I'm Back!

Thoughts from a village:

Bhojasar was AMAZING. The family I lived with for 16 days was delightful and we had so much fun! not speaking the same language, playing my ukulele, eating with our fingers, sleeping outside, chasing the baby goats, taking pictures, going for walks and drinking chai chai chai (my maximum was 8 cups in one day)

I visited schools in neighboring villages of Moriya, Denok, Khichan (school kitchen library!) I climbed a sand dune (mountain) in Aau, another one in Lahovat, and climbed 357 stairs to a temple and watched the sunset.

I observed the work that Urmul does in the schools--funding Room to Read libraries and facilitation, providing education in braille for blind children and I met all the local weavers in the village.

I fetched water from the well every morning to take a bucket shower, washed my clothes on the floor and was careful not to hang them on the clothesline close to the cow (or else she would eat them).

I had lots of time to think and reflect and be an angsty teenager: "Nobody Understands Me!" literally. I have not spoken face-to-face with a native English speaker for a month. and that leaves all the processing to inside my own head. meaning my dreams have been crazy! Every single one is a whimsical combination of Kenyon/Petoskey/MCFYP/India. The medians in Petoskey turned into Middle Path but the roads were filled with rickshaws. Gina Angileri (petoskey), Bryan Lewis (mcfyp) and Rob Fine (kenyon) came to visit me in India. Summer Conference was at Mooti Doongri. I flew back home on a combination plane/train/rollercoaster with Kylie Musolf (mcfyp) and Sam Karns (india). I go back to Jaipur on Saturday the 4th to be reunited with my MSID friends and for my final week in India!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Best,
Ellen

(or as everyone called me in the village: Ellena)