Finally Here

I 'm in India!  After a very long and mundane 30 hours of traveling, I am finally sitting in my hotel room in Chennai.  

I was so nervous about the traveling part of this adventure, but my flights could not have gone more smoothly.  I arrived at the Salt Lake airport around 5:00 and went up to the counter to check in.  They gave me my boarding passes for every flight and made it so my bags would transfer without me having to go pick them up between flights.  Everything from there was a breeze.

I landed in Chicago, then Frankfurt, and finally Chennai.  The whole experience was a bit unreal. It was so strange to be flying for so long and so far.  One of the overwhelming emotions I faced was a sense of isolation. It's interesting to feel so alone when there are so many people around. I had a moment in the Frankfurt airport where I couldn't connect to the internet, so I was unable to talk to my family.  I felt so frustrated and lonely in that moment. However, I realized it was a very temporary situation, and I got up and explored the airport.  

A huge statue in the Frankfurt Airport.

A little makeup shop that kept me entertained.

The fanciest McDonalds I've ever seen.  I went and sat in there at the Frankfurt airport for a little while because I found it comforting to be around all the Americans in there.  Weird, I know.

So far, Chennai is incredible. The airport was actually fairly calm and normal.  My bags all arrived here without any problems, so I headed outside to find my driver.  It was crazy! There were people everywhere.  They had set up these railings, like they use at movie premiers to seperate the crowds from the red carpet.  So there was a path along the railing and then right through the middle. On the other side of the railing were hundreds of people all yelling and holding up signs.  Most of them were drivers for passengers or were taxi drivers trying to get some passengers.  It was completely surreal and so strange.  Luckily, my driver was there holding up my name (the sign said Mr. Berlyn Prince, which I thought was funny). I was so happy to see him. He was so polite and friendly, despite having waited there for almost two hours because my flight was delayed.  He brought me here to the hotel, where the incredibly helpful staff checked me in.  I felt so dumb when they were talking to me, because they do things so differently and I didn't understand their instructions a lot of the time,but we got through it.

My hotel room is so beautiful.

The view out my window.  Look at this place.  This is the perfect example of Chennai.  It's so crazy and dirty, but look at those beautiful fabrics hanging out to dry.  There is beauty amidst the chaos.

Another shot out the window. It's amazing.

Well I have to go grab some breakfast because my Rising Star driver will be here in about an hour to take me to campus. This is incredible! I love you all and am thinking about you.

Home Stretch

I have less than a week before I leave for India.  I feel stunned, anxious, and extremely grateful.  This past week or so has been full of Rising Star preparations and experiences.

On Friday, I was able to go to Kimmy's house and meet with several people who have volunteered with Rising Star in the past. It was truly wonderful and left me so excited about my summer.  Among those gathered there was Kenady, who I linked in my last post.  She taught a couple of the classes that I will be teaching this summer, so she helped catch me up on what they had been learning and offered suggestions about what I should plan for my curriculum.  It was incredibly helpful, and I'm so grateful that she took the time to meet with me.

On Monday, I went to a training at the Rising Star office in Provo.  The training was mostly for the coordinators this summer, but they asked me to attend as well.  It was conducted by the unbelievably incredible Amy Antonelli, whose blog I have been obsessively reading this morning.  She is truly one of the most inspirational people I have had the opportunity to meet.  She is one of the people who helped Becky Douglas create this amazing organization.  She spent years living in India, working to help Rising Star become what it is today.  If you are interested in reading about her many miraculous experiences, you can visit her blog here.  Anyways, the training was great.  I was able to meet some of the people that will be in India with me this summer.  We discussed so many things about Rising Star and the real reason we are doing this work.

Amy eloquently described one thing that made a strong impression on me.  She was discussing some of the many tasks that are undertaken continuously at Rising Star.  She said that it can be easy, sometimes, to become frustrated and caught up in the day to day of the task.  It can be easy to think that your purpose at Rising Star is to move a pile of bricks, or to teach a child to say or read a certain word.  However, she implored us to always have the bigger picture in mind. Each and every task you are assigned to do at Rising Star is designed to help further the miracle that is unfolding in India.  The pile of bricks you just moved will be used to build a functioning bathroom for a colony that has never had one.  It will help bring these people a sense of respect, dignity, and self-worth when they have been stripped of all these things because of their disease.  The word you teach a child to say or read is essential to the efforts we are making to provide that child with a promising future.  The ability to speak English increases their earning potential by 500% in India.  It literally ensures that they will not have to live the life of begging on the streets that they were destined to live when they were born.  Rising Star is incredible and I feel so blessed to be able to contribute my small part to this work.

Thank you all for reading this and for your endless love and support.  My life is truly blessed.

Inspired

My Indian summer is rapidly approaching.  I only have a few weeks until I leave.  Things are crazy right now, with finals next week, moving out of my apartment, and my India preparations.  However, amidst the craziness, I have found moments to stop and soak in all the blessings in my life.  I have the greatest people in my life right now, and I'm so excited to add even more incredible and resilient spirits to that list this summer.  Over this past week, I have found myself feeling the "rightness" of this adventure more than ever.

