Out on the Town

So, my last entry was somewhat of a stream of consciousness - I kind of just went with the mood of the day. I usually would just leave something like that more for my journal but I thought it might be a good addition. So, to lighten the mood a little bit, I'll tell you all about what a fun morning we had! Only four people showed up to Scott's class today (many are still celebrating Puja), so he decided to take them on a field trip! We ended up walking around town and going to the market. It was a great opportunity for them to practice their English in a more practical setting. They are improving a lot in class but for the everyday conversation skills, just hanging out and spending time together is the most beneficial. Many of them get very nervous in class and they're afraid to make a mistake. One-on-one chats are much more relaxed. As we're walking, one of them tells me, "Mame, this is a magnificent moment!" It made me laugh. It was the three of us plus two guys (Manas and Abinas) and two girls (Rena and Jacintha). They had such a great time showing us around the market and trying to teach us how to bargain. I'm terrible at it so we kind of left it up to Scott. He managed to get two kilos of potatoes for only 18 rupees (it's a good deal). The man selling the potatoes was a lot of fun. He could understand us pretty well and got really excited when he saw us taking some pictures. It was quite the sight to see. Before we knew it we had a huge crowd surrounding us and we were all laughing together as Scott kept trying to bargain. It was a good time. :) We also went and got some tea and biscuits. It was great to hear the students speaking more and asking us random questions. They even did a little bit of translating for us! Quite impressive! They wanted to take us to the cinema after but we decided maybe another day might be better.

It's quite interesting to spend time with the students and the other workers here at SWI and then go to the villages. It's almost like two different worlds. The students in the English class have all graduated from high school and are very well educated. Then in the villages, the dropout rate is 84% before college. (Out of 100 children, only 16 reach 12th grade.) Again, quite a disparity. I enjoy the opportunity to interact and spend time with both the English students and the villagers. They both touch my heart in very different ways and each interaction is extremely enriching. With the students I feel like we can really bond and build friendships. A very special someone recently reminded me that an interaction can change two perspectives forever. I like to think about that with everyone I'm meeting and spending time with here (the villagers, the students, the workers). It's good encouragement to stay positive and try to look at every situation on the bright side. :)

Yesterday we did take a little day trip out to see the sight of Mother Teresa's miracle and we got to meet about 140 TB patients. Well, I guess that they weren't all TB patients, others had HIV and other various illnesses. They all welcomed us with so much love. The women all came and individually greeted each of us (with the tribal greeting). They were really excited that we came to visit them. The sisters were just about to distribute medicine to the patients so many of the patients were lined up in the hallway. A few were too weak to get out of bed, but even they were happy to chat with us (through Father's translations of course). One young girl really stood out, she was adorable. She had the biggest and brightest smile! We heard a few of the patients individual stories. The sisters pointed out a few patients who were barely alive when they arrived there and now are doing much better. Basically every family in the villages has one member who has TB. The patients stay at the hospital either until they die or until they get better. Many do get better but the sad thing is the likelihood of relapse. After they come and receive medicines and care at the hospital and get better, they go home back into the villages. The sisters often send them with some rice, dal and biscuits when they go back home, but that can only last so long. Shortly after, they are in the same situation as when they first arrived at the hospital, but often the relapse is much much worse. On the way back Father was explaining to me that most of the deaths are not due to TB and other illnesses, they are technically slow starvation deaths. Many of the illnesses would be curable if they had enough food to eat. But with the rich getting richer, the cost of living is rising drastically and the salaries of the field workers is not, so therefore they get poorer and poorer. It's becoming more and more impossible to have enough rupees to survive even when you work all day every day.

Dang, I'm sorry this ended up to be a heavier entry than I intended. But really, the beautiful thing about these patients was how much love they had to share with us.