Today marks my second to last day with Rising Star Outreach! I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by, and I don't want to think about leaving tomorrow. But I was so excited to see Lisa, who just returned from her trip to Delhi and Agra. We had a LOT to catch up on this morning, and it was so much fun hearing all about her trip and sharing stories from the weekend! Unfortunately our partner in crime, Eric, had left with his family after his trip to Delhi/Agra, which was a bummer. But we're hoping to have a reunion sometime next summer! (If not earlier - I am trying my hardest to get Lisa to come visit me in NYC or DC!)
After we caught up, we got ready to give the kids anemia screenings (with lancers) and tetanus shots - ouch! Our great Group 1 had been greatly diminished since we lost Tyler (who was on an overnight trip with the nurses), the Morley family (Eric, Stephanie, and Dr. Morley), Nadya, and Sam (who was resting the whole day). So it was only me, Lisa, Tanner, and Nathan to take care of all the tasks for the day! We started the anemia screenings (which utilized finger pricking to determine the child's status) with UKG, then moved onto 2nd and 3rd standard. My favorite part was getting the kids from their classrooms, where I was greeted with "Good morning Aunty Elle! We love you!" and tons of kisses from everyone. I was sad to have to bring them to their fates, but all of them did really well and nobody cried! We rewarded them with stickers (which I was in charge of) and then returned them to their classrooms. After the anemia screenings we took a lunch break.
After lunch we were in charge of giving the 5th standard kids their tetanus shots. Unfortunately these shots are pretty painful and the discomfort lasts for a couple of days! But most of them did really well. I was surprised by how much more afraid and fussy they were than the UKG, 1st, and 2nd standard kids. A few of them were bigger than I was, so it was hard to get them to follow me/fight them off, so Tanner had to help me out a few times! There were only 21 of them, so it didn't take too long fortunately. Afterwards, Lisa and I watched Samm's "Life Dance" class which was fun! We got to see their beautiful dance to "Somebody" by David Archuleta. 3 of Samm's dancers were invited to a dance/athletic convention in Connecticut, but it might not happen because they are scheduled to leave in 11 days, and they don't even have their passports, let alone their visas to the US! I really hope they'll be able to make it though! Can you imagine what they would think when they flew and toured around NYC?
In the evening, Lisa, Samm, Sam, and I were in charge of distributing the Vitamin A tablets to all of the girls and their house-mothers. I mistook a house-mother for one of the students which was pretty embarassing, but she was very understanding - a lot of them look SO young! Afterwards we headed to Gandimathy's house where we helped the boys with their homework (which is now our priority, since if they don't complete their homework they receive an "X" mark and have to run barefoot on the track in the afternoon). I helped the boys with their math homework and taught them how to correctly spell all the numbers from 1-50, and also helped them with their times-tables. It was frustrating at times, but Lisa and I utilized the chalkboard and they ended up loving it!
After "family time" I started packing all of my stuff which made me really sad! But I also got to finally try Brenen's combination of eggs + ketchup which he has been non-stop talking about. It was actually pretty good (but don't tell him I told you!) Tomorrow we are going to another Indian hospital for a tour which should be interesting. I can't believe its already my last day at RSO!!!
After we caught up, we got ready to give the kids anemia screenings (with lancers) and tetanus shots - ouch! Our great Group 1 had been greatly diminished since we lost Tyler (who was on an overnight trip with the nurses), the Morley family (Eric, Stephanie, and Dr. Morley), Nadya, and Sam (who was resting the whole day). So it was only me, Lisa, Tanner, and Nathan to take care of all the tasks for the day! We started the anemia screenings (which utilized finger pricking to determine the child's status) with UKG, then moved onto 2nd and 3rd standard. My favorite part was getting the kids from their classrooms, where I was greeted with "Good morning Aunty Elle! We love you!" and tons of kisses from everyone. I was sad to have to bring them to their fates, but all of them did really well and nobody cried! We rewarded them with stickers (which I was in charge of) and then returned them to their classrooms. After the anemia screenings we took a lunch break.
After lunch we were in charge of giving the 5th standard kids their tetanus shots. Unfortunately these shots are pretty painful and the discomfort lasts for a couple of days! But most of them did really well. I was surprised by how much more afraid and fussy they were than the UKG, 1st, and 2nd standard kids. A few of them were bigger than I was, so it was hard to get them to follow me/fight them off, so Tanner had to help me out a few times! There were only 21 of them, so it didn't take too long fortunately. Afterwards, Lisa and I watched Samm's "Life Dance" class which was fun! We got to see their beautiful dance to "Somebody" by David Archuleta. 3 of Samm's dancers were invited to a dance/athletic convention in Connecticut, but it might not happen because they are scheduled to leave in 11 days, and they don't even have their passports, let alone their visas to the US! I really hope they'll be able to make it though! Can you imagine what they would think when they flew and toured around NYC?
In the evening, Lisa, Samm, Sam, and I were in charge of distributing the Vitamin A tablets to all of the girls and their house-mothers. I mistook a house-mother for one of the students which was pretty embarassing, but she was very understanding - a lot of them look SO young! Afterwards we headed to Gandimathy's house where we helped the boys with their homework (which is now our priority, since if they don't complete their homework they receive an "X" mark and have to run barefoot on the track in the afternoon). I helped the boys with their math homework and taught them how to correctly spell all the numbers from 1-50, and also helped them with their times-tables. It was frustrating at times, but Lisa and I utilized the chalkboard and they ended up loving it!
After "family time" I started packing all of my stuff which made me really sad! But I also got to finally try Brenen's combination of eggs + ketchup which he has been non-stop talking about. It was actually pretty good (but don't tell him I told you!) Tomorrow we are going to another Indian hospital for a tour which should be interesting. I can't believe its already my last day at RSO!!!
Brenen and me with one of my favorite girls, Boujie!
She's a great dancer and has a huge personality and smile! :)
The "Life Dance" class! They're awesome!
Lisa and me tutoring the kids during "family time".
Brenen and Tanner....?
No comments:
Post a Comment