Living the Dream

There is no way to explain the feeling of driving up, packed in the back of the smallest car you have ever seen, hoping that Abid and sudip will be there so I can put them on my shoulders and play with them. Or the minute you realize the girls your trying to teach verbs to finally understand it and say it back to you without any help. The feeling is unbelievable but there is no way to truly understand that unless you experience it for yourself, which is why it isn’t hard to figure out why these leaders come back year after year, so they can feel that just one more time.
I consider myself the luckiest person alive to be able to feel this feeling during these two weeks in India. Before coming on this trip i was really nervous for everything that could go wrong, and no mom i haven’t lost my passport so don’t freak out. Now that i am here though, i really don’t think about it and just kind of roll with it and know that i just have to get it done. Like today when i was in the coldest shower of my life the power suddenly went out and i just simply laughed, because it didn’t matter in the grand scale of this trip and its importance. Thankfully nothing has really gone wrong during this trip that would be big enough to cause problems to the ultimate goal of helping these people, just little things that are pretty meaningless. I am actually happy those little things happen because whenever one does happen it makes me thankful for everything i have at home and how much i took advantage of the little things that other might not have. I could go on and list them but I’m sure that would bore you so ill wait until i get home and you are obligated to sit through it and listen to me.
The thing that probably amazed me the most is how happy these kids are when yet they have so little, they find happiness in the smallest things. I have never seen a happier group of kids as these ones even though they might being going home to a clay hut jam packed with eight other members of their family. Whenever I see them they say hello and laugh with me and just seem genuinely happy to be there, that is more than i could say about when i go to school so i realize i need to be more grateful and happy.
I thought of home a little bit today for a second at breakfast and how i missed normal food that isn’t mystery meat curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then as quickly as it came my homesickness went away. I do miss my family and friends back home but i am not homesick one bit, how could i when i am loving every minute here? I love you family and will see you soon, but we both know this is good practice for things to come. Thank you so much!

With Love,
Ryan Welch