Fun Fact: I'm a Hypochondriac

June 4, 2012 started with an awful revelation: one of our team members was sick. This was my worst nightmare. [I'm not even exaggerating. Not one little bit.]

In case you didn't catch it from the title of the post, I'm kind of headcase when it comes to illness. I hear that someone somewhere has head lice? My scalp is suddenly itchy. Someone somewhere has a fever? I've got the chills. The guy down the hall has been up all night puking his brains out? I'm nauseous...

I do not like being sick. And if there was one thing I was praying about during that trip, it was that my body be shielded from sickness.

To make a long story short and to save two unnamed team members from certain embarrassment, I will spare you the gory details. Let's just say, those two spent the afternoon of June 4 in the VIP section of an Indian hospital. Their time at the hospital included: few vaccines in the Derrière, some good ol' IV treatments, and a pair of shorts in the trashcan. For more [hilarious] details, ask Dr. Starr sometime. I'm sure he will gladly share.

I'm happy to report that within the next few days everyone was healthy again and no one [including me!] got sick for the rest of the trip.

This particular Monday happened to be the first day of school at Chandra Bose. Nearly 100 Pre-K to 5th graders were signed up to attend. It was a little hectic and their first day was only a half day so we spent the morning practicing fun songs to sing with the kids later in the week. While we were practicing songs, we met Abraham, a graduate of the Bible School that used to be on the grounds of Miracle Garden/Chandra Bose. He was with a friend who was signing her kids up for school.

Taking a quick break from practicing songs to make a SIFE rainbow. 

One of the many "snaps" we took with Abraham. 

After the local kids went home, we stuffed ourselves, the 20-30 something Miracle Garden kids and their teachers into the bus and headed to the Great Bombay Circus!

On the bus with two of my favorite cuties in my lap.

I wrote in my journal that the circus was "so....local," meaning that it was definitely not a tourist attraction. While there were parts of it that were certainly weird and creepy, I loved it because it was such a unique experience. Not many people can say that they've gone to an Indian circus. The circus lasted for over two and a half hours! During that time, we saw a lot of acrobatics, a guy who could spit colored water, some sad looking an elephants and mangy dogs, and a camel.

The kids were absolutely mesmerized by the show! One of their favorite parts were the [male] clowns that kept wacking each other in the butt. Those guys were creepy.

My little man, Manik alternated between sitting on my lap and sitting in the chair next to me.

Suganthi, Josep, Carrie, and Becky all captivated by the show.

Since the show was so long, there was a constant stream of vendors walking around with everything from cold soda to ice cream to cotton candy. Every time one of them walked by, the kids would would beg us to get them whatever snack the vendor was peddling. And every time, I would guiltily say "no" and offer them Jolly Ranchers instead [side note: the kids called ALL candy "chocolate." I couldn't believe it]. Then, a man sitting in front of us purchased every single child ice cream! After the show was over, another man bought 10+ giant bags of chips for them too. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by their generosity. After spending a semester studying Indian culture, I fully expected to encounter the effects of the caste system. I expected the Miracle Garden kids to be ignored and looked down upon because they are orphans [orphans are part of the lowest caste]. 

This poor lady's act was to bounce that ball up all those steps into a basket at the top. She had to start over like three times!

Manik loving his ice cream!

While we waited for the bus to pick us up, our group was like its own circus act. I don't think any of those people had seen such a big bunch of white people in their entire lives! Let alone a bunch of white people with an even larger bunch of orphans. We were quite the sight and as usual, attracted quite a bit of attention.

When we "got home" Dr. Starr and our sick friends were still at the hospital and we were locked out of our house! So we went and got ice cream [definitely one of my favorite "dinners!"] and did some shopping. I was so excited to get so much stuff for so little money. Twenty dollars later, I had 10 new scarves and a new purse. 

At the end of the day, we were happy to see our once sick friends eating toast [and keeping it down!], sitting upright, and laughing about their experiences at the hospital.