This week in India..

This week we had the first ever Staff Training for Camp Rainbow.  It was incredible.  So many people who had worked in India had told us not to expect too much.. not to expect the staff to open up quickly, or to act silly.. or to be able to adjust to 'camp culture'.  Boy was that not the case.  The group of people we worked with was INCREDIBLE - they were so, so fun, open to trying new things, willing to break down perceived cultural barriers... they were THERE.  They got it.  It was fun.  And hot.  But mainly fun.  Ok, fun and hot.  I cannot emphasize how hot.  Anyway.. a couple pictures (we try to protect the privacy of our particpants, you know how that goes.. so vague pictures only.)

Our schedule is PACKED - we do a 5.5 day training, with every hour intentionally planned.  I LOVE IT.  It is so so so exhausting to facilitate, but it is incredible - and the results are incredible.  Sometime I will write out a much more comprehensive post on it, but for now, suffice it to say it is one of my favorite parts of my job.

Our camp culture session was INCREDIBLE.  The participants made a map of India out of a bunch of random supplies we gave them, and then took us on a full on walking tour - with samples of dances and customs of all of the regions of India, and at the end... they all spontaneously broke into their national anthem.  I of course lost it and started crying.  It just was so lovely to see people so proud of their country and culture... and so incredible to think that we were about to have camp there, for the first time.  They were so ready to create a safe place for children - such a good group.  I am gushing.  I know.

Egg drop!  A fun evening program team building exercise.

Post training - we are wiped.  WIPED.  On the bus back to Chennai, the staff was still on a high - they were singing and dancing on the bus.  But the leadership team looked a little something like this:

Did I mention it was hot?  When I first got on the bus I seriously was a little bit amazed we all didn't get heat stroke instantly.  It was like walking into an oven.  But somehow, we survived.

The day after training we had a few hours to do some site-seeing.  We were so so exhausted, and so so SO hot - but I am glad we ventured out because it was the only chance I had on this trip to be a tourist!  Here is the team I traveled/worked with.  They are AMAZING, and made my life a happy place.  I get to work with some of the best people in the entire world.  Truly.  Just look at how adorable they are.  And sweaty.  But mainly adorable.

No memorable moment would be complete without a self portrait, don't you think?

Or a cheesy jumping picture

Or a giant stone elephant (built out of one rock!)

Beauty.

On the way back from our outing, we stopped at a roadside stand to pick out some fruit.  This quiet little simple moment was actually one of my favorites.  Just a lovely little stolen glimpse into life in Chennai.

I'm in India!

I've been in India for a week now but we've been working so intensely to prep the leadership team we are working with, I've hardly taken a picture!  Here is one from my first (cloudy) morning when we took a walk on the beach that is right by the apartment I am staying in.

Today we are heading out to the site where we will be training the staff and welcoming the campers to the first GPI program ever in South Asia!

I'm excited to see what camp looks like here.

Lots of stories to come about accidentally drinking tap water, surviving a rickshaw driver with road rage, and other great adventures on this time in indiaindiaindia.

From Vietnam... To Chennai, INDIA!!

After an entire 3 days in Vietnam, full of super productive meetings and a great dose of checking out some highlights of Hanoi, we're off to the main purpose of this jaunt... to start the first GPI program in INDIA!!!

(image location)

Stay tuned!

Crossing the Street

Warning: these might make you motion sick.  And/or worry about my safety more than you already are (mom).

Today in Hanoi, a Thai monk and I took pictures of each other.

Some things I saw today

Hanoi!

I'm still jetlagged to no end, but there is no rest in sight.  Today we rose before dawn and left Phnom Penh for Hanoi, Vietnam!

I was struck by a few things:

1. This is a communist country (err.. socialist republic?), and someone doesn't want you forget it.  Red flags flying everywhere and Viet Cong memorabilia on sale on every street corner (it seems much more so than in Ho Chi Minh City).  But the most amazing thing to me is despite the not-so-distant-history of war between our two countries, we have been made to feel without exception completely welcomed.  I find this both amazing and humbling.

(image location)

2. The architecture (I assume heavily influenced by the French) is gorgeous.  I was really struck when driving in to town how beautiful the buildings were.  Pictures to come soon.  I am also in love with the foliage - it is thick, even in the most populated and bustling areas, it is almost like there is a canopy of trees and vines covering everything. 

3. There are Seaweed flavored Pringles.  I ate half the can.

4. We went to a water puppet show tonight.  Its a Vietnamese tradition that dates back centuries, and it was really quite entertaining.  The puppeteers are waist-deep in water the whole time, but you never see them, so it looks like the puppets are dancing on the water.

5. I am so excited to see what tomorrow brings.

From Cambodia to.. VIETNAM!

(image location)

The whirlwind continues!  Now we're headed from Phnom Penh, Cambodia (it was just a sneak peak, I'll be back in August!) to Hanoi, Vietnam!  We're headed for a second planning visit for a camp that will happen in June.

Inspired - NHCC

Yesterday I visited the site of our partner organization, New Hope for Cambodian Children.  It is a children's village for children abandoned because they are HIV positive, and it is just beautiful.  It is a place where love is tangible and visible.

Being there brought back a lot of memories of another children's village close to my heart, McKallie's Home of Future and Hope in Malawi, Africa. 

Both of these places are founded and run by people with a vision and a calling and passion that I wouldn't even be able to believe if I hadn't seen it first hand.
 
I left NHCC yesterday feeling touched, energized, inspired and with a renewed sense that anything is possible.  I am so excited to spend more time at the village this August, and this will definitely not be the last time I mention the amazing work happening there.

I am so grateful I've had the opportunity to get to be involved with these two organizations and others like them. There are too many beautiful things happening that we could be putting our energy into to be consumed by the negative things.  There is good stuff happening out there. Let's celebrate that good work and support that good work, and push forward. 

xo

Took a tuk tuk: Cambodia

Last night the first thing I felt when I got off the plane was a huge wave of warm humid air.  I love breathing in that first breath of the thick (usually smoggy) air that hits when you get off the plane in the tropics.  I mean that in all sincerity.. it is like the thickness of the air is directly coorelated to the depth of adventure that is about to take place.  (And FYI, if that stands, the work in this country is going to be off the charts)

This is my first time in Cambodia.  I will be managing a program here this August, so this trip is just a teaser of what's about to come.  I'm so glad because I want to explore every last corner.

This morning we took a tuk tuk to work and a moto home.

Its tradition.

 Our view from dinner - overlooking the Mekong river. 

 Our tuk tuk ride home.



A side note: A couple of weeks ago I watched the Killing Fields, a movie about two journalists covering the Khmer Rouge regime.  I have put off watching for a long time because I wasn't sure I wanted to see the imagry of genocide (I've been increasingly sensitive to movies that show violence or war the last couple of years).. but since I knew I was coming here, I watched it and I am so glad I did.  I recommend it for anyone wanting to learn more about the genocide that took place here not so very long ago.. I am also hungry to learn more, so if anyone has good book/film suggestions, please let me know!

Next Stop: Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

(image location)

on the road again

Sunday I leave for the next round of this crazy job.

This one will take me to Cambodia for 2 days, Vietnam for 3, and India for three weeks.

Meanwhile spring is creeping in here.  The rainy days feel damp and chilly but not cold, and the sun finally has warmth to it again.  Buds are popping open all over and the tree in my house exploded into pink on Sunday.

My life here is nice.

And my temporary life in Asia... is about to be real!

Spring

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is."  - Albert Einstein