On Saturday, I was blessed to be able to spend some time with my amazing, inspirational friend Kimmy.  Kim and I have been great friends since high school, and I treasure the time I get to spend with her.  She is the person who introduced me to Rising Star.  Reading her blog and seeing the light in her eyes when she talks about India has been such an inspiration to me.  We were able to just spend several hours talking about Rising Star, the children, and life.  She again demonstrated her incomparable generosity by giving me so many things that I can use in India, as well as a packing list and a ton of encouragement.  She really boosted my excitement and reminded me that this is what I'm supposed to do.  You can read about her many beautiful moments in India on her blog.

Another thing that really inspired me this week was reading this blog post by a girl named Kenady.  I have never met her, but she is a friend of Kim's and I have been blog-stalking her for a few months now.  She has been volunteering at Rising Star for the past year. The beautiful comments from the children about their dreams for the future had me tearing up.  I am blown away by the strength of these kids.  They have been through true horrors and have faced trials I can't imagine.  Yet despite all this, they are the most bright and joyful spirits in the world.  I'm so excited to meet these children and show them they can achieve their dreams. Please read her post, it will help you understand why I'm doing this.

I still have a few more preparations and a lot of packing.  But, India, I will see you soon!

Excited Arms

Time is a funny thing. In some ways, I feel like the weeks until I leave are dragging on and on. In other ways, I feel like my adventures in India are approaching far too quickly for me to adequately prepare myself. I can't believe I'm leaving in less than six weeks, yet I feel it can't come soon enough.

I have checked most of my pre-departure tasks off my checklist. I have booked my long and complicated flight, I have saved and collected the money I need for the trip, and (as of yesterday) I have received my travel vaccinations. I had to get four vaccines and a pack of oral typhoid vaccination pills.

Needless to say, my arms are sore today. I found myself internally whining about the ache today and had to stop myself. I have been the benefactor of a true miracle throughout my preparations for this trip. I constantly feel awestruck that I am going to be able to do this. Serving these people in India has been a tremendous desire of mine for about three years. I have been so overjoyed and humbled by the endless supply of support and love from the people in my life that I have received in these last few months. I can't believe I get to go live in India for three months.

As I started reminiscing about the hard work I've done to acquire this opportunity and the miraculous way it has come together for me, I felt so foolish and ungrateful for mentally complaining about my sore arms. I would gladly accept sore arms everyday for the experience of serving with Rising Star. I decided i don't have sore arms, I have excited arms. They are excited to hold the beautiful children at Rising Star. They are excited to join in the efforts of lifting the burdens and spirits of the resilient people afflicted with leprosy. They are excited to happily contribute to this incredible organization in any way I am able to. I decided that every time I feel the ache in my arms, I will use it as a reminder of the blessings I have been given that allow me to do this. My gratitude to everyone and anyone who has contributed to my efforts is truly overflowing. Thank you.

Now on to my final preparations: finishing the semester, filling my anti-malaria prescription, hunting down a mosquito net, applying for a visa, and soaking up all the beautiful time I have with family and friends before I leave

Anticipation

The anticipation of my Indian summer is killing me.  I am so excited for this adventure and just wish I could go right now.  I saw this video today on Rising Star's Facebook page and had to share it.  This is amazing, and look at how beautiful that campus is.  I can't wait!

Getting Ready

I'm currently preparing for my upcoming summer in India, and decided to create this blog to help me communicate with family and friends while I'm there.

I'm going to India for three months as a long term volunteer for Rising Star Outreach.  RSO is an incredible and inspirational organization that works with leprosy colonies in India.  I can't even begin to describe the tremendous good done by this organization, so I'm going to try to summarize.  

Rising Star Outreach is a testament to the strength and beauty that can arise from true tragedy.  It was founded in 2002 by an LDS woman named Becky Douglas.  Becky's daughter, Amber, lost her battle with bipolar disorder and took her own life while away at college.  As Becky was sorting through Amber's things, she was surprised to discover Amber had been making monthly donations to an orphanage in India. Becky decided to go to India to gain a better understanding of the orphanage.  What struck her about the trip, however, was the startlingly horrific conditions of many of the beggars she encountered on the streets.  She was astounded by their gaping wounds and missing limbs, and found herself haunted by the realization that the cause of their afflictions was a disease she thought no longer existed in the modern world--leprosy. 

When Becky returned to America, she decided she had to do something to help the people she had seen in India.  She called together four of her friends and, around her kitchen table, created Rising Star Outreach.  It started as a small orphanage with 27 children in a house in the small southeast-Indian city of Chennai.  With the help of Padma Venkataraman, the daughter of a former president of India, Rising Star Outreach has become a great contributor in the fight against leprosy.  It now boasts hostels for over 200 children that live on campus, a volunteer house, a fully functioning school, a mobile medical unit, and a micro-lending program to help the colonies become self-sufficient. 

This organization is truly astounding.  They have been able to accomplish so many amazing things and expand exponentially in less than 10 years. If you would like to know more about the organization you can visit their website here, read an article in LDS Living here, or watch an incredible and emotional documentary about the foundation here.

So, this summer, I will be living on the Rising Star campus in India.  It is about 2.5 hours outside of Chennai in southeast India near a village called Thottanaval.  I am an elementary education major, and I will be working mostly in the school doing many different things.  I am told I will also have the opportunity to participate in many other projects in the colonies and surrounding area as well.  I am both excited and nervous about this adventure and am preparing myself to rise up to the challenges and opportunities I will encounter.

I will try to live by the words of Becky Douglas, "Once you have seen, you own the responsibility to do."