October 9/13

So much has happened, and yet I have not had one moment to write it all down.  Even during the last post I was typing while the bags were marching out the door onto the bus so I just dumped something down and ran.  We have been very busy, as expected.
We had the pleasure/honor of attending a wedding for one of the Graduated boys from Shanti.  I say "boy" but he is now a man.  He invited the whole team to come to his wedding.  It was not what you think of "Indian Wedding" It was a ceremony and then a reception.  We had flown in that morning and had a bit of a strange and restless day, waiting around for our rooms to be ready in the hotel, Jet leg, seeing Delhi again.  So needless to say we already knew we would be tired at the wedding, but none of us expected to be "that tired".  Before it began, there were team members asleep, with drool.  One guy put his head down on the pew in front of him and fell asleep.  And to make matters worse, it was more than 35 degrees, and the service was on Hindi.  Oh how we fought the urge to sleep, and we did not dare close our eyes when they prayed, we would never have opened them again.
We took the train the next morning and got another eye full of India.  Wow, the things you see from the train window.  It really gives you a glimpse into the lives of the people as they live next to the tracks.  So many people living in such poor conditions, it really breaks your heart.  It is amazing how they flock together to live and occupy such a small space.  So many of them are living in slums, and tents.  It is hard to watch but also needed as a reminder of how life is for so many.  It just makes the lives the kids have at Shanti Nikatan so much better.  To see where they would be had they not been able to come to the home, kind of smacks you in the face.  To see the contrast of the slum and the home is amazing.  Shanti is as wonderful as we remember it.  It actually feels like coming home.  We both gave a sigh of relief when we got here.  So much better to have Lane here, even though he did really good while traveling (only one melt down).  It feels like a safe haven.  It is so lovely and the kids are so happy to welcome us in again.  Lane is very popular with the kids.  They all want to touch him, and he got to sit with them during the Welcome program.  He has done so well.  We had warned him that they would all want to touch him, and we were right.  Everyone puts their arms around him, and everywhere he goes there is a trail of Hindi speaking kids.  So fun to watch them try to sort each other out.  He worked on his school work for a bit this afternoon with ten kids watching over his shoulder.  One day soon he will join a grade 4 class at the home.  The highest grade they teach at Shanti is 4, so he can brush up on some old work.
Today I spent the day painting, and Scott spent his day on the ditch digging crew.  His road building experience is coming in handy, that is for sure.  There is a group of engineers here for the next few days so they have been working together on that very difficult project.  Scott is glad he brought his work boots, even though they weigh 7 pounds.  After work tonight I got to try my hand at cricket.  Who knew, I actually hit a few balls and got some points, beginners luck and also the girls are so gracious, " Didi Didi, you go again.  Your not out yet" when clearly I am.  But we had so much fun, hooting and screaming.  We got the rules of the game all in Hindi of course, so maybe I was not as good as I thought.  But so much fun.  Tomorrow I want to play more games, and paint, and spend more time with my family on the other side of the world.