Hi Mom, this incredible.

Hi Mom, I’m alive in case you were wondering! And hello family and everyone else. Where do I even begin? This is incredible. I don’t know how I’ll even put thoughts into words when I come home. We’ve all been talking about how hard it will be to express how we feel when we’re home. Traveling was probably the longest process of my entire life. All the different times and days were jumbled into one, my brain is still a little off but I’m getting used to it. It feels like we’ve been gone for a week already but it’s only been two days in the schools! The days are super long and this is how they go.. we wake up at some early hour (I’m not really sure what hour it is because checking a watch here is not heard of). After waking up we put on the super cute clothes we brought, lots of bug spray and head up stairs to breakfast. We have our own personal cooks that they hired so our food would be safe and the food is so much better than I expected. It was pretty spicy the first day but they’ve toned it down. We have a lot of normal munchies so my tummy is very satisfied, but having oatmeal was the most delicious thing evs!! Okay back on topic..After breakfast we load into cars or for some people auto rickshaws and go with our village groups to our schools (this is the group of six kids that I call my family to clear up the confusion. Mine group/family is me, Marti, Cole, Callie, Thomas and Josh) I don’t know the name of our school but it’s just awesome. Unlike other groups, ours is an actual cement building. There’s not electricity but there are windows and the ceiling is sinking in a little. The kids are just adorable and are so anxious to learn, they are all so smart! People from the village stand at the windows and just watch us. The looks we get here are the greatest. I feel famous. Either that or like I have some disease because everyones eyes get so wide when they see us white kids! So we spilt into five groups of 10 plus and teach our lessons for 30 minutes each and then rotate. After teaching, the translators take us on village tours to some of the homes. It’s amazing to see the different houses. Some shacks, some are cement, you can tell the wealthier people from the poor, but everyone is welcoming and just as happy! At each house they have mats laid out for us to sit on, they tell us their name, usually how many kids they have and other fun facts. At some houses they give us this puffed rice and coconut but I get too scared to eat it. After teaching in our villages and going on tours we head to the main school that is strictly girls and eat lunch, play games with them (their faves are duck duck goose, “down by the banks,” and today they discovered that they love to teach us phrases in Bengaly.) We go there, have all kinds of fun and then teach our lessons again! The girls love to touch us. They’re constantly holding our hands, grabbing our arms and dragging us everywhere with them. They’re just adorable. My favorite kidling is not in school. I think he’s an orphan connected with Nishta because he was at our “house” the first night but has been at the school for the past two days. Nobody claims to be his parent though. His name is Sudip. I’d say he’s 2 or 3 and he is THE cutest little human being I’ve ever laid eyes on. We became friends the first night, he was hangin out in the room with me just jumping on my back and letting me spin him around. He always finds me and school and takes me all over the place with him. Today he did the cutest that gave him a place in my heart forever. My car pulled up to the main village and he was waiting at the gate. He saw me through the window and started waving like crazy, we drove past him down the road a little and he started chasing after the car to the school, he was right by my side the second I got out of the car! He’s in my arms the majority of the 5 hours spent at the school. He loves to kiss my cheek but he’s sometimes a naught boy. Actually more than sometimes. He loves to pinch me and let me tell ya, he pinches HARD with his little nails. I got a good one on the bum..the little booger. His other favorite torture is pulling out my hair. I’ll probably be bald when I get home so go buy me some hats! When we were walking the girls to their bus today he would not leave my arms. Girls would tell him to get down or to let me take a picture with them but he would NOT let go, he’d just wrap himself around me tighter. And the day before a bunch of older women who were doing something in the worship room at the school were talking to me when he was by my side and started saying things to him, he’d just hide behind me and grab my legs. People always try to pull him away, but we’re now green eggs and ham. I call him my child and everyone knows he might as well be. Ah!! He’s just the cutest! I’ll have a billion pictures with him. Although I was awakened by a mouse running over me on the first morning, I have more than ten mosquito bites on each foot, I’ve never felt dirtier in my life and am eating differently, I’m loving every second here! We all get closer every day, I love the kids more every day and hate the thought of leaving them. I love and miss you! Tootles.