"What's my name?"

"What's my name?" a child asks me.  I analyze the child's face for a moment, a questioning look on my own face.  I hope that I will see something that will give the name away.  "What letter does it start with?"  I inquire back.  The child gives me a letter.  I ponder a moment longer.  "What's the second letter?"  They tell me.  I ponder again.  Finally, I disappointingly accept the fact that I cannot remember their name!  "Okay, tell me!!"  I state in a defeated and embarrassed manner.  They tell me.  "Of course!!"  I reply.  Then I say the name fifty times with them, and offer a little prayer that I will remember the name next time.

This has become a very common ritual for me with the children after I hear their name once.  It could be within a few minutes of hearing their name that they want to quiz me, or even days later!  It would be one thing to play this in the States where most of the names are familiar to me.  But here... the combination of sounds throws me off!  I get lost in the beauty of how they pronounce their own names that I forget that I need to be memorizing them!  They really are beautiful.

I admit, I had been planning to visit my very first leprosy colony today... yet I managed to miss the car!  The driver also wasn't aware that I was planning to go, so in the end it was a bit of a miscommunication.  Although I spent a moment feeling quite disappointed about this, I soon realized that this was actually a blessing in disguise.  Because I didn't go to the colony, I was able to accomplish many preparations for the approaching school year that starts next week for the children!  I worked on unit and lesson plans, and I even found a lot of new music that I'm excited to use!  So in the end, I'm very grateful I had that planning time.  Tomorrow I will try again to make it on the trip to the leprosy colony!

As for the rest of the day, I attended a Q&A session with the RSO volunteers where we could ask several of the RSO staff members (natives) questions about their lives and the culture here.  It was very eye-opening!  I learned the following:

National Animal:  Tiger
National Bird:  Peacock
National Flower:  Lotus
National Fruit:  Mango

Okay, these are probably no-brainers for many, but now I'm sure to never forget it!  I also learned about the jewelry women wear to show that they are married, and I learned the population of india has more than tripled in the last 50 years!  After the Q&A session, we went to play with the children until dinner time.

Have you ever eaten your dinner from a banana tree leaf with a perfect breeze swirling around you as a you sit atop a 3 story building, watching a vibrant sunset?  I tell you what-- it's magical!  Check out this meal:

I finished up the day with a little story time in the girls hostel.  As I approached the building, the sounds of cheerful conversation and laughter filled the air.  When I reached the steps to enter the building, I found the same older girls I had sang to the other night sitting on the step in conversation.  After playing a quick round of  "What's my name?", I slipped into the building in search of the little ones.  I found them laying in a room on their floor mats, all ready for bed!  But that didn't last very long.  The little's were so wiggly and also very interested in playing with my hair, as well as playing (you guessed it) "What's my name?"  They sure are adorable! :)  I look forward to doing more story times throughout the summer!!  And hopefully I'll master the "What's my name?"  game too ;)

Also, here's one little angel whose name I know:  Jessica :)  She's the daughter of one of one of the couples that works here at Rising Star, Annie and Dr. Joseph.  Jessica and I had a little dance party today, and she loved it!