had peanuts so i was down and out for the night. But the night has been made so spectacular by the moon. These open air rooftops are the best for star gazing. Its a full moon tonight, with a thin layer of cloud cover, so terrible for star gazing, yet, the most precious and beautiful sight has arisen from it all. You see, in the centre is the full moon, yet, what surrounded it was even more spectacular. A halo, a ring of light, surrounds the moon, creating this most amazing sight ive ever encountered. If i stretched out my hand put the moon on the fingertip of my index finger, then the radius of the halo would be from my fingertip to my wrist. Its a huge circle of light.

The things i’ve seen today, my goodness.