Once Upon A Time....

I felt like I was in a movie for the past two days, but the best part was that it was real life. Except, I kind of wish the fact that I got woken up yesterday by a huge mouse running across my face actually was a dream. So basically, the driving in India is absolutely insane. I swear I have been near to death about a bagillion times, but our drivers have actually been fantastic. The lessons at the Day Boarding School are going amazing. It is the most spectacular feeling when you can tell the kids actually get what you are teaching them. Some are very loud about it and will shout out the answers and others are shy, but you can tell they understand something when they light up. It's so fun to see all of their personalities Today, I was teaching a school supplies workshop and one of the vocabulary words is teacher. One of the kids piped up and and said “You are a teacher, yes?” I guess is just kind of hit me that these kids are actually learning something from me...and it's going to help them throughout their lives. After teaching at lessons at the DBS, we visit homes of people in the village nearby. It's custom for them to welcome and honor visitors by giving them rice (kind of like puffed rice cereal) and coconut. They are all so glad when we come to visit them. Late in the day, we move to the girls school. These girls are seriously so amazing. They cling to our arms and they are so easy to love. They are also eager to learn. Today, one of the girls, Pinkie, was trying to figure out who was my husband. Even though I told her I didn't have one, she insisted that I did. Some of the stuff they come up with is absolutely hilarious. Everything just keeps getting better. I swear I've had a permanent smile on my face for the past two days. I guess what I'm most impressed about is how grateful everyone else is that we are here. I knew what we are doing is a good thing, but I never knew how much it would make an impact on the kids and the others we've visited. . I don't really know how to put my feelings into words, but I'm completely overwhelmed with joy and I feel so incredibly grateful to be here. I'm also grateful to anyone who helped me get here and have supported me throughout this adventure. Love all you guys back at home!

-Callie Holmes