A Myriad of Memories!

So much has happened in the last few days and I don't know where to begin to explain it all. Satuday was great because I got to go back to Mamallapuram. I spent the day their with a bunch of the volunteers that I have met here, and I can't even put to words how awesome they are! We walked around, shopped, and went to the beach. I was so excited because I got some really nice shirts in one of the shops for like 2 bucks a piece! I know right? Well after spending our time there all of us went to eat some parotha for dinner. While I was eating, I noticed on the wall these huge gecko-like lizards eating all the flies. The sight of this wasn't to appetitizing, but it was still pretty cool. Sunday was a very depressing day. We all went to church to hear Raja, one of the kids that is from RSO, who is now leaving for his mission to Provo, Utah give his farewell talk. If you don't remember me talking about Raja before go back and read my earlier blogs. He is one of the coolest guys and I know he will make a great missionary! It was sad because his wisdom teeth were coming in and he wasn't able to give his talk, so Esther gave it for him. He talked about all of the people in his life that he wanted to thank and how grateful he was for his parents and all the things they had done for him. Church was good, but what made it even better was when it was over. All of us went to the Mariott and had lunch there. Can I say real food finally! In the Mariott they have this huge buffet with a plethora of foods, and everything there is just awesome! On the way home I slept like a baby from all the food I ate. It was great because it's rare to be super full here. Later that night we all had a group devotional. Each person had to share a thought, experience, an entry from their journal, or just something cool they thought would be pleasing to hear. Everyone shared something amazing. Today was a very cool day, and for a change it felt nice! It rained pretty much all day, which I guess would be considered as depressing, and it was in a way, but even in today's sadness nature still looked so beautiful and picturesque. India is always beautiful in it's own way, but today with the rain something was different. Everything seemed so lucious and fruitful. We went to the colony of Bethel Nagar and it was sad because I found out this would be the last time I would visit the colony for the summer. Knowing this, I decided to have a better experience than usual. All of the colonists stayed in their homes and slept, watched t.v., or whatever seemed to please them. To make their rainy day seem more happy, all of us played games with them. One of the games we played was an indian version of the game sorry, and it was really hard to follow, but really cool to watch. Jenga was another game we played, and it totally made their day. When the blocks fell they would burst into laughter. Seeing these people laugh is a rare sight, so when it happens I try to keep them doing so. To some of these people we're all they have, and to others we're kind people with huge amounts of love. The little things we do like playing games with them, holding their hands, or just acknowledging them as real people, truly do touch their lives. As I walked around the colony and greeted people with the limited Tamil I knew, I noticed how everyone there would smile at me. The only downside of today was being so tired. The minute I came back to the campus I slept until dinner, which was fantastic because we had chicken briyani. Three of the girl volunteers left tonight to go home, which is sad because there are now less girls to choose from, but also great because I can get to know them easier. Well I am going to have to go to bed because I can barely keep my eyes open. I miss you all back home and I love all of you! Take care and be the best you can be!