Wednesday 7.7.2010-Hyderabad, India

MUSIC CLASS sit in.

12:18pm

Taught LKG and 4EM w/9th right before lunch. "CHRISTMAS DAY" "cards". Did a Coca-Cola Polar Bear themed one for Angie's class and an igloo with penguins fishing with a present on a hook while an Abominable Snowman gives a thunbs up for 9th class. (Yesterday, my card was taken by a teacher since she really wanted it.)

Right before lunch we had an Emergency Team meeting with a change of plans- we took a half day, hit up the corner store (which has the best tasting Minute Maid orange juice i've ever had btw), and napped since we're all halfway sick and needed to regain our strength. Such a GOOD plan and then for dinner we were going to cook our own eggs and toast to have a break from curry.

So we napped and then hit up Hostel One to play Kabaddi with the boys (We promised), and then back to the house where we discovered Emily and Angie cooking PASTA for us! SUCH a blessing! Seriously. And if that wasn't enough, they also had a surprise for us after dinner. Earlier they went shopping and brought us...ice cream! Awesome. Tasted like cake batter and our Break was a perfect energizer.

Mike Z. and I walked Emily #2 and Taylor to their Hostel (#3) @ the end of the night and everyone is feeling good!

NIGHT SKY through the WINDOW.

3rd Floor. House.

1036pm

Monday 7.05.2010. Our House. Hyderabad India

"BANDH IS IN THE AIR"

Bedroom Curtains

858am

THIRD FLOOR, STAIRS DOWN

Bandh Day, where India (all of it!) declares to go on "strike" for a day based on an issue they're unhappy about. Usually it's the college kids. TRANSLATION: SNOW Day!!! or our Fun Day.

Hit up 6th Hostel. Played Duck, Duck, Goose for an eternity. There was a Cannibal Chub Chub Girl, maybe 2 years old and I swear she was going to eat someone if we didn't keep an eye out. My "Cling-On" for the afternoon was Keynata, who went behind the door and cried when i put her down, but she's such a cute kid.

Ate lunch there. Back to our house for an hour to chill, then off to 1st Hostel for some madness: SOCCER, RUGBY, and KABADDI. Awesome, awesome good time! Kabaddi is a game with 2 teams and a court divided in half. Team A sends a player onto Team B's side and they have to touch a player on Team B and make it back to the half court line in order to get a point. No touch on line, no point. Player out.

Had a header in our soccer game. Our team lost in Rugby 9-10. Played "Last Point Wins!" in Kabaddi since it was approaching their prayer time @ 645pm and we had to go. My team cleaned up @ that point.

Played Badmitton @ 3rd Hostel on the walk back to the house. (The girls there were wondering where we've been all day.)

EVENING: Feverish Cough. Dizzy Sick Feeling. Deep Sleep. Every 2 hours, waking up covered in sweat. So hot.

7/4/2010: Hyderbad, India

HAND IN HAND

Classroom drawing

JUNGLE DAY in class

Our LAZY SUNDAY. 4th of July.

Laundry in the morning with buckets and string strung all across our room. PUNO. Lunch. New Emily joined us making the grand total: 3 Mikes, 2 Emilys, Bri and Bree. Kira, Cara, and Brandon.

First Hostel: Played bare foot soccer with the boys. Scored a couple of goals. Guys played Cricket. Hungout with the kids, showed them some dribbling with a soccerball. Stopped by Third Hostel to say Hello on the way back.

Em and Angie wanted to take us to a nice restaurant since it was Fourth of July so we ALLLL traveled to Secunderabad by mototaxi. (I sat in the backend of the vehicle , feet dangling over the street. Holding on.) Driver stopped 75% of the way and called it quits, so we had to walk through the train station, beggars, and city streets till we reached The Blue Fox Restaurant in a hotel. Moto back to our district and hung out tossing the blue soccer ball around the house. (It MAY have hit the ceiling fan.)

And that's how we spent our 4th of July without fireworks!

7/3/2010: Hyderabad, India

FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Our class schedules changed (just like that *snap*) and now we're seeing everyone more, but for shorter periods.

COLOR DAY! Mixing paint, painting objects of that color, etc. Did some dancing during our breaks, especially with 4th level. MJ. Footloose. You got it.

AKASH, 9th Class

12.22pm India Time

Listened to some Glenn Miller with 9th class since Akash wanted to hear some jazz. Also had the teacher of 9th class get in on the painting & drawing as well.

Cucumber Curry for Lunch.

Ate my portion then finished off Kira's. Done.

(Twice)

After lunch, the FLY PAINTING.

A fly landed in the paint so one of the girls and I started to actually paint on the fly before incorporating it into the painting above. (It's buried in orange paint on the eye located on the righthand side of the image).

Kira offered 3 million Rupees for it. Sold!!! ;)

With the next class, English/ Telugu combo, we used markers. Chill class. The boys wanted to hear Michael Jackson's "Girls are Dangerous!". Ha, so funny. I even noticed the teacher tapping her toe to it out of the corner of my eye.

The last class at the end of the day turned into Face Painting as Kira and I instigated it. All of the kids we passed in the basement of the school got a kick out of it as they were lining up to go home.

Back to the house for a quick afternoon PUNO & Jay-Z session before heading out to 6th hostel- all girls andddd...one boy. We danced on their roof and learned "the Fish" as well as some other "classic" Indian dance moves.

At home it was Egg AND Potato Curry. The. BEST! And then us boys went to check out the commemoration party of a new building we saw from our roof, except we found out the party was last night :(