Sorry about the delay

namaste :) how is everybody doing? sorry i haven't written this week-our comuter at the house is broken so today some of us girls went to the internet cafe. the computers are like, windows 98 and most the keys are worn off but we'll manage haha. sorry for any spelling errors :)
today i had my first "runs" experience after being constipated for 9 days...ugh. but i feel a bit better now. i had way too much indian food stuck in my little body :)
Let's see...what else...
I started work on wednesday. it's crazy! i thought i'd seen where Indian people live; I thought i'd seen the slums. But no sir i had no idea until i turned a corner and walked a kilometer and watched te buildings gradually dissappear and then a huge scrubby fenced in field with goats and children and FILLED with trash. Everything was so dusty and there were a bunch of ramshackle cement rooms that were houses. The women and children were very nice-smiling and saying hello and thankfully not begging for money (in the city you get practically attacked by beggars). The men are the same everywhere-always flirting haha. you get used to it. I met one of the IDE project coordinators, Shuchi and she is pretty much the coolest lady ever. She tells it how it is and something makes people listen to her, even though she's probably not even 5 ft tall. :)
There are 2 "schools" in the slums and i'm working in the newer, less established one. it's the worst of the worst. the lowest of the low. the dirtiest of the dirty. The class is sporatic-the kids are 1-12 yrs old (but many don't know how old they are) and come and go as they please. The school is a little cement room like the homes there. one window with no screen and a broken cement floor. We have some mice that run around and look at us with beady little eyes. The gov provided these schools with a teacher and a helper each, but these women don't really do anything with the children, besides beat them if theyre loud. they get paid gov salary and have the job forever, no matter how bad they are. this is why IDEX sent us here-they hope that we will motivate the teacher and helper and children. Volunteers usually end up teaching and making the lessons, and teachers occasionally help. they're nice to have around for translating because the kids don't know english. the volunteer who i was with at this school leaves today so after 2 days of watching her i'm on my own. teaching around 20 Hindi children English and math which they forget by the next day. I'm not going to get frustrated though. I keep being reminded by that still small voice inside "You are here to love". If they learn anything from me, i want them to learn that they are worth something-that they're a treasure. Their sweet smiles and their innocsence and their vivacity for life. AHHH!! who will watch over them? Who will keep little NaNa from prostititution? Who will rock Sopa to sleep? Who will help Pudja to learn things since she's always behind?
There is a bunch of information and ideas floating around in my head. I feel like i'm in a super intense world cultures class! There are so many issues that are tied up in customs and behaviors and traditions and yet it's still important that Indian heritage be preserved. Like prego women for example. Many muslim women beliee children are gifts, and so they have zero prevention. But all these children are born and they can't be provided for. At the same time that they want these women to take birth control and et abortions, they're trying to save their lies too. Like prego women here need tetnus shots because they have babies at home in insanitary conditions and the babies and mothers often die without it. 300 women die everyday in childbirth. If you bring abortions to india though, how would these women even afford it? that would bring in the ally-abortions then, causing more deaths. Condoms of course would be a good introduction here, but men ar very careless-i don't think they'd take the responsibility. So many things-the trash here (no public trashcans)...even the schools. bringing in english volunteers is great and all, but it means that the children are leanring about a country's seasons and customs that they don't beloing to. they need to survive HERE, first. ay yay yay. no more of this.
i'm leaving to pushkar this weekend to go to a camel festival so i won't be around until sunday. just wanted to warn you guys :) send me messages-i like to read about what's going on with you guys and what you think and alll that stuff! take care and God Bless!
Cassie