Exploring the school, and Lucknow

Our morning started a little slow today due to our inability to go to bed at a decent hour. We got to the school at about 10 and the kids were all so excited to see that we had arrived. Anna, Ella, Kaya and I worked with the older girls through the morning, beading bracelets and necklaces. The beading was a little complicated to explain, but with a bit of translation it all worked out. At one point, I took my hat off and put it on one of the girls and all of the others broke out in laughter, passing it around from one person to another. Their enthusiasm and innocence is so refreshing. They were all girls of about 14, but not one thought that beading bracelets was childish. As the afternoon rolled around, we decided to get out of the classroom and get some sort of game going. The girls, grabbing our hands as we walked outside, decided on Koko. It took us all a while to pick up on the rules of the game, but eventually all of the kids were joining in, laughing and cheering each other on. Even with my upper-hand with the language, I was the last one to actually succeed at the game. A tip to the fact that language barriers are really not barriers at all. The kids, following Zubin and Grant's lead, appropriated the nickname penguin for me because they seemed to have noticed during the game that I run like a penguin. The true symbol of an athlete. After exhausting ourselves with Koko, we decided to split off. Zubin and Grant picked up a game of soccer, while Kaya and I started tossing the frisbee. Others played duck duck goose and freeze tag. With an hour left in the class day, we decided to start on the mural. The kids were automatically attracted to the paint and all wanted to help and take part. The younger ones painted portraits on paper, while the older kids helped paint the walls. After a bit, I went back to beading with the older girls. We decided to try beading some earrings, and even the teachers joined in. The girls would choose colors and ask us if we approved of them and their designs. They were always looking for a nod or a smile. Kaya gave a demonstration of how to make the earrings and one the girls snagged the example earring after she put it down, deciding that was the prettiest design possible and she would make the matching one. They were so grateful to have us all there and kept asking whether we would come back in the future. Two of the girls, Kiran and Ruchi ,were devastated when we said we would try to come back next year, because they are in their last year at the school and wouldn't be there. We left at 1:30 when the school day ended, promising that we would return the next day at 10 and not a second later.
We got back to the house taking the usual bike riksha. We all sat down for lunch and then took a few hours to relax and nap. After everyone woke up, we went outside to play a little baseball with the neighborhood kids and finished off the afternoon with a popsicle run.
Later into the night, a few of us went to the bazaar to take a look around and do a little shopping. The cows roaming in between traffic lanes and cars drew less attention then we did. As we went from stand to stand we found ourselves being followed by a mini fan clan. We walked through the crowded streets eventually ending up at our car. As we got in children gathered around, their faces pressed against the glass, begging for a few rupees. Dinner was a little more quite then usual because everyone was exhausted. I guess we will try and get a little more sleep tonight so we can be energized for tomorrow!

Stay classy India.

xoxo GG (Googie